The Progeny of Slytherin
by SLiMJimmyNastics
Summary: Hidden away from a world that would've hated him, Theodore Riddle had but remnants from his past; bare pieces that would teach him his own wretched story. Clinging onto the vestige of his innocence, he tries so hard not to succumb to the Dark Lord's influence... but a boy can never run from his own father. Gets darker. OC.
1. Chapter 1: Revelation

Theodore looked out the window sullenly, listening to the sounds of pattering rain on the windows and children his age running through the hallways of the orphanage. He found himself staring through that exact window everyday now, peering at the various number of visitors and the people passing by, not give a sideways glance at the bleak building. He often thought what it would be like to walk freely pass a home for parentless children and not batting an eye towards them. Of course, he'd never know. He had been stuck in this place all his life, according to Madam Geoffrey. He was left in a crummy basket with nothing but a worn out blanket and a single note. Of course, there was nobody in sight but he guessed that was usual here. Children dropped off like unwanted packages. Seemed quite barbaric to him. The note was the only thing that was from his past, the key to who he was. He would strain his eyes at the piece of paper, determined for something to happen but no. He was still there. He was still motherless. What could he expect from a simple letter which only revealed one thing? His name.

Theodore was not one to feel conflict within himself. No other ten year old felt that way. Even with his current status of being an orphan, it didn't faze him. The fact that his parents were dead in an unmarked grave somewhere didn't make him feel that sad… and that's what shocked him. The other children cried regularly in their sleep for their mothers, sobbing quietly to themselves under the sheets. The sympathy was there, but empathy? That's what he lacked.

Nights were not usually sleepless but he would stay awake sometimes. For somebody else of course. He had made a single friend who he had been quite attached to all these years. Louise Free. She came some time after Theodore, when he was around four years old. He remembered the day perfectly. He walked past the Madam's office and peered through the gap, seeing a little girl of the same age facing straight to the floor, her wild black curls masking some of her face. She had been alone for her first week until Theodore decided to take her under his wing. Ever since, the two had been inseparable, never to be alone again.

Theodore had realised that he had zoned out for a while as the sky's hue darkened a bit. He faced away from the window and left his small room. Different aged children ran past him, chattering away about their new games and whatnots. He walked in the opposite direction to seek his best friend when he found himself latching onto the Madam's office door, unable to mind his own business. He pressed his ear, listening to the conversation that was behind…

"I must say Professor, it is quite the surprise to see anyone here for him." Madam's fair but stern voice was easy to recognise.

"That's true. Nobody has bothered to pick him up, not a relative, not even someone who was choosing." Sister Gretchen. She was a foul woman who kissed up to the Madam even though it was obvious that she hated the children.

"Then it should be all the more better that I speak with the boy in person, don't you agree?" Now this voice was strange. It was definitely a man, yet he had a soft tone to his voice. Almost soothing. Theodore was fully invested.

"I don't see no reason not to. I guess it would be good for him. He never had anything similar to family. Except for his friend." Madam Geoffrey spoke.

"Then I guess that would be great, m'lady. I wouldn't mind waiting here." Theodore was perplexed by what he was listening to. Somebody, a boy to be specific, was going to speak with this stranger? But to not be adopted by him? He didn't sound like he wanted to take a son onboard. Theodore wanted to hear more of it but tensed up quickly at the sensation of his ears being tugged by cold hands. He slapped them away and spun around to be facing his best friend, who had a goofy smile upon her face.

"Oh my gosh, Theo! You always wiggle when I do that! Your face was too funny!"

"I told you not to do that! Besides, you almost blew my cover, I was doing something important."

"Like spying on the Madam? You don't want to give Gretchen another excuse to lock you in the cellar right? You've been there way too many times before." She blew a curly lock that had rolled onto her right eye but it fell back on it again. Theodore pulled her over to the hallway corner and checked to see if anyone was listening. He then closed in and whispered.

"I've heard that somebody is here for one of us." Louise perked up.

"Really? Do you think they're here for me?"

"No. He said he was looking for a boy." She sulked and pouted at her friends bluntness. "They said that the boy had no family to visit. And that he only had one friend." The young brunette bit her lip for a second to try and think who this lucky person could be. She thought even longer until she tapped Theodore's shoulder rapidly.

"Hey, that could be you! Maybe he's here for you!"

"Are you saying that I have no friends?"

"Correction: you have ONE friend," she replied as she pointed to herself. There was a possibility. Minuscule at the most.

"I don't know. I've never been considered for adoption back then. Why now?" She punched his shoulder lightly while giving him a heartwarming smile.

"Maybe it's fate that has given you a chance. I mean you could get adopted and leave this place! Isn't that what you wanted?"

"But what about you?" Theodore saw her eye twitch ever so slightly but she kept the smile on her face. He couldn't imagine a world without Louise in it. She was the only person that he liked, second person being Madam Geoffrey. Leaving her behind was not something that he had ever thought of.

"I'll be fine, Theo. You don't have to worry about me. I'm the toughest girl you know, remember? Nobody's hurting me." That was what he liked about her. She used to be quiet and meek when they first met, but now she was headstrong, loud and always there when he needed her. She made living in this place bearable.

Unfortunately, there were others who weren't as kind as Louise in the orphanage. Theodore had many confrontations and incidents with the other older children, whether it be teasing him about being parentless (because that made sense) or torturing him with dead animals and defecation on the playground. Those children brought out the worst in Theodore. He'd want them to feel his pain, writhe in suffering and anguish on the spot. And oddly enough, it happened. If he'd gotten enraged but managed to focus hard enough, the children would scream and roll on the floor, crying. He didn't know how he did it but he just did. He didn't need to touch them. Just thinking hard enough would send them over the edge. This was quite sadistic from anybody else's perspective but from Theodore's? It was him trying to survive. And he liked that.

"Um, Theodore?"

"Yeah," he replied, snapping back to reality.

"If you do go, would you forget me?" He scoffed at the idea.

"You're being ridiculous." Her face beamed up and glowed. She knew that he meant 'never in a million years'. He was just being… Theodore. A sigh of relief was released and the two walked through the corridors and into the dining hall, happy that they were both the most important person in each other's lives. For now.

 _During dinner…_

Theodore raised an eyebrow at the sight of Louise chomping on her chips and fish with her mouth wide open. Theodore knew that being ladylike was not one of her traits. In fact, he didn't know if she would ever close her mouth when she would chew. On his own plate, the chips were slightly stale but edible and the battered fish had its bread skin peeled off. He preferred it like that. Louise called him a weirdo for it. He ate his food quietly among the talkative children when he caught sight of the Madam. She was talking with Gretchen and a few other adults about something. He downed his apple juice while he still gazed at the group. He noticed Louise swiping a few chips off his plate but that was normal. As soon as he placed the cup down on the table, he turned to his friend.

"Do you think-"

"Theodore Riddle!"

He turned his head back to the Madam, who called his name out for everyone to hear. Louise looked confused as her mouth was stuffed with chips. He slowly got up from his seat and made his way to her while everyone stared at him like an animal. A few whispers here and there but he couldn't hear what they had to say. Madam Geoffrey opened the door behind her and led the way for Theodore to follow. His legs were a bit skinny for his age and were pale like his face. His were also a bit long but it suited him well. He had quite the sharp face with interesting features. Although none of the other girls, Louise included, would admit it, Theodore was actually very good-looking, even for his age. His vivid hazel eyes and thick eyebrows somehow dazzled most of the girls but they would never say that to his face or to each other. His cheeks were a bit thin but other than that, he looked as normal as a ten year old could be.

They paced through the empty hallways until they stopped at his room door. Madam didn't face him but the door only. She had a look of worry on her face.

"Madam? Is everything okay?" She realised that the boy had asked a question and turned to him quickly.

"Yes, dear boy. I-I'm fine. Well don't waste time, get in there!" Theodore obeyed as he opened the door and walked in slowly. The room was darker than when he left it but the street lamp that was near his window lit the room well enough. He fixed his eyes on his chair near his desk for a man sat there, staring outside the window.

"Wonderful view, don't you think? Although I would say, being a bit higher up could enhance it, no?" He twisted on the chair to look at Theodore, showing his face to him. The first thing that he had noticed was the silvery long beard that flowed onto his lap. His crooked nose held a pair of half-moon glasses which covered the bright blue eyes that were full of life, despite the obvious age of the man. His clothes looked quite odd with the amount of frills on his coat but it wasn't alarming. Theodore had seen worse. Underneath, he had a simple purple suit with a black waistcoat and a pocket watch hanging out of one of the pockets. This strange man was both odd and wonderful at the same time. Why was that? Theodore wasted no time.

"Who are you? Did you come for me?" The man smiled and answered back.

"To answer your first question son, my name is Professor Albus Dumbledore. And yes. I came for you." Theodore sat on his bed before carrying on the conversation.

"Are you going to adopt me?"

"I wouldn't say adopt. More like… induce you. There is a place for people like you." The boy scoffed.

"Like me? In case you hadn't noticed, I am in that place."

"You are, yet you are not." Dumbledore's cryptic response puzzled Theodore. What was he on about? "What I meant, was that for people who have something about them which makes them… special." Theodore widened his eyes.

"Special as in…"

"Special as in, wanting something to happen so desperately only for it to come true. Something that you've longed for suddenly appears or changes. Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

"I… no." Dumbledore straightened his back to lift himself higher on the chair and leaned in closer.

"It's alright, Theodore. I too, am special," he whispered.

…

"Prove it."

Theodore could see slight hesitation in Dumbledore's eyes with a hint of rue(?) before they became joyful again. He looked over across the room until he saw the image of a woman and her child hanging above the doorway. He pointed towards it which motioned Theodore to face it. He couldn't see it at first but after a few tries, he saw. The woman swung her child around as they laughed together playfully. But that wasn't right. That was a picture. A painting. Not one of those animated screens like the television. This was.. this was… amazing. He walked over to it and looked up to the image. The occupants both waved to which he waved back, still in shock. He turned to Dumbledore once again.

"How did you do that?"

"Magic, dear Theodore. You could do it too, if you practise and refined your gifts."

"I could do that," he whispered to himself. This was overwhelming. He couldn't wait to tell Louise!

"And so much more, dear child! I sense within you great aptitude and power. It comes natural to you after all. You are capable of great things! Great, great things!"

"But where will I learn? Would you teach me?" Theodore asked eagerly. He wasn't skeptical about the concept of magic as he knew that something had to be different about him. He just didn't know what. Dumbledore chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. He cleaned his glasses with a cloth in his pocket while answering the desperate boy.

"Not me specifically. There is a school for children like you. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. And I'm the headmaster of the said school. You'll learn the ways of magic extensively until you are trained and ready to go about through your life after your time at Hogwarts is over."

' _Life after school. I never gave it that much thought.'_

"Professor, how do you know that you're right? That I am a wizard. You didn't make a mistake?" Dumbledore wagged his finger while closing his eyes.

"Absolutely not, dear boy! I know for a fact that you are 100% a wizard and that you will go to the finest school for the great talent that lies inside you!" The boisterous personality of the elderly man made Theodore crack a smile, something that only Louise had accomplished. If he was right, if he was really a wizard, then that meant he could use magic to leave the orphanage with Louise and find someplace to stay forever. This was too perfect.

"Okay, okay, okay! A few more questions! Is this place only for wizards? Is it far? How big is it? Did you go there? How many others are there?" Dumbledore tackled each one with absolute ease.

"And for witches. Quite. Very big. Yes and around 300." Theodore was impressed. The Professor seemed surreal, but wasn't he though? He had made a painting come to life and he was the headmaster of a magical school. There was no telling what he was capable of. Theodore had thought that he had cleared out all of his questions until two more came into mind.

"Just two more. Can I tell my friend about this? That I'm a wizard?"

"I'm afraid not. As far as I know, you are the only one with magical descent in this building. Everybody else here are not like us. They are what we call 'Muggles'. Non-magical folk. Makes it easier for everyone if they didn't know about us." Theodore was upset that he couldn't tell her. He told her everything. Secrets were never kept between them. He held his disappointment in as he asked the second question.

"Were my parents Muggles? Or were they like me?"

…

"They were magical, yes."

Theodore was hoping for a more thorough answer but instead left it. His parents were probably just as average as he thought they were before today. But to leave him in a Muggle orphanage, was strange to him. Surely, wizards and witches could be orphans as well. His thoughts were interrupted as Dumbledore handed a letter to him. Theodore took it into his hand and opened it up. Dumbledore stood up and fixed his flowing beard. It made him look taller, oddly enough.

"Inside on the list are all the school equipment that you'll need for the first year. I will be back soon so that we can go together. Then, you could finally see the world of magic before your eyes. I trust that you are still up for it?" The boy nodded his head eagerly while reading the list off a folded piece of parchment. He carried on reading until he remembered one more thing.

"Wait." Dumbledore halted at the door and turned to Theodore. "I can also do one other thing... I can speak to snakes. Understand them. They hiss at me, but I know what they say. They tell me things... They find me. Do they teach something like that in Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore was frozen. He clutched the doorknob in his palm. His eyes seemed quite… dead. The liveliness that he exhibited before vanished. Silence wrapped around him until he responded quietly.

"No…"

And like that, Theodore was alone in his room. He gripped the letter, being careful to not tear it apart. He felt as if a piece of him had been restored. Only a piece of him. There was much to find out and to uncover. Dumbledore didn't say who his parents were. Were they heroes, evil or simply, were they just not special? Questions needed to be answered. He was determined to know who he really was. And nothing was going to stop him.

He walked over to his cupboard and opened up a draw from within. He pulled it out and inside were a few possessions that he had kept over all his years of being in Stuggle's Orphanage for Boys and Girls. A pearl from Gretchen's room that he had taken when he was five, a toy figurine from one of the adults that worked in the orphanage, a silver chain that he and Louise found in the playground bushes and the very note that had been with him since he was found on the doorstep of the orphanage. He placed the Hogwarts letter aside and picked up the older note in his hand and unfolded it slowly. He read the words that he recited for over seven years in his head. Those special words that he thought about day and night.

" _His name is Theodore Silas Riddle."_

The words stared at him, burning into his eyes until a knock on the door broke him out of the trance. He placed it back inside and closed everything before opening the door. A familiar black haired girl stood in front of him with her hands behind her back. She invited herself in and plopped onto the bed, acting as if Theodore was the visitor. He rolled his eyes as he closed the door and sat on the chair near the desk.

"So."

"So."

"What did you guys talk about?" He scratched his arm as he remembered what Dumbledore had said.

"We talked about me going to a different school."

"Really? What's it called?"

"Um, it's called... Tugforts." Louise raised an eyebrow.

"Tugforts? I've never heard of that school before."

"That's because it's really far away. Like in Scotland or something." The girl's demeanour changed as she realised what it meant if the school was far away. She looked down on her lap as her locks of hair fell to her face. Theodore felt terrible that he was lying to her but what was he supposed to say? She was a Muggle. Not a witch. He didn't want to ruin his chance of learning magic because he told her. It be for nothing. But the least he could do was console her. He placed himself next to her left and poked a finger in her side. She squirmed but did not laugh. He poked her again and again until she cackled as she fought him off. She was too easy.

"Stop it, I'm supposed to be sad!"

"Don't be. I'm not leaving forever. I'll come back in the holidays. I'll even bring you a present." Her sparkling emerald eyes gazed right into his hazel ones.

"You mean that?" He nodded. Louise kicked her feet together to show that she was touched. Both of them had weird ways of showing affection but they've been together for so long that they were used to it. The children were both silent among each other before Louise reached to behind her neck. She loosened her necklace and handed it to Theodore who instantly refused.

"Take it! Stop being boring and take it, man."

"But that's your father's! It's the last thing you have of him. You said it helped remind you of him all the time."

"Well now it's going to help remind you of me, so that you won't forget." He rolled his eyes once more. Didn't he get the message through the first time?

"I won't forget you, geez. With the amount of times you tell me, I definitely won't." Louise locked her arm with his as she placed her head on his shoulder. The boy blushed. He didn't attempt to brush her off. If it were the other way around, it wouldn't have been the same but other than that, he was moved by her gesture.

"Time for bed! Get your little behinds in your beds, now!" Gretchen screeched. Louise jumped a bit, as did Theodore, and skipped to the door. She gave him a small wave before closing the door behind her. Theodore ran to his cupboard and quickly changed into his pyjamas. He bounded straight underneath his sheets as the door swung open in the split second his head hit the pillow. He closed his eyes, expecting Gretchen to scream for seeing him out of his bed, but she was mute. The door slammed shut and Theodore looked over his shoulder to check if she had left the room truly. She had caught him using that trick many times. No, this time he was truly alone in his room. He sunk his head deep into his pillow and brought his hand to his face upon seeing a golden glow shine into his eye. Louise's necklace was still in his hand. It was a beautiful piece of jewellery, a circular golden ring with a diamond heart inside. There were words etched onto the ring but seemed too small to read. He stuffed it underneath his pillow and forced himself to go sleep, rewinding the day from when he first woke up to when he slept. This was a day like no other. He was happy, almost jubilant that he had known what he was, completely unaware of how his story was a dark tale to which some would call, 'The Curse of the Father'. Theodore didn't know how much weight was held in his last name, that had been tainted, defiled and ruined by his own blood…

 **I've stepped into the sacred territory that is known as the Harry Potter Fanfiction. I actually found this years ago from when I was twelve and obsessed with Harry Potter. I think I need to read them all again to refresh my memory. It was much shorter but seemed good enough to develop into a story. This was all edited at like 4 in the morning so there could be a few mistakes here and there. Love it or hate it, this one is going full speed ahead, please leave a review or check my other story, thanks. Later**

 **P.S. Some of the events within the original story has been altered to that mine could fit in, so if anybody seems different then just know it was intended.**

 **(Updated 17/05/2018)**


	2. Chapter 2: An Outing to Diagon Alley

The next four days had been amazing, yet painful for Theodore. The revelation of his heritage had brought his inner ego to new heights as he practically strutted around the orphanage as if he owned it. The other children couldn't make of what caused him to act like this. The rumour of him being adopted soon flooded through everyone, but as usual, nobody would talk to him about it. They would see him eat with his only friend, acting smug and almost in their faces. For some, it wasn't anything special seeing Theodore act pretentious but for others, it infuriated them. To see the odd child in the orphanage capturing the chance of leaving before them had filled them with jealousy to the absolute brim. But they wouldn't show it. Not at all. It was better to be subtle about it, talk about him behind his back but never to him. They were petty in that way.

Theodore scanned the Hogwarts letter every single night, reciting those words which lodged themselves into his brain. _Dear Mr Riddle…_ His old habit of staring tediously outside the window had been replaced by one single piece of paper. It honestly looked ancient. He would analyse the elegant handwriting that flowed across the letter, the bizarre equipment list for his first year and the name that was written at the bottom on the back of the letter, Minerva McGonagall. All of it seemed wondrous to Theodore, even though it had only been a few words. Yet it killed him inside to not share it with anyone.

He sat alone in the playground corner while he observed the entirety of the orphanage to draw in every detail before he would leave. He would remember the wonky fence that slightly leaned towards the yard next door. He would remember the small hole beneath the defective grey shed that housed a family of rats which would occasionally peek out during the night. The swings, the sandpit, the corroded bell that hung above the backdoor. All these things that he had crossed within his time here would only be a frequent memory.

The stone in his hand was pressed against his skin and forced it to redden. Theodore had been trying, for the last five minutes, to make the stone disappear but it seemingly failed. Forcing magic was harder than he had expected. He could make other children feel intense pain, but couldn't make a simple rock vanish from his hand? Pathetic. He gritted his teeth and strained his eyes, trying to ooze any magic out. Nothing. He flung the stone away in frustration, and brought his knees to his chest. The Madam had let a delusional old man talk to him about nonsense for no apparent reason. This was by far the biggest disappointment that he had encountered in his life so far. And of course, trouble would always stick onto him in so many more ways than one. Just like now.

"Oi, pisshead! Look at me!" Theodore lifted his head in annoyance at the sight of the oldest kid in the orphanage, Simeon Ferning, a burly boy who looked too old for his age. Even though he was the ripe age of fifteen, his distinct moustache and sideburns would suggest differently. His muscles were swollen compared to Theodore's, and his legs pressed against his tight jeans. The beastly appearance intimidated every child in the building, except for Louise and Theodore. Simeon had targeted the two for years and years, grabbing any opportunity to taint their morale, but failed at every attempt. That didn't mean he'd stop trying.

"Hey, you twat! I'm talking to you!"

"What do you want?" Theodore replied irritably.

"You leaving this place? 'Cause that's what I heard. That some guy came for you. That true?"

"Maybe you should mind your own business, Simeon. I don't want your ugly face in my things." The older boy's face turned red instantly.

"Where are your fucking manners? Do you want me to break those twigs you call arms again? 'Cause you're going in the right direction!" Theodore stood up and proceeded to walk away and ignore Simeon's threats. The less he talked to other people, the quicker the time would pass until he'd be at Hogwarts. However, Theodore was sent crashing down onto the concrete, scraping his palms as he tried to break his fall. Several children peered at the commotion, but did not say a word out of the fear of provoking Simeon. The bully stood over the younger boy in glee. His simple mind was always amused by the actions of hurting the younger kids, especially Theodore.

"I don't know how many times I have to smash it into your tiny skull, freak. You're nothing special and I'm going to show you that." The surrounding children had made a circle around the other two, observing at every angle. Theodore rubbed his wounded palms on his shirt while holding the urge to cry inside himself.

"Leave me alone," he said quietly. Simeon arched over him to taunt the boy even further.

"What d'you say, freak? Leave you alone? Speak up."

"Leave me alone," Theodore repeated at the same volume. He couldn't see Simeon do anything as his face was towards the floor, and his hair flopped over his eyes.

"You little boys don't know when to shut up. You think just because your mum dropped you here like rubbish, that you're better than me?"

Theodore didn't respond. Simeon huffed.

"If you're not going to talk then I'll ask your stupid girlfriend. Maybe she won't act as much of a bitch as you are now."

The older boy turned around and stomped away with the intention of finding Louise. Theodore pressed his knuckles against the ground until they turned red. His hands were already sore, so why did it matter if the pain worsened? The anger was coming back to him. The complete loathe for Simeon and all the other children who were too cowardly to do anything, the hatred of Simeon disrespecting his mother and even worse, Louise. Yes, all of it seeped into his head as he pinned his eyes on Simeon's back, imagining blistering-hot knives driving across his body, sending him into a suffering frenzy. And just like always…

Simeon screamed when he felt it. What the hell was happening to him, why was his skin being seared by supposedly nothing? The other children scurried backwards at the sudden shrieking. He had dropped onto the ground and was twisting, convulsing in the most violent of ways. His body was repeatedly being stabbed by knives while waves of intense heat scorched his body. The boy's sanity was becoming depleted by large amounts every passing second.

Theodore heard Simeon's screams as they felt like daggers in his ears. But he loved it. The sounds of his suffering was intoxicating, it filled him up completely. This boy who had tormented him for so many years, this… Muggle. Theodore was taken aback by his previous thought. Why did that name suddenly pop up in his mind? The word 'Muggle' was always weird to him and he hadn't referred to anybody else as such, since the day he heard it. But in a fit of anger, he used the term as if it were a slur.

As he contemplated on the ground, Gretchen waddled onto the scene with her piglike skin glistening with a disgusting amount of sweat. She squealed at the barricade of children to move to the side as she tended to Simeon. Simeon had stopped screaming, but tears were welled up in his eyes as he only managed to whimper at Gretchen's questions.

"Oh you poor boy, what happened?! W-who did this to you?!" She immediately turned to the closest child to her, who decided that it was a good idea to lean into the two on the ground.

"You! You little brat! Who did this to him? Was it you? Because if it was, you'll go two weeks without any food!"

"I-It wasn't me, Sister Gretchen, I s-swear! I didn't do it, I-I p-promise!" Gretchen's devil eyes darted across the crowd as she looked for the next witness.

"Who did this… WHO DID THIS?! IF I FOUND OUT THAT ANY OF YOU ARE HIDING THIS PERSON, I'LL MAKE IT MY DUTY TO LOCK YOU INSIDE THE CELLAR, FOR THE NEXT MONTH!"

…

Nobody spoke up. They didn't know, of course. Simeon started to scream like a madman after bullying Theodore, there was no way that any of them could do this to him. Even Tristan Duckle, the other broad-shouldered bully in the orphanage, would not consider picking a fight with him. He was too much of an animal. Theodore had heard every word from Gretchen. She would never know that he was the cause for his pain, but she could definitely blame him if nobody confessed. He quickly got on his feet, wiping his hair with his bloodied hands as well as wiping them even more on his shirt. The filthy woman would take one look at him and suspect him of everything.

"Riddle! Come here, now!" His heart wrenched. There was no way.

"I didn't do that to him, he has to be lying," he called out from the other end of the scene.

"You wretched boy! You have the cheek to lie to me, when you're covered in blood!" He looked down and sure enough, his own blood had sullied his shirt. Gretchen left Simeon's side and paced over to Theodore, grabbing him by the wrist before dragging him into the building. Her grip was far too strong for the likes of a ten year old to escape from. He dug his heels into the floor, but his slim legs gave way every single time. She hauled him through the door leading to the back room while ignoring his attempts of clawing at her hand. Theodore kicked and punched but she only squeezed tighter. Gretchen trudged through the hallways and made her way to one of the rooms near the front of the building. She pushed through the door and released her painful ape hand on Theodore. He caressed his wrist while he still tried to firm the burns from his palms.

"Gretchen, what is it this time?" Madam asked, feeling quite bothered at Gretchen's intrusion. She glanced at Theodore's blood-ridden shirt and gasped.

"Gretchen, what have you done to this boy?!"

"I didn't do anything, Madam! This boy was singlehandedly attacking the other children in the playground, leaving them hurt on the ground!" she confessed proudly.

"Well I can't imagine how they look like, compared to this! His hands are bleeding for Pete's sake!"

"But Madam… Simeon was on the ground crying! He could barely speak!" Gretchen spoke. Theodore looked down to his feet as he had to endure the 'lies' that were being told. He didn't absolutely, wilfully intend to cause him pain. The idiot spoke ill of his mother and friend. He had gotten what was coming to him.

"Forgive me for intruding this conversation, but is it okay if I stay with Theodore alone?" Theodore's eyes led him to the familiar voice as Dumbledore sat comfortably on the chair opposite the Madam's. A significant part of him was joyful to see the old man here once again, but another was angry that he did not come sooner. This wouldn't have happened if he did.

"Professor, we can't ignore this! I'm sorry, but until this situation is solved, Theodore stays with me!"

"I'm only asking for the boy's company. After all, I was supposed to take him outside today. Remember?" Dumbledore responded with a lifted eyebrow.

 _'Outside? Outside where?'_

The Madam hesitated to make a decision. She looked at Dumbledore who looked unfazed as usual. She turned to Gretchen, her face still smothered with sweat. Her eyes lowered to Theodore's small face, whose eyes irked her to choose the situation that would save him from Gretchen's wrath. She sighed heavily and walked towards the door, motioning Gretchen to follow her. Her disappointment would not be seen by the young boy, but he knew it was all over her disgusting abomination of a face. The door was shut and the two wizards were alone again in the the larger office.

"Your hands, let me see them," ordered Dumbledore. Theodore stuck his palms out to the old man. He watched Dumbledore reaching into his coat and pulling out something that Theodore thought to be extraordinary. A wand, of around 15", twirled in Dumbledore's thin fingers as it pointed at Theodore's hands.

" _Vulnera Sanentur._ " The cuts on the boy's palms gradually began to disappear as new skin stretched across. The rich red tone on his hands faded back into his usual pale. A few seconds passed and all the wounds vanished, not leaving a single trace of any injury, not even a little scar. Theodore was truly enthralled. He squeezed his hands to make sure that it wasn't an illusion. No pain was present. Any doubts Theodore had about magic was expelled from his being. He believed one hundred percent.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you today. You endure that quite often, don't you?"

"You don't have to be sorry. It's them. They always hurt me… push me to my limit."

"So you retaliate by hurting them back?"

"They deserve it!" Theodore snapped. He realised his rudeness and look down to his feet again.

"Theodore, there is one thing that we wizards and witches do not condone in our world. We don't EVER use our magic to hurt others. Not our own kind, not Muggles, nobody. No matter how much they hurt you." Theodore scoffed gently.

"And I suppose that there is a wizard-jail as well, huh?"

"Actually, there is. Azkaban. A place for those who abuse their power and face the consequences of their actions."

"Oh…" He felt a bit foolish into trying to mock the professor.

"I've met people like you, Theodore. Lost and angry at the world, knowing that they grew with nothing. I've seen what that anger did to those people. It ruins the soul." Dumbledore had turned very serious in his words. The jubilant man had been buried down.

"Trust me when I say this. Let. That. Go. For your own sake. Promise me, Theodore. Promise me." Theodore nodded his head slightly. He didn't think that he could fear a strange old man. Dumbledore's usual demeanour returned as he sat up from his chair and placed his wand back into his coat pocket.

"Now, we are awfully late for what I've planned for today! We must hurry at once!" Theodore glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner.

"But it's only twenty past eleven, Professor. What could we be possibly late for at this time?"

"You'll see. But I should recommend a change of clothes. A different shirt would be nice."

"Couldn't you just make the blood disappear?"

"I could…"

…

"I'll be back then," the boy said as he walked out of the room. Dumbledore was a very odd man. Brilliant yes, but very odd. He dashed through the corridors carefully to avoid crashing into Gretchen again. She'd probably kill him on the spot if she could. He eventually found his bedroom door and shut it tightly behind him. He was glad that he didn't see anybody else as well. The possibility of him inflicting pain on another child was quite high. Theodore turned around to face his cupboard, but was caught in the embrace of somebody else.

"Theo, you're okay! You are okay, right? I swear, I'm gonna pour toilet water on Simeon's face when he sleeps-"

"Calm down Louise, I'm fine. Why are you in my room anyways? In fact, where were you today, you left me all alone!" Louise frowned at Theodore's apparent accusations.

"I was in the discussion room with Mr and Mrs Reagul! They were considering taking me in, remember? Sometimes, I think the only person you think about is yourself."

"That's not true."

"Whatever." Louise lifted her chin and sat at the desk chair, facing away from Theodore. His selfish behaviour did always get on her nerves. She flicked her hair around her eyes and spun the chair around to see what Theodore was doing. Louise noticed that his shirt was now a deep green colour with black trailings across it. She had to admit, green was a good colour on Theodore. The boy fumbled in his cupboard some more and pulled out his brown jacket from the hangers.

"Where are you going?" Louise asked.

"I don't know."

"It's the old guy, isn't it?"

"Well done."

"Are you going to be gone for long?"

"Louise, I don't know where I'm going."

"Just asking." Theodore zipped up his jacket and walked over to the door.

"Hey Theo, you think you could get something for me? Like sweets or something?"

"Uh… I'll see." Louise fiddled with her fingers as she smiled.

"Thanks, Theo."

"Don't mention it. And Louise?"

"Yeah?"

"Please leave my room." Theodore shut the door behind him as the sounds of Louise blowing a raspberry were silenced.

Theodore had spent the last three minutes relaxing his stomach to ease the growing queasiness. He was just subjected to the worst possible mode of transportation, without any type of warning from Dumbledore. The professor didn't seem that worried for the boy as he was glad that he hadn't _splinched_ in half, a term that Theodore wasn't familiar with. Theodore's stomach rested as the boy took a chance to see his surroundings. He was in a secluded area which seemed to be the back of a building. A worn out wooden sign that was laid onto the bricked floor on the side read _Leaky Cauldron_.

"Professor, are you sure we're in the right place? Because I can smell- _*sniffs*_ \- beer?"

"We are in the correct place, just give me a quick moment, please." Dumbledore reached for his wand once more and tapped the stone wall in a rhythmic pattern. Theodore noticed that a single brick was missing from the wall. Then two. Then four. Then eight. Then so on and so forth. The bricks shifted and moved by themselves to open up a passage for the two to walk through. Theodore was struck with awe, but hopped quickly to Dumbledore's side as he strode onwards.

The sight was just astonishing. Streams and crowds of people, all garbed in strange clothes, moved in and out of the various shops that were on the side of the wide road in the middle. He saw owls soaring above their heads, hooting and communicating with each other. He could see a shop displaying the most bizarre sweets that he had ever seen in his life. On his left, a shop specialising in robes and on his right, a shop that had a multitude of books. All of this was simply wonderful. He could also see that some people gave them, or rather Dumbledore, random stares and smiles. It wasn't until a man had rushed to the pair that Theodore realised what position Dumbledore was in around here.

"Hello there, Albus! Good to see you again! How have you been, dear friend?" The man was lanky, but had a round belly which stuck out through his orange robes. His blonde hair was balding on the top, but stuck out wildly from the sides. He honestly looked as if he escaped a mental institution five minutes ago.

"Good to see you too, Torgan! I'm just here to help one of my newest students pick out his school equipment for him. Smart boy, I'll say."

"Well, if Dumbledore himself has taken him under his wing, then I should believe so! What is your name, dear boy?" Theodore swallowed painfully and spoke.

"Theodore. Theodore Riddle."

"Riddle, ey? Not a usual name, is it? Half-blood, perhaps?" Dumbledore nodded his head.

"You know, I think I knew a person called Riddle. It was awfully a long time ago…" Both Dumbledore and Theodore listened to the wizard's rambling as he droned on about his time in Bermuda. Theodore's eyes wondered across the large alleyway and into the shop with the robes inside. _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_. The shop seemed interesting enough, but not as interesting as the wand shop that he had passed a few moments ago. That would definitely be the highlight of the day. Theodore was lost in his own thoughts for so long that he did not realise a girl was staring at him through the window. Her bushy, wild hair was difficult to miss. Her brown eyes were wide open as she refused to look anywhere else. Theodore was not sure as to why she was gawping at him like a lion hunting for meat, but he could see that her cheeks were considerably red. Surely she couldn't be looking at him.

"Let's get a move on, Theodore!" He turned back to Dumbledore and came to his side again. He saw that Torgan had disappeared into one of the other shops with another wizard. He probably went to go bore him to death as well.

"Your friend speaks too much."

"That is not untrue." The duo walked through the crowds of people, stopping for conversation every now and then before returning to their usual pacing. Theodore had wondered why they hadn't walked into a single shop so far. Dumbledore didn't bring him here for sightseeing.

"Aren't we going to buy some school stuff?"

"In time, yes. But first we need some money." At the end of the High Street, a larger marble-looking building shone brightly as the golden words, _Gringotts Bank_ , was there for all to see. People with their children rushed in and out of the main doors, carrying large and small packages, presumably for school. They stepped onto the polished front of the building and made their way inside. The interior was grand and even more pristine than the outside had made it out to be. The gigantic chandeliers hung high and all the golden statues on the walls had faces which grimaced, almost like a…

"Are those goblins," he whispered to Dumbledore.

"Right you are. They own and operate the bank due to their expertise in metalwork. It's a known fact that if you want any of your prized possessions to be safe, you store it at Gringotts." Dumbledore had stopped at the nearest goblin on his right, who was elevated by a large desk. Dumbledore whipped out a key from his pockets and passed it on to the goblin.

"The key to Hogwarts financial savings… This way, Headmaster," the goblin spoke in a gravelly tone. His scrunched expression made it seem as if he held a lot of internal anger that was ready to explode at a moment's notice. The goblin disappeared behind the desk and hobbled around to the wizards, revealing his stature. He was barely able to reach up to Theodore's waist, let alone his chest. He scurried across the clean floors to the end of the large room and pushed through an arched doorway. Theodore passed through it just fine, but Dumbledore lowered his head to avoid being smacked straight in the face. Behind the door laid a cave-like setting full of hollowed out tunnels which led to many different ones, all of which had a set of rails entering within each tunnel. The goblin clambered into an average-sized carriage that had just appeared from nowhere instantly. Theodore climbed inside as did Dumbledore and a split second later, the carriage shot forward like a bullet. The feeling of moving at breakneck speed did not sit well with Theodore as he was prone to having a 'sissy stomach', according to Gretchen. It was just better to hold onto the rails and hope for the best that the ride wouldn't last that long. Exactly one minute later, the carriage halted to one of the rocky platforms below. Dumbledore sprung out of his seat like a child who had finished a fairground ride. Theodore could not match that energy. The goblin did not care for the boy's dizziness and hopped out of the carriage.

"Must we always take this way down here?" Theodore slurred.

"The only way in. Stops nosy wizards from stealing their stuff," the goblin replied nastily. The trio walked along the platform and encountered a large vault door. The goblin used the key that was given to him by Dumbledore and twisted it inside the keyhole. Clicks and clanks were heard until the vault door swung open. Dumbledore stepped inside which opted Theodore to do the same. The vault's contents was littered with towers of golden coins, all nearly piled up and arranged in an orderly pattern. Some were silver and some were bronze but the sheer amount of gold snatched Theodore's attention. Dumbledore scooped up a few golden coins in his brown satchel until he was satisfied.

"I think that should be enough for today. Come along!" Theodore was left without words, but followed the elderly man outside the vault and back into the carriage, ever so curious as to what he could possibly buy with all the money that was there.

 _In Madam Malkin's…_

The clothes shop was full of adults and children who excitedly ran around, ignoring their parents' direct orders to stop where they were. Some kids stood on stools while they were being measured and sized for their school robes. Theodore wondered why they couldn't just pick a size and move on like in the Muggle world. It seemed like a waste of time to tailor each child that came through. Dumbledore had stepped out to someplace else, leaving Theodore alone in the corner of the store holding the large sack of 'Galleons' as told by Dumbledore. Stares had been earned by him as many people looked perplexed about his clothing which stood out from the majority of the occupants in the shop. He didn't give them any attention and reviewed his list again. He'd already gotten the cauldron, the telescope, scales and all the books that he needed. The pointed hat was the only part of the uniform that he had possessed and the wand was the only equipment that he was missing. He tucked the piece of paper into his trouser pocket and decided to open up one of the books to treat his boredom.

" _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them._ By 'Newt Scamander'. Who the hell would call their own child 'Newt'?"

"It really is odd, isn't it?" Theodore turned his head to his left. The same girl with the bushy hair sat next to him on the waiting bench, with a black robe draped over her. An emblem that was divided into four different coloured sections was stuck on the higher parts of the robe. It was most likely the Hogwarts crest. She stuck out a hand with a smile on her face. Theodore noticed that her front two teeth was larger than the rest.

"My name is Hermione Granger. I'm going to Hogwarts as well." Theodore shook her hand and replied calmly.

"Theodore Riddle."

"Riddle? That sounds like a Muggle name. Are you a Muggle-born, like me?"

"What's a Muggle-born? Besides, I'm a half-blood."

"You don't know what that means? I thought that you would've know that." Theodore could detect a hint of snoot in her sentence. This girl could potentially be an annoyance to him.

"It means a wizard or witch born from two Muggle parents."

"How does that work?"

"I'm not sure really, but I'm sure it's in a book somewhere."

"Huh." Theodore tried to focus back onto the book, but Hermione insisted on speaking with him.

"Have you done any magic so far? I have. I once made my mother's hair grow flowers. It was a bit terrifying for her, but it all calmed down when they found out that I was a witch."

"Erm, yeah, I've done some magic."

"Like what?" Theodore flashed back to earlier in the day, him forcing Simeon to scream in anguish. Hermione would probably be disgusted if she heard what he had done.

"I turned my classroom's fish into a frog with wings when I was five." He wasn't telling an exact lie. The goldfish had sprouted green legs and bulbous eyes, that it might as well been called a frog.

"You did magic at five years old? Most people don't show any signs until they're seven. I read that in a book." Theodore attempted to kill the conversation by not saying anything, but it only led to more questions.

"Did you come with anybody today?"

"Yes."

…

"Well, who?"

"Dumbledore."

"You're lying."

"I'm really not."

"You know the famous Albus Dumbledore? That's amazing! You have to be really special if he came with you. Normally, I'd expect Harry Potter to be with him, of course-"

"Look. Hermione. I know that you're happy about all this magic stuff and everything. I am too. But don't you think that you can talk about this with your other friends?" Hermione's face dropped.

"But I don't have any other friends…"

 _'Gee, I wonder why.'_

Theodore finally got back to his book and opened the first page. He didn't glance over to Hermione who was clearly hurt by his comment. She twiddled her fingers together and hung her head low in silence. After half a minute, Theodore slightly turned his head to see if the girl had left. All he saw was Hermione red-faced with misty eyes. She tried to hide them underneath her mane, but it was obvious that she was about to cry. She was acting just like Louise when he'd rub her the wrong way. Hermione wiped her tears with her sleeve before she felt a nudge on her arm.

"Well, you might as well be my friend, seeing as you have no others." She immediately took that as a compliment and gave a little smile towards him. If that was his way of apologising to her, then it was good enough.

"Hermione, let's go. Are you crying?" A woman in casual Muggle clothing, followed by a man, called out to Hermione. She quickly rubbed her eyes and stood up from the bench.

"No, no! I'm fine, Mum. Just all this dust that's all over the place."

"Looks pretty clean to me," said Hermione's father. "Anyways, that's the last of it. We've got everything so now we can go home." Hermione stood between her parents and made their way outside the doorway. She turned around and gave a large wave to Theodore and left Madam Malkin's. A second later, Dumbledore had walked through the door, enjoying himself to the sweets that were seen in the sweet shop down the road. Theodore looked at him wondering if this man was really the great famous wizard that everyone made him out to be, or if he was a child stuck in an old man's body. The latter seemed the most plausible at the given situation.

 _After an hour in Madam Malkin's…_

The hunt for finding the perfect robe, jumper and tie came to a finish as Theodore finally stepped out into the High Street again. The number of people had reduced slightly, but was still a large amount. The flying broomstick that was on display in the store near the Leaky Cauldron, was surrounded by boys who pressed their faces against the glass. If it could fly higher than the kites in the sky, then Theodore didn't want it. The two weaved through everyone until they reached the wand shop. _Ollivander's_. This was going to be interesting.

They walked into the empty shop and looked around to see if anyone was there. The vacant store look terribly old-fashioned, with antique objects hung and lain above the furniture. Theodore dare say that he even saw a large spider scale along the ceiling and into one of the cracks. Dumbledore was observing the precious objects with curiosity. Theodore, however, just wanted his wand. He slowly walked to the counter and called out for anybody.

"Hello? Is anybody here…? Hello?" No answer. "Professor there's nobody here-" An old man had popped up right in the boy's face, causing him to jump backwards.

 _'What is with these old men acting like children?!'_

The man had snow-white hair and thick eyebrows. His eyes were almost silvery with small dots inside them. His suit was similar to Dumbledore's with a little less frill. His appearance made him seem like quite the gentleman, if he had not scared Theodore.

"Good afternoon! Terribly sorry if I had startled you, I was just arranging some things. Hello there, Albus!"

"Hello to you, Garrick! How have you been?"

"I feel fantastic, old friend. I just came back from a bit of wand wood searching. The number of children coming in here is growing ever so quickly! But I know that must mean more students for you, no?"

"Absolutely. Here's another one for you. A strong boy, no doubt." Ollivander brought his circular-rimmed glasses to his face and observed Theodore thoroughly.

"Ah, yes. Handpicked from the man himself? You must be talented. May I ask you of your name?"

"Theodore Riddle." Ollivander struggled to swallow as his eyes flashed with fear for a quick second. Theodore remembered that a similar thing happened when he told Dumbledore that he could speak to snakes. He couldn't see what caused them to act so.

"Riddle, Riddle, Riddle… A very peculiar name. Very peculiar!" It seemed that being cryptic was a trait in all old wizards.

"Why is my name peculiar to you?" Ollivander leaned inwards, closing the space between him and Theodore.

"I remembered such a name, which walked into my shop many years ago. Yes, Riddle. That was his name."

"My… father?" Ollivander nodded his head. His eyes were wide open, creeping Theodore out by just a bit.

"Yes, I remember. Yew, 13½" with a phoenix feather core. I remember it all too well… Your father had accomplished great things with his wand. Great, great things! I can only hope that you follow in his footsteps in more ways than one, but not too many." Theodore was silently locked in between eye contact with Mr Ollivander. The way he had described his father made it seem as if he was a profound wizard. But why did he say 'but not too many'? Was he evil? Was his prowess in magic too much to handle that he killed himself doing so? Whatever it was, Theodore would dig up later. For now, his wand was his top priority.

"So, do I pick out any wand I like?" Ollivander guffawed as loudly as a man who downed a good three pints of beer. Dumbledore placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Theodore, the wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around," Dumbledore explained.

"But that makes no sense! Wands aren't supposed to think for themselves, are they?" Ollivander walked over to the various small boxes in the shelves behind him and traced along them all until he slid one out. He opened it up to reveal a brown wand inside a purple cushion.

"Here. Alder, 12" with dragon heartstring as a core. Smooth and springy." He handed it over to Theodore who held it in his fingers loosely. The wand was inert and did not do anything. He gave it a wave and tried to make something happen, but nothing. He handed it back to Ollivander.

"Can I try another one?"

"Of course, my boy! You shall not leave until you have one!" He reached in the back and brought another box. He took the wand out and twirled it like an expert.

"This one here is from an oak tree. 14", unicorn hair core, good for charms and simple magic." He handed it to Theodore. The second his fingertips touched the wand, it shook violently and blasted its way across the room before snapping in half. Theodore was embarrassed that a wand had rejected him by breaking itself into smaller pieces. Ollivander was not angry, but frustrated that none of these wands seemed compatible to Theodore. He tried the next one, and the next one, and the next. Most of them did nothing, some of them blew up the furniture in the shop and others proceeded to snap themselves in half. Theodore was very disheartened that this was happening to him. Even Dumbledore was surprised that none of these wands fitted the young boy.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I've never seen anything like this happen before, in my days of working here. I'm not too sure as to what I must do. Maybe if you come back another time…"

"But I have to get my wand now! What's the entire point of learning magic if I can't have a wand?" Theodore complained. His doubts were getting the better of him.

"Theodore, have some patience. School is not tomorrow, you'll have your wand," said Dumbledore. He saw the boy's face grow dark as his hazel eyes narrowed. They almost looked snakelike. Ollivander saw this as well and improvised on the spot to try and ease the tension. He brought out a large box from underneath the counter and slammed it down.

"You know, when I was a young lad and I began my career in wandlore, I created many combinations of different wand woods and cores inside. Of course, now I use only three types of cores, but maybe there is something for you inside here. Let's see, dogwood, vine, no… yes! Here it is." He brought out a sleek black wand with an odd design. From the tip to the middle, the wand's girth expanded, only to become thinner at the grip of the wand. At the bottom, a small swirl of intricate designs were too small to observe properly. It looked very dissimilar from the other wands.

"Acacia, 12¾", Thestral tail hair as a core. Very tricky wand to make. It had taken me many months to even find the Thestral for it."

"Why did you store it away?"

"The nature of the wood and core was too… opposite. The wood was unyielding to anyone but its master; the core would share its power with anyone regardless of its original owner. The combination seemed intriguing at the time, but proved to be ineffective. Perhaps you have something that no other has had before to master it." He handed the wand to Theodore. He slowly held it with his fingers in case it decided to fly off on its own. The wand did nothing for the first four seconds. Theodore was about to hand it back when he felt a surge of power propagate from his fingertips to his entire body. The wand released white sparks which whizzed around the boy's arm before fizzing away. He found it. He had found the wand. His wand. He could feel himself being able to conjure a storm, a tornado of fire from just a flick of his wand. Maybe he could. Dumbledore clapped as if he witnessed a wonder in wizarding history.

"Splendid, dear boy! Congratulations! I'm so proud!"

"I am too. I've only sold one wand in that box to somebody else and that one didn't seem, in the slightest, worthy of the poor witch. I wish of you the best with it," said Ollivander as he bowed in respect. Theodore wanted to sneer, but felt that it was unnecessary to do so. He had gotten what he wanted. He placed the wand in his pocket before remembering one thing.

"Oh, yes. Is there a price for the wand?" Theodore asked.

"Seven Galleons." The boy turned to Dumbledore who handed him seven coins to which he handed to Ollivander. The man dropped them in his little bag. Theodore could not hear any sounds of coins crashing into each other, but he ignored it. The two waved goodbye to the old man and made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. There was a lot of equipment that he needed to bring back to the orphanage, so he had hoped that Dumbledore would be merciful as to teleport him back, no matter how much he hated it. Theodore decided to not get a pet as he realised that snakes were not allowed. A frog and a cat seemed useless and the owl was alright. But what would he need it for, anyways?

Theodore and Dumbledore reached the courtyard for the Leaky Cauldron and entered through the back to fill their stomachs before departing. The air was full of alcoholic fumes, mixed with the smell of food that was ravishing to Theodore. He pulled his bags and equipment to the nearest table and plopped himself on the chair to rub his sore palms. Dumbledore had gone off to the front of the building and spoke among the other wizards who were ecstatic to speak with the older man. This had given Theodore a chance to look at his wand and books further, without interruptions.

"As I live and breathe! It's Albus Dumbledore! What could I do for you, sir?" The barkeeper asked cheerfully.

"Could you make one of your afternoon plates with an apple pie on the side and a butter beer, please?"

"It'd be my pleasure!"

"Thank you, Tom." Tom waved his wand in his fingers and just like that, the cupboards opened by themselves. Ingredients floated out above the oven and a pan, spatula and knife followed suit.

"I never known you for being such a heavy eater, sir. What's the occasion?" Dumbledore pointed at Theodore whose nose was stuck in a book, quite literally.

"Lucky boy. Relative?"

"No. But I did know his parents very well before they left him."

"The boy has no parents," asked Tom in a whisper. Dumbledore nodded. "Such a shame. It's bad enough that countless of people had lost their lives more than twelve years ago, and now these children are going around without a mother and father! Makes me wonder sometimes… Do you think You Know Who had anything to do with him?"

"Young Theodore's abandonment was the cause of You Know Who's actions. Just not in the way that you think." Dumbledore paid for the freshly prepared meal and brought the tray over to Theodore who was fiddling with his telescope.

"Careful now. You don't want to break it before the first term starts."

"I was careful." The sight and smell smacked Theodore in the face as his mouth leaked with saliva. He had never seen food this good before in his life. He didn't want to ask for any, just in case it wasn't for him, but god did he want all of it.

"This is for you, you know," Dumbledore stated as he smiled at the boy.

"R-really? For me?"

"Dig in." The boy grabbed the fork and scoffed the food straight into his mouth. The meat was so much more tastier than the fish he had at the orphanage. The roasted potatoes were scrumptious with the perfect amount of salty gravy poured over it. He smacked his teeth a few times to suck out every single taste that was left undigested. Before he knew it, the plate only held a pool of gravy and some potato skin. Luckily for him, it was only the beginning as he started on the warm apple pie that had a small cube of sweet butter on top. Each slice was better than the last. Each apple piece was sweeter. Everything about it was perfect. When that was finished, he took the strange-looking drink and sipped it first as he never tasted it before. He smacked his lips for three seconds and then took larger gulps. It was much more filling than hot chocolate. He drank and drank until there was nothing left for him to down, only the froth that laid on top of the drink before. He wiped underneath his nose and sucked his fingers. That was the greatest meal that he ever had. The food at home paled in comparison to what was served here. Louise would have loved it. She'd devour it like a food-deprived dinosaur.

"My, my! You're a hungry child, aren't you?" Dumbledore chuckled. Theodore had pigged himself out in front of Dumbledore and acted like the other barbarians in the orphanage. He felt ashamed.

"Sorry. I've never eaten anything like that before." Theodore replied in a quiet voice. Dumbledore held out his palm to show that it was alright.

"Professor, if you don't mind me asking, who was my father? Mr Ollivander said that he did great things. What things did he actually do?" Dumbledore didn't say anything for a moment, then spoke out his response.

"Your father was a man called Tom Riddle. He was a student at Hogwarts, just like you'll be in a few months. He was a brilliant student. Absolutely top class. Possibly the greatest student to ever walk the hallways of Hogwarts itself. Yes. Tom was magnificent."

"So how did he die?"

…

"Your father was… destroyed by dark magic. There was nothing that anyone could do. Nobody could save him."

"I think I understand… And my mother? What was her name?"

"Valerie. Valerie Potter."

"Did they not marry or…"

"I think marriage was the very least of their 'problems', when they had you." Theodore could see in the older man's eyes that he didn't want to speak any further. Theodore didn't care. He was going to find out either way.

"So how did my mother die?"

"Theodore, sometimes things can't be told to you when you want them to. Sometimes, they reveal themselves at their own accord. I know you want everything about your parents to come from me, but I won't tell them to you. Not now." Serious Dumbledore was back. Theodore turned his head to the equipment on his left. He was angry that Dumbledore was avoiding his direct questions, but chose to leave it. It wouldn't do him any good if he persisted even further. The two sat in silence until the clock struck at half past five, signalling them to leave for Theodore's orphanage.

 _At eight o'clock…_

The orphanage was dead silent. The Madam had finished her paperwork in her office and trudged into her room, shutting the door behind her. The chirps of birds and grasshoppers alike seeped into the windows of the young wizard's room as he laid in his bed restlessly. The day had started off so badly, then it changed to the greatest day ever, only for it to end on a low note. The Madam had helped him bring his stuff to his room and ever since then, he didn't come out. The other children were curious as to where he went, but didn't ask him. Typical.

The late afternoon turned into the early night as Gretchen shouted through the hallways to tell everyone that it was bedtime. The door swung open and slammed shut as usual. The only thing that was out of place was that he didn't see Louise anywhere. She was always the first one to speak to him if he ever left the orphanage, which was rare. He didn't see a mop of unkept hair bouncing its way to him. Just a bunch of stares from a bunch of soulless children.

Theodore twisted in his bed to try and think of something else. Like Hogwarts. Or his new friend Hermione. Or maybe the delicious meal that he had at the Leaky Cauldron. He could feel himself slipping away into slumber when something warm grabbed his feet under his sheets. He pulled his feet away and sat up immediately. Louise was staring back at him, hand over her mouth to avoid her laughter from spilling out.

"Why the hell are you not in your bed?! You're going to get us both into trouble!" Theodore hissed.

"Well, I didn't see you earlier on, so why not now? Move over, will you?" She climbed onto the bed and sat next to Theodore. Louise was wearing a light grey, long sleeved pyjama shirt with pink pyjama bottoms and white socks with a small bow attached to each one.

"Louise, you really can't be here."

"I'm only here for my sweets. You didn't forget, did you?" Before Theodore had gotten his wand, he stopped at the sweet shop to buy most of the _normal-looking_ sweets that he could find. Liquorice Wands and Apple Rings. Everything else was too strange to show to Louise. He opened up the draw in his desk and took the packets and sweet wands out. Louise looked amazed by the Apple Rings, but was confused by the other.

"Liquorice Wands? What the hell is that?"

"It's one of those new sweets. Exclusive. First come, first serve." Louise bit inside the opened Liquorice Wand and chewed until delight had spread across her face.

"I love it! It's so good! It tastes even better than the soggy liquorice in Gretchen's cabinet."

"Now that you have your sweets, go back to bed." Louise pouted.

"Two more minutes. Please!" Theodore reluctantly nodded as Louise squeezed him in a tight hug. Theodore lightly tapped her back before she released. The pair talked about Simeon crying in the first aid room, Gretchen being told off by the Madam and what happened in the room with the Reaguls. Two minutes turned into five, and five into fifteen, and fifteen into two hours. They babbled on and on regardless of the time. Just a young wizard and his Muggle best friend, without a care in the world.


	3. Chapter 3: The Sorting Hat's Mistake

It had finally come for the first day at Hogwarts to arrive. Theodore had never felt any happier. The passing months dragged on for so long that he didn't even acknowledge his own birthday. The 6th of April was quicker than the blink of an eye to Theodore, although Louise had made it quite memorable as to baking a small cake for him with Madam Geoffrey.

During this long period, Theodore had extensively gone over the majority of his books reading the various spells that he would learn at Hogwarts, and learning the significant events that shaped the wizarding world today. He had come across many names that were familiar to him; such as the legendary duel between Dumbledore and the dark wizard Grindelwald which happened around Dumbledore's prime. From eye witnesses alone, it was said that no duel, before or after, could even come close. Theodore had to admit that he was slightly impressed by this, only because he hadn't seen Dumbledore since their trip to Diagon Alley.

Another name that was familiar to him was Harry Potter. Hermione had mentioned him when she was going on about herself. According to the books, a powerful evil wizard who had terrorised the wizarding world was vanquished by this 'Harry Potter' when he was only just a baby.

 _'What self-proclaimed Dark Lord allows himself to be defeated by a mere baby? How pathetic.'_

Harry was dubbed 'The Boy Who Lived' by everyone else, but was removed from the public to live with his Muggle relatives somewhere, as he was orphaned on that very night. Seemed sad enough, but he heard that all before.

Gretchen's oddly nice-looking car was parked in front of the orphanage with the boot wide open. All of Theodore's new school supplies were stuffed in the back as Gretchen struggled to keep it closed. Theodore was in his bedroom making sure that he had collected every single important item that he would take with him. It would infuriate him if he had forgotten just one thing. He opened his draw and picked up Louise's necklace and pocketed it carefully. Maybe she was right about it helping him remember her. He closed it shut and walked over to the door to leave. As he swung it open, Louise was standing behind the doorway with her hands behind her back, and a face full of sadness. Her green eyes stood out from her red face, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. Theodore had almost thought that she looked… pretty. Theodore was about to ask her something when she cut him off.

"You don't forget me, okay!? Because if you will, I'll… come to your stupid school and… and…"

"Louise…"

She tiptoed as she threw her arms around Theodore's neck. He could hear her sob a little bit and held her closer as well. Even though he wasn't going to cry, his heart felt like it was ready to ache the second he would step outside the orphanage. Louise was the only person he would consider family in his life over there, and he was leaving her. This was truly a day of joy and dread. She cried some more on his chest until he 'pushed' her off in the most gentle way possible. She wiped her tears while she maintained a smile for self-reassurance.

"I'll come back on Christmas, I promise."

"It's okay, you don't have to."

"Oh please, I know you'll want me back by then," he sarcastically remarked.

Louise gave an adorable snicker to which even Theodore could not resist. "You better get down there. Gretchen looked pretty angry when she was putting your stuff in her boot."

"And what's even worse is that I have to go to King's Cross with her."

"You'll manage. It's only like, what, forty minutes away?" she retorted as she pretended to look at a watch on her wrist. They both laughed as they walked out of the room and to the front of the building.

As Theodore carried on through the door, Louise stopped at the doorway to watch her best friend leave. Gretchen had managed to close the boot and was seated on the driver's side with a look of hatred in her eyes. She really didn't want to be the person to do this. Theodore opened the backseat door on the left and sat down on the soft leather seat which was surprisingly springy. The scent of the car was the exact opposite of Gretchen's; Theodore was reminded of apples and a strong scent of pine cones. He strapped the seatbelt on and turned to Louise who looked like she was about to cry again. Theodore stuck his finger in his mouth and pretended to poke it inside Gretchen's ear who took no notice. Louise held her stomach in laughter while she waved goodbye. The car pulled away from the orphanage and soon enough, it disappeared from his sight. Suddenly, an attachment that was strong inside his heart loosened. How odd.

The journey to King's Cross Station was awkward and disgusting to Theodore. He knew that Gretchen deliberately sped up at every speed bump to try and damage any of his things. He swore that when he came back, he'd curse her for all the grief that she had caused him. The traffic was minimal, which allowed the quickest route possible to escape the uncomfortable setting.

Around fifteen minutes later, the car pulled over to King's Cross Station where it was even more crowded than Diagon Alley. They both opened their respective car doors and walked around to the back of the car. As the boot door was lifted, Theodore checked thoroughly to see if any type of damage was inflicted onto his belongings. Luckily for Gretchen, there wasn't a single one in sight.

The woman had went off to get a luggage trolley while Theodore stood silently. He tapped his thigh in boredom as he counted the passing cars that were painted red. A grunt from Gretchen caught his attention as she transferred his things to the trolley. Obviously, he would have to push it himself. They walked themselves into the building and up to the platforms. Theodore had never seen a train before in his life; the feeling of the locomotives' weight rumbling throughout the ground gave him a slight tingle in his spine. He had never been so far out from the orphanage in his life. It was all so surreal for him.

"So, I suppose you know where to go," Gretchen spoke.

"Yeah, Platform 9¾."

"Are you trying to get smart with me after I drove you over here? There's no such thing as Platform 9¾!"

"But that's what it said on my acceptance letter…" Theodore muttered despairingly as he gripped the handlebar tightly.

Gretchen squealed as she laughed. Theodore cringed.

"Then perhaps that old man was pulling your leg after all! That is hilarious!"

"You can leave now."

Gretchen sneered and mumbled underneath her breath as she turned to leave the boy alone. Theodore was now alone in King's Cross Station with no idea as to how to get to Platform 9¾. It seemed like a stupid idea, but checking out Platforms 9 and 10 could be a start.

He wheeled his trolley over to the platforms and halted. Nothing odd happened. No magic train had burst from the ground; no sudden change of his surroundings. He was beginning to wonder if he was really in the right place. _'Maybe it's downstairs… No, that's stupid.'_

He looked around for anyone else who was seemingly looking for the same platform, but nobody batted an eye. He looked up at the two signs with '9' and '10', and looked down on the pillar between the two. The platform was apparently between them, so it had to be around this area. A guard discreetly glanced at the boy's clueless nature. He stood right next to the pillar that Theodore was looking at and turned his head slowly to face the boy. Theodore caught him staring and narrowed his eyes. There was something off about this man. The guard then tilted his head at the pillar as if he wanted Theodore to go… through it? The idea was absurd! Just as absurd as the idea of magic… which was real.

He was going to do it. He was going to ram straight through that wall, and there could only be two certain outcomes. He gripped the handlebar of the trolley tight and readied his legs to gain a good running start. He slowly counted down from three, two, one, and he was off! He charged towards the wall with all the strength that his legs could muster. The wall was getting closer and closer. He wanted to stop out of fear of crashing and embarrassing himself, but his legs wouldn't allow it. Theodore approached the wall quicker and quicker until there was but an inch between the pillar and the front of his trolley.

What he expected to be slamming his face straight into the wall was replaced by total blackness, followed by a completely different area. It was a train platform sure enough, but it wasn't any train platform that he'd seen before. The platform was full of children and parents shouting amongst each other as the magnificent red train that was present shook and whistled loudly.

Theodore slowly moved his trolley to the further end parts of the platform where most of the other people were. From the looks of it, it seemed as if he was the only parentless child there. One of the train guards saw him alone and rushed to his side to help him. The man was kind enough as to load his luggage into the train and to take his trolley away. Theodore was glad that he wasn't going to push around his stuff for the whole journey. He looked up at the sign above his head to verify his location and sure enough, _9¾_ was hung high up.

He sighed in relief that he was not lost and had finally made it. He scoured around the platform to see if Hermione had made it here before him. Theodore couldn't see her, but many other people stood out from the crowds. A boy, probably his age, with neat blonde hair was speaking with his father who had the same coloured hair, and his mother, also blonde. They were all dressed in expensive black clothes which could only mean that they were from a high class family. Probably pure-bloods. Another set of a larger family caught his attention too. They all had fiery-red hair and rough clothes compared to the blonde family. They all looked the same except for one boy. His hair was messy and jet-black. He had circular-rimmed glasses and wore a shirt and trousers that looked too baggy on him.

Theodore turned away and found an opening for students to enter the train. A large queue formed around it and Theodore was, unfortunately, at the very back. Surprisingly, it was not long until he made it on the train and into the compacted hallways. Many children of different ages ran into different compartments and slammed the doors shut. The lonely boy passed each door that was closed with nobody willing to invite him in; although a compartment full of girls almost closed the door as Theodore passed them, but kept it open for just a bit to gawk at him. The passing boy was very handsome indeed. The girls all gave him flirtatious waves as he hurried off, flustered. He heard them giggle behind him before they shut their compartment door. He slipped into an open compartment and sat down quickly. Open attention from girls was very new to him.

A pudgy blonde boy sat opposite from him as he watched Theodore with an awkward smile. He was round-faced and buck toothed, and Theodore could easily tell that this boy did not posses any self-esteem, through mere eye contact.

"Hi! My name is Neville Longbottom! Pleased to meet you!" At least he was polite.

"Theodore Riddle."

"Cool. Are you a first year?"

Theodore nodded his head.

"Me too. I can't wait to get there! My grandmother had told me all about it! They said that house-elves actually make the food for us. Isn't that wicked?"

"Quite."

"What House do you think you might be in? My family's hoping that I get into Gryffindor, but I know that Hufflepuff is calling for me."

"Slytherin, maybe," Theodore replied without hesitation. From what he heard about the House, he was sure that he belonged there, disregarding its fairly bad reputation.

Neville grimaced at the word. "Ooh, I've heard about that House. A lot of dark wizards and witches were in Slytherin. Even You-Know-Who."

"Voldemort went to Hogwarts?" asked Theodore with curiosity.

Neville jumped as if he had been poked with an iron fork. "You said his name!"

"So? Nothing is going to happen."

"But still. You said it! Aren't you scared of him?"

Theodore gave his iconic scoff, replying with, "I don't see why anybody should be scared of a wizard who was defeated by a baby. If I were him, I'd stay hidden forever."

"Grandma said he did really bad things when he was strong. Of course, he's probably gone right now, but he might still be out there. At least that's what my grandma says." Neville looked pale from speaking about the subject and looked out the window. Another whistle blew and the train shuddered before slowly moving forward.

Theodore also looked out the window to see the station slowly moving away further and further. The train began to pick up more speed as it hurried along the tracks, increasing in acceleration. Boredom had gotten the better of Theodore as he had wished that something or someone would happen to appear right about-

"Excuse me? Can I stay in here? The other compartments are- Oh hiya, Theodore!" Hermione stood at the sliding door with her hair still bushy as ever. She was already wearing her school uniform under her robes which was neat from her socks to the position of her purely black tie. She sat herself next to Neville who was shy to see her.

"The last time I saw you was ages ago! What have you been up to?" she asked.

"Nothing really. All I did was read my books over and over again."

"So did I. I practiced a few spells myself at home. Of course, I wasn't allowed to, but I wasn't really a Hogwarts student back then, was I? How about you?"

"Somebody would've heard me in my orphanage, so I didn't bother trying," Theodore said casually as he leaned back comfortably. The only words that she heard was 'my orphanage'.

"You're an orphan?" Hermione asked quietly. Neville looked invested in the conversation as he looked at Theodore with a mixture of slight shock and sympathy. Or was it empathy; Theodore could barely tell.

"Yeah. Everything I remember was in my orphanage. I have no clue as to how my parents died. Well, except for my dad, and I barely have an idea about that as well."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Not your fault."

An old woman with a trolley of treats passed by their compartment, chanting in a sing-song manner. Neville reached inside his pockets and pulled out a few Galleons. Hermione followed suit.

"Excuse me, miss!" Hermione called out.

The lady backed up and smiled to the children. "Anything off the trolleys, dears?"

The two picked handfuls of sweets and chocolates from the trolleys until they had enough to fill a school bag. Neville opened up _Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans_ and chewed on one before spitting it back out. Hermione had purchased some Liquorice Wands and Pumpkin Pasties, to which she thoroughly enjoyed. Theodore was feeling a bit jealous that they had money to spend while he had nothing.

"Anything for you, dear?" the old witch asked Theodore. He shook his head and turned to the window. He kept his head like that until he felt a tap on his thigh. Hermione had Jelly Slugs in her hand and passed them over to Theodore with a smile. He happily accepted and joined the feast of confectionery with his newest wizard and witch friend.

 _Later on…_

"I can't find him!"

"Look again!"

Neville was panicking. He had just lost his pet toad, Trevor, and could not see him anywhere. Neither Hermione or Theodore had seen the creature anywhere and would've left earlier if they were aware about it.

"This is the second time this week! Grandma is going to do a number on me, I know it!"

"Calm down, Neville, and we will find you your toad!" Hermione sternly stated. Neville nodded obediently. "Now, you boys check inside here. I'll go see if Trevor is in any of the other compartments." Hermione walked out the door and to the left without hearing any objections that the boys had. Not that they had any. They looked above and below for the toad but couldn't see him.

Theodore was tired of searching hopelessly for Trevor and sat back down. "Neville, we might as well wait until the train stops at Hogwarts. Maybe he'll appear then."

Neville was instantly disheartened. "But… He… Alright." He sat down in the opposite seat and slumped like he was defeated. This was the reason why Theodore did not get a pet. It would only cause nothing but trouble. They continued to lay about until the door slid open once more. Hermione came in looking excited.

"Did you know that Harry Potter is on the train? And sorry Neville, Trevor didn't turn up anywhere." The boy couldn't catch a break. "I've spoken to the driver and he said that we're almost there, so I would suggest you'd put your uniforms on soon."

"Why did you wear your uniform anyways?" Neville asked.

"So that nobody would see me change. Now get a move on!"

The boys looked up at the shelves above them and recognised their own bags. How they found their way inside would remain unanswered. It took them a few minutes to change (obviously somewhere away from Hermione) into their uniforms. Theodore was busy finding a place to tuck his wand in while Hermione helped Neville to fix his tie. The uniform was so much better than his old one, which had several holes and stains. The trio chatted some more about which House was the best until the train began to slow down steadily. The evening had rolled through as the sky had darkened to a beautiful shade of a rich purple. The train had finally stopped, and Neville and Hermione walked out of the compartment door along with the other excitable children.

"Where are you going, your stuff are still…" Theodore looked up to see vacant shelves. He facepalmed at his foolishness and ran after the two to catch up. As they walked along the platform adjacent to the train, Theodore was surrounded by other students who huddled all together. He wanted to spread his arms to create more space for himself, but it would be no use; there were too many of them. He carried on walking with the crowd till he found himself unable to move any further. A towering hairy man with a rough coat that looked like a deer was slung over him, barricaded everyone to force them to stop.

"'Ello everybody! Welcome to 'Ogwarts! My name is Rubeus Hagrid, an' I'm the gamekeeper o' the castle, so yeh migh' see me all over the place."

Theodore looked over to the blonde boy he saw from before snickering and pointing at Hagrid. Two bigger boys, who were quite monstrous, copied like monkeys.

"Now, since yeh're all firs' years, we're gonna take the boats across the lake, so find yerselves in groups o' three and come along!"

Theodore tiptoed above the crowd to see if Hermione and Neville were anywhere to be found, but he had no luck. He didn't want to seem insistent on being with them all the time, so he instead found somebody else. He sat on one boat and noticed that it didn't have any oars or anything to propel it forward. The boat shook a bit as the same blond boy sat behind him, followed by one of his burly friends. The other looked angry that he was left behind, but went to find another boat to join. Theodore saw Hagrid scrambling onto a larger boat which was in front of everybody else's. Once everybody had gotten on, the fleet of the wooden boats moved forward without any apparent source of power. Theodore sat silently in front of the boat, gazing upon the gargantuan castle that was lit up at variant places by torches and the moon above. It was a splendid sight. Truly splendid.

"Hey."

Theodore turned around. The blonde boy had his hand stuck out to him. "I've seen you before. The name's Draco Malfoy. This one here is Crabbe."

Theodore shook the hand without hesitation. "My name is Theodore Riddle."

"Riddle? Haven't heard that name before. You a Muggle-born?"

Theodore heard some disdain in Draco's voice when he said _Muggle-born_. "Half-blood, actually."

"Hmph. Suppose that's better. With a name like that, I thought you were a Mudblood."

Crabbe cackled, earning some turning heads.

"What's a... _Mudblood_?" Theodore probably had an idea as to what it meant.

"Muggle-borns. They're not really magic. They're just some Muggles who managed to get lucky. Personally, it's insulting that I have to go school with them. My father was going to send me somewhere else where Mudbloods aren't allowed, but my mother said no."

Theodore twitched. Was he suggesting that they were 'superior' to Muggles and Muggle-borns alike? He couldn't see himself above Louise or Hermione. This boy seemed like bad news.

"So, do you have any siblings in the school?"

"I'm the only child."

"I hear that."

Theodore turned away from Draco and looked over the black horizon. He really didn't want to carry on the conversation. Not that he needed to. Draco was scolding Crabbe about something, finally leaving Theodore alone.

 _'Thank god.'_

The boats pulled up to a dock of some sorts, and the masses of children clumped together once again. They all followed Hagrid to the massive arched doors that would lead into the castle. They walked through it and entered the front hall which seemed too big for Theodore to comprehend. The nonexistent ceiling; the grand torches that burned brightly on the walls, all of it made the place look like a palace. The main stairway was polished marble, and ascended to the higher floors of the castle. Theodore traced it from the bottom step and upwards till he saw somebody. An older witch dressed in emerald green, and a face that seemed to not allow any type of tolerance walked down the steps gracefully. She had a pointed hat that was tilted to the side, and her greyish-black hair was tied into a bun.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration teacher. You will be shortly sorted into your Houses that will remain throughout your time at Hogwarts. Please remain quiet and follow me to the Great Hall." McGonagall spun on her heels and walked forward, prompting everyone else to follow her in an orderly fashion.

The Great Hall was in itself, self explanatory. Wide and high with torches on the sides, and levitating candles that nearly touched the ceiling. The ceiling itself looked like it was enchanted to look like the starry night, dotted with small white flashes. The first years walked along the Hall beside the extensive tables to which the older students occupied. Everyone was silent. Only the pounding of feet hitting the stone floor could be heard.

Theodore lifted his head above to see what was in front of them and saw the table of teachers with Dumbledore right in the middle. He was now wearing a long purple robe similar to McGonagall's and a purple pointed hat to match. Even the other teachers were dressed like that.

McGonagall stepped up to a lifted platform and held out her hand to stop everyone from invading the front area. As she talked about the typical introductory process, Theodore craned his head around to look for a familiar face. He couldn't see Neville, but a bush of brown hair could be seen in front of him. He tapped the shoulder and Hermione swivelled around. She gave him a smile before turning back to McGonagall. In front of Hermione was a red headed boy and another with messy black hair. They were whispering about something to do with the red head's family.

"And now, we proceed with the Sorting! When I call out your name, you sit here and put on the Hat. Abbot, Hannah!"

A girl from the side walked around the crowd and stood up upon the stage. She then sat down on a wooden stool and was placed an old tattered hat on her head. Theodore could've sworn that he saw it move on its own…

A few seconds passed and suddenly the hat cried "Hufflepuff!", and the table on the middle-right erupted in a cheer. Hannah skipped over as her uniform suddenly gained some yellow and black trails.

"Bones, Susan!"

"Hufflepuff!" Susan accompanied Hannah as her uniform did the same thing. McGonagall waited for the cheers to die down before calling another.

"Boot, Terry!"

"Ravenclaw!" He walked to the table on the middle-left while being congratulated by others.

Mandy Brocklehurst went to Ravenclaw; Lavender Brown went to Gryffindor, and Millicent Bulstrode was the first Slytherin. Theodore glanced over to the lot as he saw their faces. Sharp, dark-haired and pale skin. If he didn't know any better then he would think that that was his destined house.

More of them passed until Hermione was called up. She was obviously excited as she nearly galloped over. She stuck the hat on her mane quite brashly, and was sorted into Gryffindor. Underneath the wild applause, he could hear the red headed boy groan. What was his problem? Theodore was not interested by the others until he heard Neville's name.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Neville tripped on his way to the stool, but regained his balance. He plopped himself on the chair and placed the hat on his head. It had taken a while for the hat to decide as Neville winced at the outcome.

"…Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table clapped and chuckled as Neville ran towards them with the hat. Theodore smirked at his absent-mindedness. He really didn't care which House he was placed in as long as it wasn't Hufflepuff… or Ravenclaw. Okay, he really did care. They did not suit him in the slightest. Even Gryffindor seemed far-fetched. At Slytherin, maybe he'd feel like home. He once read that the Founder of Slytherin House, Salazar Slytherin, could speak to snakes as well. It couldn't be a coincidence if he was sorted there.

"Malfoy, Draco!" Draco strutted to the seat and was instantly sorted into Slytherin the second the hat touched his head. He smugly walked over to the table with his friends patting him on the back. No name of interest came by until the one he had heard for so long.

"Potter, Harry!" Everyone turned their heads. Silence was imminent. Nobody moved except the spectacled black-haired boy.

 _'So that's Harry Potter? Looks normal to me.'_

Harry looked nervous, but was trying not to show it. He slowly lowered himself on the stool and the hat was placed on his head. His eyes were shut as he was contemplating about something. Something that he didn't want to happen. Theodore could almost see that perfectly. The hat moved some more until it bellowed its final decision.

…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table exploded with noise as everyone there cheered as loudly as they could. Harry was given a standing ovation as he awkwardly took off the hat and walked over to the table. The red headed twins chanted as they slapped him on the back. Harry really was famous; no doubt about that.

The applause carried on for some time until it died down. Theodore's stomach was turning. He was starting to feel sick. Could they not just give them a letter to tell them which House they were in instead? The surnames of 'Q' were all finished, and McGonagall looked down the scroll in her hands.

"Riddle, Theodore!"

Dumbledore leaned in as did another teacher clad in black. Theodore swallowed and slowly walked to the stool. Everyone traced his every movement from his feet to his twisted fingers. He reached the stool and sat down gently while McGonagall placed the hat on his head. It was too wide and covered most of his vision, leaving him to see almost nothing. But the hat was quick in its decision and shouted the House that Theodore would be placed in for the whole of his time at Hogwarts.

"Slyth-!"

The Slytherin table started to applaud loudly, but stopped when they realised that the hat hesitated. McGonagall was shocked to see this happen. The teachers behind him whispered and hissed with each other while the students were drowned in confusion. Theodore was confused as well.

"Sly…! Slythe…!"

 _'Why won't you choose, dammit?! Just say Slytherin!'_

 _'It's not that easy, child.'_

Theodore's heart thudded. The hat just spoke to him. In his mind. _'W-Why is it not that easy?'_

 _'I see the very traits of Salazar Slytherin himself within. I can see that clearly, but… there is something underneath. Something… odd. Something that the founder lacked.'_

Theodore lifted the hat slightly to see everyone else. He wished he hadn't. He glanced over to the Gryffindor table and saw Hermione. Her face had anxiety all over it. If one could look closely, her fingers were crossed tightly.

 _'I've never seen something like you. You're too… different from the others. From_ 'him' _. You won't fit in there. As much cunning and ambition that you possess… Yes. You'd better be in-'_

"Gryffindor!"

Whistles and claps were made from Gryffindor as Theodore took the hat off rather disappointedly. What in fresh hell was the hat talking about; he absolutely deserved to be in Slytherin! It was a mistake, it had to be! He looked down on his jumper to see scarlet and golden trails appear with his tie turning into a striped design of the same colours. He handed the hat back to McGonagall and walked over to his _table_. The Slytherins peered over to him, clearly interested as to why this boy was denied entry for Slytherin. He sat down next to Harry, and was opposite Hermione who was joyful to see him there.

"For a second there, I thought you were going to Slytherin! Guess the hat made the right decision in the nick of time, huh?"

He gave her a half-assed smile and turned to the remaining students. The red headed boy, who was called Ronald Weasley, was sorted into Gryffindor and sat among them with his older brothers. They all seemed glad that he was there. The rest of the students were sorted into their Houses and the hat was taken away.

Dumbledore stood up with a large smile across his face. He seemed to enjoy this ceremony very much. "Welcome," he called. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words."

Theodore widened his eyes as the old man babbled absolute nonsense.

"Thank you!"

"He's the Headmaster of the school, but does not act like it. How was he even considered?"

"Oh, stop complaining, Theodore. Have some sausage," Hermione replied.

"Sausage? What sausage?" He looked down. Plates of food were stretched all across the table. Plates of roasted chicken, beef and potatoes, bacon, sweetcorn, sausages and pork chops, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, sliced potatoes with gravy on the side, carrots, peas, Yorkshire pudding and a bowl of mint humbugs that were left untouched in the middle. Theodore didn't question how the food appeared and started at the sweetcorn. He piled his plate up with food as did Harry and Ron. The three boys ate like starved wolves. Theodore didn't say anything until Ron spoke up, with a mouthful of food.

"'Eodore, is it? 'Ow do you do, I'm Ron."

Theodore swallowed before responding. "Hi," he said in a monotone.

"'At was qui' the sow over there en the Sortin' 'At paused-"

Hermione elbowed him. "Don't you have any manners? Close your mouth when you eat." Ron shrugged and carried on eating.

"The Sorting Hat was probably bewitched to sort me into Gryffindor," Theodore said coldly.

"Don't say that, I'm sure it knew what it was doing. It's usually never wrong."

"Yeah! I mean, look! My whole family was in Gryffindor, so it would make sense as to why you're here."

"As far as I know, none of my parents were in Gryffindor."

"Who were your parents?"

Hermione elbowed Ron again, this time much harder.

Theodore picked at his food. Any mention of his parents and he'd suddenly go silent. He wasn't like that in the orphanage. He didn't really want to know about them yet now that he knew their names, he craved for more. Tom Riddle and Valerie Potter… Potter. He turned his head to Harry. Harry was talking to one of Ron's brothers. Theodore thought stupidly of himself as he didn't make the connection before. His mother's surname and Harry's were the same! That meant that they were connected somehow! Suddenly, being in Gryffindor almost didn't seem that bad. Almost.

"So, you're the famous Harry Potter?"

Harry turned his head and scratched his unkept hair. "I guess so. You're Theodore, right? I'm Harry, but you already knew that," Harry said shyly as he rubbed his elbow.

"I heard that you lived with Muggles for your entire life."

"Yeah," replied Harry in an almost sullen tone.

"Same here. I didn't know about any of this until a few months ago."

"I didn't know a thing until my birthday. Hagrid came to me when I was away with my family."

"Better late than never. I couldn't wait to leave for Hogwarts. I hated it over there." This wasn't the whole truth however.

Harry leaned in to whisper something in his ear. "You think you've got it bad? My bedroom is inside a cupboard underneath the staircase!"

"Okay, you have me beat. But nothing compares to the food at my orphanage. We'd have pea soup every Saturday night, and it was horrible!"

"Oh. You're an orphan too…"

Theodore shrugged and went back to his food. His objective was already in motion. Befriending Harry would allow him to find out more about his parentage on his mother's side, and just what the Sorting Hat meant when it said that he wouldn't fit into Slytherin. He carried on eating as the ghosts floated around the hall, conversing with the children. One particular ghost called Nearly-Headless Nick was Gryffindor's respective one who rambled on about how the executioner did not do a great job at cutting his head off. The sight of it was gruesome enough to almost put Theodore and Hermione off their food. Nevertheless, the children still held their conversations strong and talked about their various backgrounds and magical mishaps. Neville's was quite amusing.

The food was replaced by the desserts and they tucked into them as well. Theodore was enjoying a scrumptious strawberry tart when he heard Harry slap his forehead and grunt in pain.

"Are you alright, Harry," Ron's older brother, Percy asked. Harry nodded and the two carried on talking. The desserts vanished and Dumbledore gave some first-term notices, most which seemed like severe warnings, and excused them all to bed. Percy waved at the first-years to follow him, and guided them outside the Great Hall. Full could not describe how Theodore felt. He was scared that he would fall over and pass out on the cold floor at any second. He, along with the other first-years, approached a staircase and hurried up on it, eager to go to bed. They passed the moving paintings on the walls, the poltergeist Peeves who was threatened by Percy, and reached a painting of a fat woman dressed eloquently.

"Password," she asked in a posh manner.

"Caput Draconis."

The painting swung open. A hole in the wall led to the Gryffindor common room, which was warm and soothing. The heat from the burning fire made the children even more tired. They were led to their dorms with the boys on the left and the girls on the right. A spiral staircase connected the main room with the dorms as all the boys found their beds. Theodore's was in between Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. He changed into his pyjamas and flopped into his large four-poster bed, sinking inside its plushness. He didn't bother to go under the sheets; this bed was far more comfortable than the one at home. He half-expected somebody to prod his face or pull his feet, but no such thing happened. He momentarily opened his eyes as the realisation of Louise being miles and miles away had hit him. And in a long, long time, Theodore was restless and could not sleep at all.

 **Some stuff were skipped over due to how dragging it felt for me and I did another long chapter so yay me. Also a little heads up for the upcoming chapters: Theodore is going to gain a lot of connections with other people, not necessarily relationships. Just keep watch :)**

 **PS: Some chapters will be shortened, chopped and fused with others to save time. I'm not planning on making an entire book series that's parallel to the original, just the major events. But it'll be long enough, don't worry.**


	4. Chapter 4: Search For My Own

_Slytherin's Tongue… You have Slytherin's Tongue…_

' _I… do.'_

 _Then why aren't you in there?_

' _I don't know… It had to be a mistake…'_

 _Perhaps it's because of your fondness for that filthy Muggle girl..._

' _Shut up…'_

 _You would've never been good in Slytherin anyways. You're an abomination to what he stood for…_

' _Shut up!'_

 _He would've been disgusted!_

Theodore shot up from his bed instantly, holding his chest as he was gasping for air. Sweat was trickling down his forehead, and his body felt so hot. He looked around to see the early sun creeping in through the window panes of the boys' dormitory and the other boys fast asleep. He didn't have a watch with him, but he knew that it had to be before seven o'clock.

Deep breath after deep breath, Theodore got out of bed and rummaged through his things looking for something in particular. He fumbled around some more until he pulled out Louise's necklace from underneath his new uniform. It glinted in his face from the sun's reflection as it slowly rotated. He gazed at it some more and placed it back to where he found it before going to prepare for his first day. After he had gotten clean, Theodore quietly put on his uniform and got everything that he needed. The week was looking to be a long one.

He walked down the spiral steps expecting to see nobody, but his presumptions were proven wrong. A couple of older students were sat along the round table in the corner, and a girl that was a little less younger than them was relaxing on a cozy red armchair. Theodore had thought to turn back around to the dorm again, but stopped when he heard somebody calling his name.

"Theodore, over here," the voice whispered. On the sofa near the crackling fire was Hermione already in her uniform with a pile of books on the table in front of her. Looks like he wasn't the only early-bird in his year.

"What are you doing up so early?" the boy asked as he stood next to Hermione by the sofa.

"I wanted to get some reading in before classes start. You know, as a warm up."

"But it's like quarter to seven. Didn't you get any sleep?"

"Of course! After yesterday's banquet, I almost slept in my uniform. By the way, your tie is a little loose."

Theodore fixed his tie and sat next to Hermione who was reading _Magical Drafts and Potions_ , a book that Theodore was familiar with.

"So why are YOU up so early?" Hermione asked while keeping her nose in the book.

"Couldn't really sleep that well."

"Was it the food?"

"No."

"Homesick?"

"Definitely not." Another lie.

"Then what it is?"

"I think the Sorting Hat really made the wrong decision."

Hermione now looked up at him. "Again? I honestly doubt that the Hat would. It was deciding whether I should've went to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor instead."

"The Hat didn't say Ravenclaw out loud before changing its mind, did it?"

"Well…" Hermione said airily as she returned to her book.

"I'm telling you, it's a mistake. I'm sure that something went wrong! The Hat told me that I was like Slytherin himself. It just didn't make sense why I wasn't put inside-"

"Theodore! You need to let it go! The choice has been made, so deal with it! What's been done cannot be undone." Hermione sounded like an annoying parent who constantly scolded any child they came across, regardless if it were their own.

Theodore leaned backwards and huffed like a four year old. Maybe he was acting childish. Maybe the Hat was right, and so was Hermione. Letting things go wasn't him at all, but in this case he had to consider it. The clock in the corner struck seven as Theodore and Hermione heard the other Gryffindors groaning in their dorms. Soon, the common room was washed with dressed students all excited about the first day and what laid ahead for all of them.

The journey to class was entirely different from the Muggle schools at home. Stairs which possessed some form of sentience occasionally moved and disconnected from the given platform within the castle; doors that sometimes refused to open no matter how hard you pull. Theodore wondered how anyone could learn, let alone arrive to class, in this place. It was all too mind-boggling. But he loved it. He usually walked alone to his classes, but would be tagged along with Hermione or Ron and Harry, even though they wouldn't speak that much. Theodore didn't consider them _friends_ yet, but he knew that the right time would come. He was confident like that.

Defence Against The Dark Arts was taught by a feeble man called Professor Quirrell, whose classroom reeked with raw garlic and the smell of a rotting carcass wafting behind him. The Professor's story of warding off vampires after defeating them seemed pretty nonsensical to the students. A frail man like himself didn't look like he had the balls to face a monster like that. As stupid as the Defence lessons were, Quirrell was not as incompetent as he seemed. History of Magic, however, sent Theodore and others into the realm of boredom as the life-sucking dullness of Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher, took a toll on everyone. The first class that Theodore enjoyed, however, was Transfiguration by Professor McGonagall.

"I'll make this clear from here on out. Any silly business, any dangerous, reckless actions that are performed in my classroom will earn you a permanent leave from here. Understood?"

Everybody nodded their heads in a synchronised fashion.

"Good. Now, everyone get out your parchments and quills and be ready to take notes."

Everyone listened and copied McGonagall's words robotically, probably because they thought that there would be a little more to Transfiguration than writing notes. Theodore wrote everything down as quickly as McGonagall could speak while Seamus peeked over as he barely written a sentence.

"Hey, Theo. D'you think you could let me see a bit? She talks a bit too fast," Seamus whispered.

"She hasn't said that much though," Theodore replied quite irritably.

"Just a few words. I'll be quick."

Theodore huffed and said, "Alright, here. Be quick!"

Seamus busily copied Theodore's notes while Theodore impatiently tapped against the shared desk. Seamus was taking a bit too long now. After another minute, he snatched the parchment away from Seamus while the boy spilt some of his ink over Theodore's notes.

"Look at what you did!"

"It's not my fault, you took it back without saying anything!"

"You said you was going to be quick! That wasn't quick at all!" Theodore snapped angrily.

"Well, I'm sorry for being such a slow writer!" The boys carried on butting heads until McGonagall took notice as she turned towards them.

"Finnigan and Riddle, is there a reason as to why you are arguing in my class?"

The boys looked at each other and then to McGonagall. "No," they said in unison.

"Then you both better be quiet!" she snapped before she returned to talking about the fundamentals of Transfiguration.

Theodore used his sleeve to absorb some of the ink, but there had been too much. Half of it covered the parchment, and the other was unreadable because it had been smudged greatly. Near the end of the lesson, the class was then tasked to change a single match to a needle with almost everyone failing miserably. Theodore waited until Seamus finished clearing the singed desk after blowing his match up and then attempted the required objective. With a flick of his wand and a mutter of the spell given, the match shape-shifted into a perfectly thin silver needle. Theodore was proud of himself and so was McGonagall, despite the interruption beforehand.

"Well done, Mr Riddle. It would seem that you're not just a chatterbox in the class."

"Professor, Hermione changed the thing into the thing!" Lavender screamed from the other corner.

McGonagall beamed happily as Hermione stood proudly with the needle in her palm. The two had both gained ten points for Gryffindor to which the other students envied by a very slight margin. The rest of the week had only been more glorious for the two as they seemed to excel in every class, even History of Magic.

On the early Friday morning, Theodore was sitting in the Great Hall eating a stack of maple syrup-drenched pancakes next to Harry and Ron. The three had become quite aquatinted with each other as the two often went to Theodore for help on the classwork. Harry had a bowl of steamy porridge while Ron had finished a plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

"Guess what we have next," Ron said in between the licks of his fingers.

"What?" Harry replied while pouring sugar in his porridge.

"Double Potions. With the Slytherins. And Snape is the teacher."

"The Head of Slytherin House?" Theodore asked.

"Yep. Apparently, he has them all under his wing while he spits on the other Houses. I think that it's unfair how McGonagall treats us all the same, yet Snape has favourites."

"He can't be that bad."

"Bad is an understatement," Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George, said as they walked past.

Theodore finished his last bite of the pancakes and reached for his bag, ready to leave. "Well then it'd be stupid to annoy him. If you don't mind, I'm going to Potions early."

"Oh come on, Theo! You always go to lesson early. Couldn't you just stay around for a little longer?" Ron asked.

"You're always late, Ron. Even you, Harry. If McGonagall can take ten points from you two, imagine what Snape could do!"

"Just live a little! It's okay to untwist your knickers sometimes, you know."

Theodore brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose to ignore Ron's taunt. "Alright, fine. But if we're late, I'm feeding Scabbers to the owls."

Ron looked offended as he held what was a lazy fat rat hidden in his robe. Speaking of an owl, Harry's own, called Hedwig, descended from the ceiling angelically and dropped a letter to her owner's plate.

"Who's it from?"

"It's from Hagrid. He said he wants to talk about my first week." He scribbled a reply on the back of the note as Theodore began to regret his decision of not getting an owl. He could be sending letters to Louise every single day. Then again, he wasn't sure how she would take to an owl appearing by her window with a letter for her. The bell had rung across the hall as the three boys made their way to the dungeons for their first Potions lesson.

The classroom was cold and damp, and would seem revolting to the average person. Theodore didn't mind it though. The shelves were littered with several jars of unidentifiable insects, plants and possibly fecal matter. They took their places on the opposite side of the room against the Slytherins. Theodore sat next to Hermione who was glad to see him as she said she didn't have anyone to talk to that much during the week.

Professor Severus Snape, a pale-faced man with greasy long black hair and matching robes, took the register with the class in complete silence. He brushed through each name without a care until one had intrigued him greatly.

"Harry Potter. The new… _celebrity_ ," Snape said sarcastically. Snickers from the Slytherin side of the room emerged, but went unnoticed by Snape. The register was soon finished and the lesson had finally begun.

"Potions… is one of the most complex and intricate arts that you'll find in this castle. No repetition and constant wand-waving will be found here. Only. Your. Mind. You will become capable of brewing desire, titre power and mixing magic itself, if you weren't absolute idiots."

Theodore was puzzled by the sudden disdain. They hadn't even known each other yet he was undermining them already. All that meant to him was that his come up would be all the more greater.

Silence filled the room until Snape snapped at Harry. "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked completely baffled. Hermione's arm shot up but was ignored. "I don't know, sir," Harry replied monotonously.

Snape scoffed a little and said, "Such a shame. And I thought that your knowledge would match up with your fame. Riddle! The answer, if you will."

"Um, the powder mixed with the wormwood should make a sleeping potion that's called… the Draught of Living Death?" Theodore wasn't too sure if he had gotten that right. He didn't want to join Harry as Snape's targets of ridicule. Instead, Snape slightly curled his thin lips and nodded in approval of the boy's answer.

"Let's see if Mr Riddle would not be required to save your behind this time, Potter. If I told you to find a bezoar for me, where would you look?" Snape was enjoying himself too much.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said flatly once again. His neutral expression and emotionless tone masked a brewing hatred for the teacher. Snape seared his eyes into Harry's until he snapped his fingers and pointed at Theodore.

"It's usually found in a goat's stomach, sir."

"Correct again."

Theodore started to feel a bit sorry for Harry. He didn't mean to answer correctly to Snape's questions; he was sure that Harry would've done the same if the roles had been reversed. Hermione's arm was still outstretched to the ceiling, eager to answer one question at least.

"Final chance. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane."

…

"I don't know, sir."

Snape's smirk turned into an ugly grin. He looked over Hermione, who practically stood up from her seat, and pointed at Theodore. He didn't want to embarrass Harry any further so he shook his head instead, and left Snape unanswered.

"Such a shame, Mr Riddle. You were quite impressive. As for you, Potter, wolfsbane and monkshood are both the same plant which is also called aconite." Harry looked down and tapped his fingers on the desk. Draco, on the other side, was as smug as ever.

"Gryffindor will have one point taken off for Potter's lack of knowledge." He turned around and sat on his desk with an evil smile along his face.

"Why was he being so mean to Harry," whispered Hermione in Theodore's ear. Theodore shrugged and looked back at Harry, whose eyes glimmered with seething anger.

They both went to writing their notes down, feeling pitiful for the scar-bearing boy. After they had finished, the class had gotten into pairs with each other: Ron with Harry, Neville and Seamus, Theodore and Hermione, and so on and so forth. Lavender and Parvati attempted to try and partner up with Theodore, for more reasons than one, but retreated instantly when Snape hissed at them. For Theodore and Hermione, arguably the two brightest in the class, completing the tasks at hand was so simple that they finished five minutes before everybody else. As for the others…

"Idiot boy!" Snape scolded Neville as he turned his potion into sentient acid that corroded the ground and some people's clothes, including his own. And somehow, Snape still found a way to blame Harry for it.

"Well done to Draco for properly using the correct concoctions needed. Two points for Slytherin! And two points from Gryffindor! You can blame Potter and Longbottom!"

Hermione huffed as they finished their lesson when the faint bells rang across the dungeons. "Why didn't he give us any housepoints? Draco didn't even come close to finishing at the same time as us!"

"Keep your voice down!" Ron hissed. "Do you want to get more points taken off? No offence, Harry."

When they had left the dungeons, Harry started to complain about Snape's favouritism and his sudden hatred for him. He and Ron parted ways from the crowds of first-years until they realised that somebody was missing. Theodore was walking up the marble stairs to the Great Hall with Hermione chattering alongside him. He stopped in his tracks as Hermione walked a little further.

"Theo, you coming with? Hagrid invited us, well, actually Harry, to his home across the grounds. Come on, it'll be fun."

Theodore looked over to Hermione, who pretended to not look at the boys, and turned his head back. "It better be fun. I don't want you to waste my time."

"Okay, Lord Riddle," Ron replied in a voice mocking Theodore's. He looked at the corner of his eye to see Hermione's hair bouncing away without looking back. It may have looked heartless, but was it his fault she didn't have any other friends? Karma read his thoughts and turned the tables on him when Professor McGonagall appeared out of nowhere, giving Theodore a shock.

"Mr Riddle, the Headmaster has requested to see you."

"But I'm going with my friends."

"This is not up for debate, Riddle! Headmaster's office, _now_." She sharpened her eyes. Theodore really had nothing to say to Dumbledore. He didn't speak to him for the entire week, or the summer and spring before, so why now? McGonagall was still waiting for the correct answer.

"I don't know where to go."

"Then follow me. Don't worry, you will see Potter and Weasley afterwards."

The boy then followed the professor away from Harry and Ron who spectated the entire thing. They walked through many hallways and up many stairs before they reached the Headmaster's Tower. Below it was a stairwell that had been occupied by a large stone gargoyle. The gargoyle blinked and shook its head until it took notice of McGonagall and Theodore.

"Sherbet Lemon!" McGonagall cried. The gargoyle lowered its back and rotated while ascending upwards. Underneath was a spiral staircase revealing itself, winding and winding until it came to an abrupt stop. McGonagall swiftly paced up the steps while Theodore tagged behind her, already tired from walking up the many steps from before.

The office that laid in front of Theodore's eyes was saturated with colour to the fullest. The orange and red bricked walls were covered with so many moving paintings that it looked like an exhibition. Spinning things, jumping things, rolling things, things that did nothing at all were displayed all over the room, giving the impression that the place was also a toy store. Near the bookshelves, nipping comfortably on its wings was a large scarlet bird that had feathers as beautiful as the sunset across Hogwarts' horizon. The young wizard knew that it was a phoenix bird, and was eager to look at it closer until his eyes fixated onto the old man sitting behind the large mahogany desk.

"Good afternoon, Theodore! Thank you, Minerva. Please, sit!" McGonagall walked out of the office as Theodore sat on the comfortable wooden chair that was opposite Dumbledore.

"So, I've heard from many teachers that you and Miss Granger show a keen interest in their subjects. I can see now that you are just like your mother and father."

"But I wouldn't know that since I haven't got a clue about who they really are." Theodore's attempt to test Dumbledore failed as the old man chuckled.

"You see, Theodore, I've seen some prolific wizards and witches passing through Hogwarts during my entire career to this day. Yes, I've taught many students over time, but your father stood out from among the rest. Never have I seen such… drive to learn more. He was brilliant. One of the best. It was not every year a student like that would come to Hogwarts, no. But his nature, what his drive led him to had consumed him in the end. He let his talents and gifts warp his mind into something dark. Something that I should've seen before. It was far too late."

"And my mother? You told me her last name was Potter, like Harry's. Who was she to you?"

…

"A lost soul," Dumbledore said quietly.

His mother a lost soul? His father warped into darkness? What kind of people were they? Did his mother truly leave him in the orphanage out of love, or was she incapable of compassion to raise a son with his father? He needed answers. Real answers.

But then he thought of something. He did need answers. Just not from Dumbledore. He could find it out for himself and not have a biased old man twisting the truth in front of him.

"Is there something on your mind, Theodore?"

"No, sir. None at all."

Dumbledore looked suspiciously at him, but then smiled again. "Then you better get a move on. Hagrid will be waiting for you."

Theodore excused himself out and left, not for Hagrid's Hut. Harry and Ron could wait. He wasn't even invited in the first place. There was one thing that he needed to see…

 _Later at dinner…_

The Great Hall was once again filled with all the students of Hogwarts as they enjoyed their late dinner after their long first week. It had been tiresome for most, but at least it was over. Down the Gryffindor table were the first-years talking among themselves about their week and the exhaustion that they endured.

"I don't think you're supposed to eat it like that."

Ron, Neville, Harry and Dean watched Seamus gnawing at one of the rock cakes that had been given to Harry and Ron by Hagrid. It was black and studded with raisins that looked like pebbles from a stream.

"Don't worry… Almost… cracked it." Seamus hollered as his left incisor became chipped and jagged. He quickly ran to the hospital wing with his hand stopping the blood flow as Malfoy and his sidekicks laughed.

"Has anyone seen Theodore anywhere?" Neville asked as he flicked away the remnants of Seamus's tooth off of the table.

"He left with McGonagall to Dumbledore's office last time I saw him. Why do you need him?"

"He said he'd help me with my Potions homework and took it with him to look at, but I haven't seen him since!"

"Neville, relax. We haven't got Snape until next week."

"But Snape told me to hand it in before dinner! If not, he said that I would get a detention with him for two hours!"

Ron looked disgusted.

"What sort of madman sets homework due on the day he set it? It's barbaric!" Dean announced. The boys murmured in agreement. It seemed that Snape had gotten under all the boys of Gryffindor House's skin in that one lesson.

"Why don't you just ask Hermione? She knows-" Ron added.

"Oh yeah! They're best friends! She'll know where he is! Hermione!"

"I meant ask her since she's a know-it-all," Ron remarked under his breath. Theodore suddenly appeared through the Great Hall doors and casually walked over to his table. He made eye contact with Draco who simply lifted his eyebrows in return. He wouldn't think that Draco would still be _friends_ with him after finding out who he spoke with. Theodore knew that he and Harry were not exactly on good terms. He sat next to Ron in Seamus's place and started to eat without saying a word.

"So did you get into trouble?" Harry asked from across the table.

"All Dumbledore wanted to do was talk," Theodore said before treating himself to a chicken drumstick.

"Hagrid said he was looking forward to meeting you and got you this cake." Ron slammed another cake on the table. Theodore tapped it and returned to eating again. He was interrupted once more by Ron who leaned into his ear to whisper, "Harry and I have something to tell you. We think you'll be interested."

Ron pulled back and chewed on a piece of steak. Theodore didn't know if this information would be of any value to his current motivation, but anything involving the _Boy Who Lived_ had to be something worth knowing.

Dinner had finished and everyone went back to their common rooms, fed and watered. Theodore noticed that Hermione did not say a word during the meal, and said nothing to him on the way to the dorm. Maybe he was too harsh by completely abandoning her in the hallways for Harry and Ron. He would say something to her if she didn't go straight up. Fred and George gave wolf whistles in the corner, being the first ones to actually recognise what was really happening between the two, no matter how blind they were to it.

 _In the boys' first-year dorm…_

The three boys were huddled around Harry's bed, careful as to not speak so loudly for the others to hear them.

"…so that's it," Harry finished after sucking up a large amount of air.

Theodore's brain whirled as everything that Harry had explained was processed. "So you think that whatever Hagrid took out of that vault was the target for the break in?" Ron and Harry nodded their heads vigorously. "How can you be so sure?"

"Come on, it all makes sense! Hagrid empties the vault on the same day; the article says the vault was already empty; it fits together! Hagrid is not telling us something and we have to know why."

"Do we really though? What if it's just a piece of jewellery or his mother's favourite cup? It could've been just an ordinary break in."

"An ordinary break in that includes nobody else's money being stolen? Yeah, because that happens in the real world," Ron said.

"Then you should go ask him. Be subtle about it. Or you could sneak a truth potion in his drink and make him talk!"

Harry shook his head, completely against the idea, but Ron was onboard. "We can't… _drug_ Hagrid, that's way too extreme!" Harry snapped in a whisper.

"Then Plan A it is. We go to Hagrid's tomorrow morning."

"Erm... I can't do tomorrow," said Theodore as he ruffled his hair.

"Sunday?"

Theodore shook his head.

"Then Monday, after class! You have to!"

"Tuesday! That's all I can do!" The three boys broke and went to their beds with a set plan ready for the next week. Theodore went under his sheets and absorbed the warmth that the bed had to offer. He was enjoying every single ounce of slumber that he had gotten ever since he had arrived. Louise would've never left the bed, even if she tried.

' _Louise…'_

Theodore jumped out of bed and grabbed a quill from his bag under his bed. He dipped it in ink and pulled a large piece of parchment on his bed. He paused for five seconds before scribbling down something lengthy. After he finished, he then folded it four times and brought out an envelope to which he tucked the letter inside. After sealing it, he dashed over to Harry and shook him until he shot up quickly. Harry's glasses were off, showing his bright green eyes and his parted hair to reveal his trademark lightning scar.

"What is it Theo? What, you can't do Tuesday as well?"

"No, I need Hedwig."

Harry put his glasses on to see Theodore better. "She didn't want to go with the other owls, so she's sleeping over there." A rustle and a small hoot could be heard. "She _was_ sleeping over there. Fine, you can use her, but you have to promise that you'll be there on Tuesday."

Theodore gave him a nod and went over to Hedwig's cage. Her big amber eyes followed him as he approached her. He opened the cage and stuck his finger out to show he didn't mean any harm. That's what Harry did all the time. Hedwig was frozen for a short amount of time and then gently nipped on his finger. Knowing that he got her trust, her led her out of the cage and to the window on the far end of the dorm. He handed the envelope to her beak to which she clamped it shut.

"Okay, send this to 'Louise Free' in an orphanage named _Stuggle's_. Do not be conspicuous and do not hang around in plain sight. Go on."

Hedwig dived through the window and circled around the tower before flying off into the night sky. He watched her flap her wings with such grace that he was quite mesmerised by her. Now he _really_ regretted not getting an owl.

The first weekend started off freshly as everyone slept in, including Theodore. He was dreaming about something with a lot of green and black flashing in his mind, but he couldn't remember. All he knew was that it was pleasant enough to not shock him like the last one, which was etched into his memory. Before breakfast had started, all the boys and some of the girls crowded around the twins as they observed their latest plan of attack on the teachers, dubbed _Quirrell's Lost Turban_.

"It's all plain and simple, you see," said George.

"Simple and plain," Fred remarked.

"Absolutely foolproof," the twins said together. What was floating in the air of the common room was a chart that looked more of a child's colouring book than anything else. The plan seemed way too complicated to be considered 'simple'. Theodore could not see the chances of it even succeeding. In the corner, Hermione was holding a large comb while she separated her hair, tutting to herself.

"Attacking a school teacher is against school rules, you know," she said as she tried to tame her wild hair.

"Not attacking, more like having fun."

"Besides, everyone has a right to know what he's hiding under there. I'm betting on a vampire's tongue."

"A creepy face!" Ron shouted.

"I still think it's garlic," Seamus said. His tooth had regrown perfectly. The twins made bets with everybody willing to, earning even more tuts from Hermione. While everyone was invested in getting quick Sickles, Theodore walked over to the struggling Hermione, who was fighting her hair.

"Isn't there a relaxing agent that you could use? I think your hair is falling out."

"Don't… be… daft! And I don't need any of that, my hair is fine just the way it is."

"I never said that it wasn't," Theodore replied as he sat next to her. She turned to the side to hide her red face from Theodore as he got quite closer to her. "I'm going to need your help with something."

"Help with what?" Her face was still turned away.

"It's about my… parents. And Salazar Slytherin," he added quickly.

"For the last time, stop it with the Slytherin-"

"I'll promise to stop after we're done," Theodore interrupted.

Hermione's comb pelted across the room and smacked the back of Ron's head. He rubbed it in pain and gave Hermione a look of venom before turning back around. "Why me?"

"Stop being problematic and give me an answer."

"No."

"No?"

"No."

Theodore was getting frustrated with her. It was too early to talk about manners and respect to him. Hermione was always going on about how he needed to change the way he spoke to others.

"No more of that attitude. It stinks, quite frankly."

He sneered and crossed his arms. Hermione gave some more thought to it before she agreed and returned to her ineffective hair styling.

Later on after breakfast, the duo had left the Great Hall for the library. Hermione has suggested the Trophy Room first due to the possibility that Theodore's father had been a great student and should've won many awards. He thought that it was a great place to look for, but insisted that they'd look there after he'd finished in the library.

They reached the first floor and entered the room. Many aisles contained thousands of shelves, housing even thousands more of books. They were stacked high and out of reach for anyone of their height. The two divided and began their long search of any information that they could scrape in the amidst of the masses of books.

Theodore was sat on a table with _Hogwarts: A History_ by Bathilda Bagshot, along with a stack of books in the middle. In the hour and a half that he had been there, he had only went through three, not including the one he was reading currently. Everything within that book seemed useless. Facts on how the magic ceiling in the Great Hall worked; how boys can't go into the girl dormitories, but girls can go into the boys and other irrelevant topics.

Another book was wasted and so was his time. He scratched his head in frustration until his fingertips burned. It was only the first Saturday, but he felt as if it was the last day at Hogwarts. It all felt like a rush to him. He needed to find something that meant real value to him before he'd blow a fuse in the library. As his temper was rising dangerously, three other girls appeared from behind him, all clumped together.

Of course, Lavender and Parvati were together, but the other girl was new. It didn't take him long to see that she was the identical twin of Parvati. She had more of a serious expression than her sister and looked like she was dragged there against her will. The other two girls were just as giddy as ever which annoyed Theodore ever since they first meet.

"Hey, Theeoo," said Lavender. Her voice almost sounded as if she was singing. "I've never seen you in the library before. But it makes sense, seeing as your such a brainy guy."

He gave her an awkward smile and looked straight for the next book, hoping that Hermione would come soon. The girls didn't stop there as they sat theirselves down on the same table with their eyes fluttering at the embarrassed boy.

"So you're doing extra work on the weekend? You are so like my sis. Never can put a book down."

"Shut up, Parvati."

"Is there something that you girls want?" The two girls leaned in closer, forcing him to move back. How these girls became friends in one week was not beyond him.

"We don't get the Transfiguration homework at all! So we figured that you'd help us. You can help us, right?" They pouted, hoping that he'd say yes, but was met by a different, and rather disappointing answer.

"I'm sure that Hermione can help you with the homework! She's better at it than- Hermione!"

Hermione was holding a thick brown book with the spine having silver lining in her hands with her right eyebrow arched. He didn't care how much she heard; he was just glad that she was there.

"Hermione. I see that you two are _friendly_ with each other. Hate to interrupt your time." Lavender got up as did her friend, and left with Padma who looked upon them with ridicule. Theodore swallowed at the silence between them. Hermione slowly sat down and placed the book in front of him, eyebrow still arched.

...

"Can you stop looking at me like that?"

She wagged her finger in his face whilst growing at the boy. "Attitude, remember? Anyways, I saw this book on display near the front of the library. The librarian let me take it because nobody really noticed it."

Upon further studying the book, Theodore could see the Hogwarts emblem raised on the front cover with the name _Our Founders_ written in silver. The name of the author was nowhere to be seen on the book. She flicked the pages while explaining what she had found inside the book.

"A lot of pages have been ripped out, but at least some of the important ones weren't. In here it said that Salazar Slytherin was the founder of Slytherin House, but you knew that already. He had left the school when he learned that Muggle-borns were being introduced to the school every passing year. Apparently, he started this whole 'pure-blood supremacy'. That's the reason why Slytherin has gotten such a bad reputation over time."

Theodore thought back to when Draco called Muggle-borns Mudbloods. Seemed like a disgusting word.

"Well, that's everything."

"Wait, everything?"

"Yes,Theodore. Everything," she replied, condescendingly.

"But there has to be mo-"

Hermione slammed the book shut and stood up. "I said that's everything! Let's go to the Trophy Room and get this over with!" Hermione's hissing could be heard from all over. She didn't look ashamed when everyone was looking at her as she replaced the book.

"Didn't need to overreact…"

The Trophy Room had served a little more than the trip to the library. In the quiet chamber, cabinets full of golden plaques, trophies and medals were hung all over reflecting their colours on the rusted armour in the corners. The two peered at each one, looking for 'Riddle' to appear any second. They couldn't find anything for the first time so they tried for the second. Hermione was so sure that she had seen a plaque with the name on it. There was just too much gold. They tried one more time until Hermione decided to call it quits.

"Maybe it's in another Trophy Room. Or maybe your dad took it home when he left Hogwarts."

This time, Theodore wasn't going to argue. The search was wasted throughout the day and they had nothing to show for it, other than the fact that one of the Founders was prejudice towards Muggle-borns. Although it was hard to do, the young wizard had to let go of the short-lived obsession, and went back to the Great Hall to find Harry and Ron.

Sunday came and went, and school was back on for the second week. The Gryffindors and Slytherins were paired in the Flying Lessons to which both sides despised. It was bad enough that Potions was conjoined. Both Harry and Theodore looked grim on the day for particularly different reasons. For Harry, it was because he didn't want to make a fool out of himself and for Theodore? Well, he hated anything that made him speed up and twist in the air in any way possible. They were all in the Great Hall discussing the lesson that would happen in thirty minutes time.

"I'm done for! Just done for!" Neville exclaimed. He looked worried, which was typical for him.

"You and me both, Neville." Theodore wasn't one to be comparable with the timid boy, but if they had one thing in common, it was that they were both terrified of flying.

"Neville, if it helps, I can give you tips on how to manoeuvre a broomstick properly. It's really just basic physics-" Hermione glared at Ron who scoffed at her words.

"Basic physics? There's no such thing in Quidditch! It's all about reflex, agility and how well you know the game. Bringing 'Maths' inside the game ruins it for everyone."

"I'm sorry, Ronald, if I offended your little sport, but have you even flown before?"

"Yeah. Have you?"

Hermione stayed quiet and turned back to Neville. Ron looked as smug as Malfoy as he enjoyed the rare instances where he'd one-up Hermione. As she was about to educate Neville on the fingertip techniques, the hoard of owls arriving interrupted her, bringing mail for the students. One owl dropped a package for Neville which was a Remembral from his grandmother. Of course, he couldn't remember what he had forgotten. Hedwig swooped down and landed in front of Harry, earning a small rub on her head. Tied to her leg was a purple envelope with a blue stamp on the corner. Harry excitedly unhooked it from the owls leg and looked at the writing on the front, only for his face to fall again.

"What's wrong Harry?" Neville asked while shaking his Remembral. Harry outstretched the letter to Theodore.

"Here, it's for you."

Theodore took it from Harry's hand and looked at the neat handwriting on the front. He recognised it easily. He opened it up quickly and unfolded the letter in his hand. He read it to himself as it said:

 _Dear Theo,_

 _I can't believe that you just sent a letter all the way from Scotland. You're such an old man! Also, what's even stranger is that an owl was outside my window for almost three hours, hitting its head against it with your letter. Have you trained a bird while keeping tigers as pets in that fancy school of yours, because I don't know what to think about that!_

 _Things here are okay, I guess. The food is still crappy and Gretchen has calmed down since you left. Only proved that she hated you more than she hated me. The Reaguls took me to go see London on Wednesday and it was wonderful! I wish you saw it with me. They still aren't too sure to take me in, but I know they will. Who wouldn't want me?_

 _Anyways, it's been quiet now that you're gone. Even Simeon doesn't say anything now these days. Guess whatever happened to him really turned him into a complete sissy. I'm running out of paper and I was only allowed one, so I have to end it here. I miss you. Don't forget me._

 _From your best friend, the Lovely Louise Free. XXX_

 _P.S. Do you think you can send me more of those Liquorice Wands? I couldn't find them anywhere in the shops here. You must've gotten them really early. And don't lose the necklace._

Theodore had forgotten that, in that moment, he was a wizard in a magic school among other magic children, in a magic castle far away from home. Every word brought him back to Stuggle's to his best friend's side. What was only a week ago felt like forever to him. The same heartstring loosened then contracted again. How very odd.

"Theodore, let's go!"

He blinked several times as he saw everyone leave for Quidditch with him alone on the table. He quickly, but carefully, put the letter in his bag and followed the others to the dreaded lesson ahead, feeling more happier than he had felt in the past week.

 **This was definitely one of my weakest chapters, but I don't want to delete it and start all over. It's all over the place, I know! But guess what? You are going to have two chapters today to compensate for this shitty one! Aren't I a nice guy? Also this is where my story, which is not owned by me by the way, starts to take a tangent from the Philosopher's Stone or Sorcerer's, whichever one you prefer. Hope you at least read the chapter, not expecting you to enjoy it. Later.**


	5. Chapter 5: Gryffindor Is Alright?

Louise boringly poked the lumpy apple crumble that was smothered with even more lumpy custard. If there was one thing that the meals at Stuggle's had gotten right, it was that they maintained their consistency of _quality_ throughout. The time was four-ish as all the children had returned from school (not necessarily the same one) and dove into the unsatisfactory food that was being served. Louise always wondered if this place was even suitable for rats let alone children. This poorly made dessert was nauseating to the sickly colour. She had enough.

She went over to the bins to empty her tray of unfinished food and left for her room. The first week of school had been grateful enough to give her a booklet of homework that was due on Friday. It wasn't like she couldn't do it; it was a matter of if she felt like it. Getting into trouble at school sounded a lot better than to torture herself for three hours. Louise was still in her new school uniform as she was one of the new year-sevens of Richardson Secondary School. She had expected to go there with Theodore since last winter, but look how that turned out.

The door swung open as she pushed through. She didn't even realise what was laying on her bed in plain sight. As she changed into her casual clothes she then turned to her desk to tackle the dreadful assignment because was it really worth the trouble? She dropped into the chair with her hair that was tied in a ponytail bouncing along with her. Louise had found that she liked the hairstyle as it made her see better through her thick locks; granted that she had to use several hair bands as one was not near enough.

Louise groaned continuously, wanting something to release her from her boredom at that very moment until finally she realised the package. She literally dived onto the bed and savagely tore through the box, hoping that Theodore had sent another letter and sweets despite the lack of an owl anywhere. The parcel did not come from Theodore, but came from Mr and Mrs Reagul instead who she was slowly warming up to now.

Inside was a purple floral dress with glamorous sequins woven onto the lower parts. She wasn't really the type of girl to wear dresses exclusively, but this one could change her mind. Three pairs of diamond earrings came with the dress as did a letter. She didn't want to read it now and stuck it in her desk while she hung the dress inside her wardrobe. The earrings were hidden behind her bed so that she wouldn't have to worry about anybody stealing them when she wasn't around. Once everything was cleared away, she returned to her homework and prepared herself for an age of exaggerated hell and anguish that was waiting for her.

* * *

Almost two hours had passed, and Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione were still not here. All of them had their own reasons to leave the dorm and all were very stupid. To Theodore at least. Neville had gotten a pass due to the fact that his own bad luck was his undoing during the Quidditch Lesson on that day; everyone else left all because of a skirmish that happened in the Great Hall with none other than Draco. Theodore told them all to go back to bed, even to Hermione who had the same objective, but knowing Harry and Ron as loose cannons and being the rule-abiding student that she was, Hermione left after them.

Theodore was sleeping happily in his bed ignoring the other children's foolishness, enjoying the peace and quiet completely undisturbed. Hedwig ruffled sometimes in her cage, but it didn't annoy him. The sound of feathered wings fluttering against the metal bars sounded relaxing to Theodore. All was well and calm.

…

"Theodore, wake up!"

The angered boy threw the covers off his bed and glared at the disturbers of his slumber. Ron and Harry looked out of breath as if they were running for their lives while Neville slowly paced to his bed with an expression of complete fear. What the hell happened?

"Theodore, you'll never believe what we just saw!" Ron spoke breathlessly.

"Maybe I don't want to believe and want to go back to sleep! Leave me alone!"

"But it's important! It's about the package from Gringott's! You know, the one Hagrid took!"

"We can talk about it in the morning," mumbled Theodore as he pulled his sheets over his head.

Harry pulled them back and came closer to Theodore, face to face. "There was a three. Headed. Dog."

…

"So, what?"

Ron threw his hands up. "You're impossible, you know that? I thought Hermione was supposed to be the stubborn one in this House."

"Did she see it too?"

"Yeah, and Neville too. We found him sleeping outside the Fat Lady's portrait."

Theodore didn't want to hear that story, or the other one, or anything else for that matter. Right now, sleep was everything and everything was being denied by two rule-breakers. The two other boys gave up and went back to their beds. Theodore had blown off their agreement to go to Hagrid's place to ask him about the Gringott's break in, and the two weren't particularly pleased. The only other person who was tactical and knowledgable was Hermione, but after tonight, there was no way that they would ask for her help. They guessed that finding that secret out would have to wait for another day.

The weeks had rolled by, and now the end of October was dawning upon Hogwarts. Theodore was regularly requesting stash from Fred and George to send to Louise by Hedwig, who was more than happy to oblige. Even Harry, who was ticked that Theodore dropped out last minute, was okay with him using Hedwig. Perhaps Theodore had more of an impression on him than he had thought.

The Thursday morning of Halloween looked like a good way to end the month. The Halloween meal that was being prepared left its smell to linger within the hallways, snatching the students' noses by the second. The first class of the morning was Charms with the small and gentle Professor Flitwick. The lesson today was the Levitation Charm which was looked forward to by literally every single child in the class.

"Swish and flick is the key! Remember, swish and flick!" Flitwick squeaked.

The class was told to be paired up, with Hermione and Ron (not the best choice), Harry and Seamus, and Theodore with Neville. The boy was hoping that Neville would choose somebody else, but unfortunately, Lavender was the only other contender. Theodore was just giving Neville advice on how to perform the charm properly instead. Almost everyone had attempted but failed, except for Hermione.

"Absolutely well done, Miss Granger, just splendid! Everyone, please look at what Miss Granger has done!" The feather that they were supposed to levitate was flying freely in the air at Hermione's whim. Ron did not look all that happy.

Neville had given up some time ago and was also watching the feather in awe. "Why don't you give it a go, Theo? I'm sure that if Hermione can do it, so can you," Neville said as he kept his gaze on the flying feather.

"Don't you want to try it again? I can give you more tips on how to swish your wand properly." Neville shook his head. Theodore shrugged and brought out his wand. He pointed it at the feather and flicked his wand. _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Just as Hermione's, their feather flew into the air a few feet away from the ceiling. Neville was highly impressed and so was Flitwick.

"You too, Mr Riddle? My, Gryffindor sure has a talented lot! Well done!" he said while following the feather that was racing around the room. This was too easy.

"I can't take it anymore! She's gotten on my last nerve!" Ron exclaimed after class had finished.

"So, what? Theodore did the charm as well; why aren't you getting mad at him?"

"Because Theodore doesn't act like he knows everything all the time…! Okay, he does, but Hermione is just as bad! No wonder nobody can stand her!"

"I can stand her," Theodore chimed in.

"You don't count. She's a nightmare, an absolute nightmare." As soon as he finished his sentence, Hermione knocked past them wiping the tears in her eyes. Ron looked slightly regretful of the things that he just said.

"Erm, maybe you should go after her Theo. I mean, you are her only friend."

Theodore rolled his eyes. "You can be friends with her too, you know. No matter how annoying she is." The boy left the others and tried to find Hermione who became lost within the crowds. In the next class, Theodore came empty-handed as she was nowhere to be seen.

The feast in the Great Hall was beginning as the Halloween decorations covered the walls and doors. Bats and pumpkin candles were everywhere to be seen. As the other Gryffindors were eating away, Theodore couldn't help but worry for Hermione. Knowing her, if she skipped class then she was definitely sad. He lifted a forkful of rice when somebody screamed down the Hall.

"There's a trooollll! Troll in the dungeons…" Quirrell, the bringer of these news, fainted before sending the students in a whirlwind of fear.

Everyone was screaming their heads off. Theodore was feeling a bit weary himself. He was talented sure, but what could he do against a troll? Running away was the best option. Everyone was silenced by Dumbledore who produced a large bang with his wand. He instructed the prefects to take them back to the dorms to which Percy shot up and began to bark orders.

The first-years were huddling behind Percy and the older students in fear for their lives. Theodore wanted to hurry along, but was pulled to the side by Harry and Ron.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! There's a troll in the dungeons and you drag me behind without any warning! Are you crazy?!" Theodore hissed.

"Stop acting like a child and come with us! Hermione doesn't know about the troll!" Ron explained.

"I'd blame you, but there's no time. We have to go quickly though. The teachers would be in the corridors looking for the beast."

"Come on!"

The three boys slipped away from the Gryffindors and snuck around the back past the Great Hall doors and down the stairway. They had almost been caught by what seemed to be Snape, who was walking in the other direction of the dungeons.

"Why isn't he- He's going for the third floor!" Harry said behind the wall from where they were hiding.

"Never mind him; we have to find Hermione before the troll-"

A disgusting stench suddenly invaded their noses. The ground shook as a large figure from across the hallway slowly pulled its atrociously disproportioned body along. The troll was easily twelve-feet tall with a face that seemed too ugly to look at. Its fat belly rippled with every thud its stumpy feet made in the floor; its tree like appendages that were so long that the wooden club it had in its hand was dragging behind it. The boys were petrified by the sight.

"Hey look, i-it's going inside that room over there with the key. If we lock it, it'll be trapped inside," Harry suggested.

"G-good plan. Um, we'll all go together and run, lock the door and come back. Plan?" Ron stammered. Harry and Theodore nodded their heads fearfully. They counted down from three and dashed towards the door, only to realise one thing beforehand. The troll went into the girls' toilets. They could tell from the blood-curdling scream that came from within.

"Hermione!" they all said in unison.

They pushed through the door to see Hermione crouching in the corner while the troll was motionless, probably waiting for its tiny brain to send orders around its massive body. Its brain had finally decided as the troll swung its club all over the place, destroying the stalls and sinks around it.

The boys all chucked the debris from the destruction, but it didn't faze the troll one bit. It didn't take to this kindly as the troll went after them instead. The trio split around the creature, taunting it from different angles. The troll was confused on who to pulverise as its club was still held above his head, almost touching the ceiling.

Suddenly being the logical one there, Ron pulled out his wand and without giving any thought, shouted the first spell that came to mind. _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The club escaped from the troll's grasp and was airborne. The troll looked at his hand, stupidly confused as to where it went, before being smacked by his very own weapon on his head. The behemoth twirled until it crashed on the floor, its head smashing right next to Harry. The troll's mouth released a spray of saliva, rotten gunk and a dreadful waft of troll breath all over poor Harry, who didn't see it coming. Hermione came out of her hiding place, and came closer and away from Harry (she wasn't trying to be rude).

"Looks like you could've done it on your own, Ron," Theodore said. He was shaken, but ultimately glad that he wasn't killed in a bathroom by a troll.

"It looks dead."

"Doubt it. It's still breathing, look," said Ron as he tucked his wand away proudly.

"Now that we're done playing hero, we all have to go back to the common room, especially you, Harry." Theodore turned to walk out the door, but stepped backwards when three teachers had burst through instead. McGonagall was the first, followed by Quirrell, still scared as ever and Snape, who had a slight limp to his step. McGonagall was the first to scold them, and boy was she livid!

"Tell me! Tell me what possessed you on this Earth to come here! Why didn't you do as you were told?! You could've been killed!" She looked over to Hermione. "And you even dragged Miss Granger in your little masquerade!"

The three boys felt like they weren't going to hear the end of this. Ron was probably expecting an applaud for his actions, but instead received a lecture and possibly a detention.

"Um, Professor? It was my fault," Hermione quietly spoke up as she faced the floor.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I-I tried to deal with the troll myself. I thought that I could handle it because I've read about them before. But I was wrong. The troll would've killed me if they hadn't come for me. It was Ron who knocked the troll out with its club. Please Professor, don't punish them for what I've done."

Everyone was dumbfounded. The boys were shocked as they heard the lie from Hermione, Hermione Granger herself. The teachers couldn't believe that she had broken a school rule as she was probably the only first year enforcing them.

"This is… very disappointing news, Miss Granger. To put yourself in danger like that was very reckless. You're lucky that your friends came in the nick of time. I didn't expect such foolishness to come from you."

Hermione looked as if her life was over.

"Five points from Gryffindor. I suggest that you go up to the infirmary if you are hurt. If not, then it's back to the common room. Off you go." Hermione left with her head low and ashamed. Theodore opted to follow her, but McGonagall was not easy to slip away from.

"As for you three, taking on a mountain troll without any previous encounter should deserve a reward of its own, despite how idiotic it may seem. Five points for each of you. The Headmaster will be informed. Leave."

They then scurried away up to the common room without looking back once. They weren't dead, they weren't expelled, and food was waiting for them inside the common room. All was well. At least, for them.

Hermione was sitting inside the common room in the far corner with a plate of food by herself. Through the crowds of people, the boys passed her and thanked her quickly before going back to eat. It seemed that the first near-death experience that the four just had, brought them closer together, oddly enough. Battling mountain trolls in the girls' bathroom was a very weird way to form friendships, but who cared? It was Hogwarts. Nothing should've made sense.

Theodore went to go sit next to Hermione as she gave him a half smile. "That was really stupid of you, you know."

"You don't have to remind me."

"Well, at least you're not dead. Would've been boring if I didn't have any competition around here." Theodore gave her one of his sincere smiles that she returned happily. She was glad to have him as a friend, no matter how cocky or pretentious he tried to be.

* * *

"I'm here, okay?! I'm here!"

The day had finally come for the first Quidditch match to arrive in the early November. Even though he knew that Harry was a proficient flyer, he wasn't told that he made the team as the Seeker until two days ago. By Lavender Brown. When he confronted him about it, Harry fought back with a valid reason, reminding him how he pissed them off when he didn't go with them to Hagrid's. Thinking about that now made him realise that he was taking advantage of their friendship. But wasn't that the main goal? After all, Theodore was still convinced that he and Harry were connected, relatives maybe, through his mother. But that wasn't the main focus now.

At that moment, he and the other Gryffindors were inside their respective stand that stood many stories from the ground. It was only appropriate as the match would take place in the air. Hermione and Ron made it before Theodore who stayed behind to wish Harry good luck.

"Theo, come on, it's starting!" Ron said as he jumped up and down like a child.

The players were on the ground level of the pitch, surrounding Madam Hooch, who was a woman almost as fierce as McGonagall. She seemed to be telling something to all of them before she blew her whistle. The players shot around the air as different sized balls were tossed all over the place. Theodore tried to focus on where Harry was, but could not think over Lee Jordan's commentary that was getting under McGonagall's skin.

"Can you see Harry," asked Hermione, tiptoeing as much as she could.

"Yeah, and he's doing nothing!" Ron replied after spotting him in the air. Ron was quite right as Harry was sitting on his broom idly, watching his teammates and opponents playing the game. He must've been bored as hell.

"Why isn't he moving around like the others?" Theodore asked Ron.

"He's a Seeker. You see, the Seekers have to catch the smallest ball in the game called the Golden Snitch. It's worth one hundred and fifty points, and would end the game right there.

"Huh. This is nothing like football at home."

"What's football?"

Hermione, Theodore and Dean all looked at him like he was crazy before realising that their football was Ron's Quidditch. They continued to watch Harry do nothing as they heard Lee making inappropriate jokes about the Slytherin's captain and complimenting Angelina Johnson's appearance, later to be scolded by McGonagall.

"One more time, Jordan. One more time…"

The Gryffindors cheered as Angelina scored another point for them. As Theodore was clapping, he was suddenly shoved forward by an unknown force behind him. If it weren't for all the other people in front of him, he'd surely fall to his death. He turned around to see who it was, when it was none other than the Gamekeeper himself, Hagrid.

"Decided ter come up from me hut to get a betta' view. Oh, 'Ello der! You must be Theodore! I've heard a lot abou' yeh. Sorry abou' pushin' yeh. Big fellow an' all."

"It's fine."

"So, I hear tha' yeh're quite the brains in yer classes."

Hermione coughed intentionally.

"Along with 'Ermione as well! Great things I've heard. Lucky yeh were picked fer Gryffindor, otherwise we'd- Look at 'Arry go!"

Everyone turned their heads as Harry finally moved as he cut through the air. They knew that he must've seen the Snitch somewhere. The Gryffindors cheered for Harry as he dove and zoomed everywhere, all while fighting the Slytherin Seeker at the same time. The two continued to butt brooms until Harry was pelted by one of Slytherin's players.

"Is that allowed?" Theodore asked Ron, who looked redder than his hair.

"HE CAN'T DO THAT! THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH QUIDDITCH TODAY! REFEREE'S NOT TAKING ANY ACTION!" Dean and Seamus decided to join Ron on his rant as they screamed for the foul. They had their wish granted and Gryffindor was awarded a penalty, which was scored easily.

"Sorry about screaming. It's just that this game gets me all riled, you know?"

They all went back to playing and the spectators went back to cheering. Lee was still going off about the foul while McGonagall hushed him at every jab. When Slytherin had scored a point, everyone in the Gryffindor stands groaned, including McGonagall. Slytherin were still in the lead, and by a hefty difference as well. And Harry looked like he had no luck at looking for the Snitch. In fact, Harry wasn't looking good at all.

In the air, far from the ground, he was shaking violently, struggling to hold onto his broom. Hagrid was the first to notice this, prompting everyone else to confirm the sight.

"What the hell is he doing? Is he trying to fall off?"

"Highly doubt that, Ron. It looks like he isn't in control of his broom! Does that usually happen, Hagrid," Hermione asked anxiously.

Hagrid shook his scraggly beard and fixed a pair of binoculars to his eyes to get a better view.

"I bet you Malfoy did this!" Seamus exclaimed.

"Nah, on'y powerful magic can mess with the broom. Malfoy's jus' a kid. Ey, 'Ermione!"

The girl snatched Hagrid's binoculars and traced her eyes along the opposite stands. She kept on looking until she gasped, "Ron! Theodore! Look!"

The boys took turns to see her discovery. On his turn, Theodore could see Snape in the Slytherin stands, locking his eyes onto Harry while saying inaudible words.

"You see? He's jinxing the broom! We have to stop him!"

"I… er… OK! Ron and I will stay here to keep an eye on Harry, as pointless as that may be. You go do something to Snape to make him stop!"

Hermione nodded and left the stand quickly. Theodore and Ron both had worried looks as their friend continuously bucked in the air. Everyone was screaming and groaning at every moment Harry would almost lose his grip.

"Do you think she stopped him?"

"Well, Harry is still not on his broom properly, so I would say no." Theodore peered at Harry who had a look of terror on his face, and back to Snape whose eyes did not shut for a second. He had lost all hope until Harry sat on his broom like nothing happened.

"I think she did it! Look!" He handed the binoculars to Ron who looked, then jumped for joy.

"Yes! Yes! Bloody brilliant girl, Hermione. Even if she's a bit annoying."

Gryffindor's spirit was brought to new heights as they screamed for Harry. They followed the boy like a baby looking at keys for the first time, up and down until they winced. Harry had crashed into the ground while attempting a ridiculous dive. But he looked far from hurt. He looked sicker than anything. The spectators saw him kneel over before holding something in his hand that glinted with gold.

"I've caught the Snitch!"

Gryffindor's cheers couldn't be any louder. Their screams of victory thundered across the pitch and probably over the castle itself. They didn't care that they won by a fluke; they beat Slytherin. And that was more than enough for them.

November had raced past just as quick, as December was set in motion. The Slytherins were still sore about the match, and tried in every possible way to spite the Gryffindors. Accusing them of cheating, spreading rumours that Harry faked being in peril and downright insulting them straight in their faces. But the Gryffindors fought back with just as much force, defending Harry for his performance.

"They're just being twats, Harry. You should've seen the look on Marcus Flint's face; he looked even more uglier than usual!" Ron said while crushing a ball of snow in his gloves.

"I wouldn't say that they are… 'twats' but he's right. As far as I know, catching the Snitch with your mouth isn't against the rules," Hermione added as she fitted a hat on her head with immense difficulty.

"Thanks guys."

The trio was walking along the courtyard with the snow beneath them crunching at every step. They saw Hagrid dragging a large tree through the snow without any sign of strain. The half-giant noticed them, and happily stopped for conversation.

"Yeh kids all right? Real chilly out here. Yeh'd be betta' off with me coat instead!"

"Thanks Hagrid, but we're off to the library for some research. You know, on what you told us."

Hagrid became gruff in a second. "A… What is with children these days, not listenin' ter what they're told ter do? Fer the last time, drop it! Strictly teacher business with no kids," he said while wagging a thick finger at the trio.

"Oh, come on! We already know that Flamel is a part of what was hidden under Fluffy. You might as well tell us!" Hermione stated.

"No means no! End o' story, no more questions! Where's Theodore?"

The three of them frowned.

"Snape held him back to speak with him about something. I reckon it's because he's always showing Malfoy up in Potions, the blue-blooded git."

"Rather be a blue-blooded git than a filth-searching mouse like you, Weasley!" Malfoy was walking past on his own, smiling at his own taunt. He was more persistent on challenging the trio ever since the match.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Don't you worry, Potter. I'm sure you'll fit right in their family. You were quite the scavenger yourself with those Muggles."

"I said, shut up!" Harry's blood was boiling. Malfoy and Snape were two of the worst people that he had seen in Hogwarts so far.

"Or what? I can't believe Theodore could like such trash as you. Makes me wonder if he should've been with us instead."

Ron stepped towards Malfoy, who almost flinched due to Ron being a bit taller. "Theodore likes us because we're his friends. Gryffindor is where he belongs," Ron gritted through his teeth.

"So why doesn't he act like a Gryffindor then? Oh yes, because he's not a red-headed tramp like you!"

Ron had enough. He was about to raise his fist to hit Malfoy square in the face when Snape came out from nowhere.

"WEASLEY! Five points from Gryffindor for fighting!" Snape harshly snapped.

"But he started it!"

"Ten points!"

"But-"

Hermione kicked the back of his leg to stop him from losing anymore. Ron retreated and went back over to Harry, Hagrid and Hermione with his ears burning.

"Come along, Riddle. We mustn't waste time."

Theodore peeked out from behind a nearby pillar and followed Snape. His neutral expression made it very hard to decipher what had happened after class.

"Where are you going," mouthed Hermione.

Theodore shrugged and continued to follow the Potions Master. They walked through the corridors and along the steps, going through a familiar pathway. It wasn't long until Theodore recognised that they were going to Dumbledore's office. They went past the gargoyle, up the stairs and into the room.

The office was still as bright as ever, with all the paintings of the recent Headmasters and Headmistresses still moving and talking. The phoenix perched on a rail nearby, looking a lot smaller and younger from the last time Theodore had seen it.

Dumbledore was standing near the corner, enjoying some sweets that he had in his hand before taking notice of the two. "Severus! Theodore! How nice of you to come by! Please, come over."

Theodore looked at Snape whose gaze remained with the old man only. He then sat down while Snape stood beside him.

…

"Why the long face, Theodore?"

"No reason."

"Hmm… Well then, I shouldn't waste any of your time and will cut straight to the point. I believe that you will be going back to Stuggle's for Christmas?" Theodore nodded. "Well, we had to make sure that you were… ready for returning."

"What do you mean _ready_?" Theodore swallowed. He wasn't being sent back forever, was he?

"You know that I am aware of how you were treated in that orphanage, Theodore. I know how the children other there tormented you since. The unexplained happenings, the incidents. We know."

Theodore looked at Snape one more time, confused, before turning back to Dumbledore. He understood what was going on.

"If you're implying that I'm going to use magic against them, then you're mistaken." He swallowed once more.

…

"I only want the best for you. It'd be a shame to have a talented boy like you, be expelled for misusing your abilities. I hope that you understand that."

"As for the 'thing' we discussed," Snape drawled.

"Ah, yes! Professor Snape has recommended that you'd help him after Christmas as a helper for his after-classes. You have a great affinity for Potions, I've heard."

"I guess that wouldn't hurt… Would it go on my record?" Dumbledore nodded. "Sure, fine."

"Excellent! Now, you only have one more day until you leave, so I suggest that you go with your friends to the feast. Off you go!"

Snape followed him on the way out, and paced in front of Theodore as they reached the end of the corridor. What he was about to do was probably going to be the most idiotic thing that he'd do, but he did it anyway.

"Is your leg okay, Professor?"

Snape turned around. He paused, then grunted to imply that it was. Theodore was not going to do that again. Right now, he was more than hungry, and it was only one more day until he would see Louise again.

After saying goodbye to Harry, Ron and Neville, Theodore walked out of the castle along with Hermione to Hogsmeade Station. Draco was heard gloating behind them about what he and his family planned to do during the Christmas Holiday. Hermione and Theodore ignored him as they talked about what was going on for them.

"We might go to the London Eye and see the sights! We were supposed to go to France, but my dad said maybe next year."

"Sounds fun. I don't think I'm even leaving the orphanage. Going on trips is only for the corner shop, and even that is the only interesting thing that you can do over there."

"I'm sure that you're going to have fun. You must be looking forward to seeing your friends again."

" _Friend_ , as in singular." He suddenly laughed as Hermione almost slipped over on a frozen puddle, earning a hard slap on his arm.

The two finally reached the station and boarded onto one of the compartments that was warm and cosy. They then settled down and continued their conversation as the train started to move. They talked and talked until Hermione was fast asleep, sprawling herself on the seat opposite to Theodore as her reddish button nose wrinkled infrequently.

The boy was feeling a little drowsy himself until he decided that he needed the toilet. He quietly left the compartment and made his way through the hallway, noticing how quiet it was now that the whole school was not all on it. He carried on walking until he stopped. Somebody had called his name.

"Riddle! Over here!" Draco had his compartment door open as Crabbe and Goyle sat opposite him, scoffing all types of sweets in their faces.

"Hey… Draco."

"Well, sit down then!"

Theodore hesitantly sat next to Draco, hoping that the conversation would be short enough so that he could release himself in the toilets.

"I heard that you're going back to the Muggle orphanage. Unfortunate, is it?"."

"I agree. I hate it over there."

"How come you're going back though?"

Theodore had to think of a lie. Draco obviously didn't like Muggles, so any mention of Louise would be a bad call.

"For the attention… The _Muggles_ will ask where have I been. They're a gullible lot, all of them."

Draco smiled conceitedly. "Couldn't be any more truthful. I don't know about you, Riddle. You think like a Slytherin, act like one, yet the Sorting Hat put you with the other dunderheads of Gryffindor. Strange, isn't it?"

Theodore's eyes ticked at 'dunderheads', but carried on like nothing happened.

"Well, I thought that it was bewitched. The Hat knew that I was supposed to go to Slytherin. Something obviously went wrong."

"Obviously." Crabbe coughed violently while Goyle punched his chest to help him clear his throat. "You idiots can't stop eating, I swear!"

"Well, I have to go now. Kind of tired, you know." He stood up, as did Draco, and went over to the door.

"Probably would've enjoyed having you over on our side instead of these two. Just know that you have friends in Slytherin. I know that you were meant to be with us anyway." Draco stuck out a hand.

Feeling as if the blonde boy was right in a sense, Theodore shook it and left. He quickly went to the toilet and back into his shared compartment.

Hermione heard him dash inside and was half-awake. "Where d'you go," she asked as she yawned.

"Nowhere."

The train was finally at King's Cross, and the young witch and wizard hopped out with their things appearing already on the trolleys. Hermione's parents were in full view near the front of the train, and Theodore was willing to bet that Gretchen hadn't even arrived yet.

 _'Probably pigging out in the car.'_

Hermione carted her trolley next to her parents as they hugged each other tightly.

 _'Must be nice.'_

He was almost near the enchanted barrier when Hermione came to his side.

"Hey, Theodore! You're going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"My _carer_ is probably outside right now, and I know that she won't help me with carrying all of this."

"Well, I hope you have a great Christmas." Hermione hugged him quickly and ran back to her parents.

Theodore smiled for a second before he caught the faintest smiles that were aimed at him by her parents, then ran through the wall onto the Muggle side of King's Cross.

Nobody had noticed him appearing from nowhere, except the guard from earlier who tipped his hat to him. Theodore pushed his trolley outside the station and saw Gretchen's car parked. He fumed internally as he slowly pushed the trolley further to the car's side, and peered into the windows to see Gretchen's ugly face. Only it wasn't Gretchen's ugly face.

"Madam? What are you doing here?"

Madam opened the car door and instantly grabbed him in a tight hug. She must've missed him badly. "Oh child, how are you? I'm terribly sorry for not coming inside to get you; Gretchen is sick, so I had to take her place quickly! Now, there's no need for any smiling! Let me help you with your things."

The two stuffed the boy's belongings in the boot and entered the car. On the way back, Madam bought him a takeaway dinner, since the current time was after eating hours. He tucked in the bag to munch on a beef burger, chips and Coke. Not as good as Hogwarts, but still more than satisfactory.

They pulled up to the orphanage which looked the exact same from when he left, except for the massive blanket of snow on top. The lights were all off and so were neighbours'. It must've been really late. Madam helped him quietly to bring his stuff to his room, and wished him goodnight before leaving. Theodore gazed around his room that looked absolutely untouched and clean. His small bed was still small and tidy, and his wardrobe was still fixed in the same position. He opened the draw to check if anything had been taken out. Nope. He closed it and went to change into his pyjamas, feeling as if he were a stranger in his own room.

Theodore climbed into bed and pulled the sheets over him until he remembered something. He got out of bed and snuck through the hallways without making a sound. Sneaking around Hogwarts had given him some experience in the act. He came across a familiar door and opened it so, so gently. Theodore then began to tiptoe slowly to the bed, closer and closer. He stretched his hands out and grabbed the bottom of the sheets, clenching onto the small feet that were poking out.

Louise gasped and jumped out of bed. She looked like she had a bad dream. The person who did this was going to pay, if it wasn't Theodore. She squealed as she practically wrapped herself around him.

"Louise, be quiet! We're supposed to be sleeping!"

She didn't care. She squeezed harder and harder, almost choking Theodore. He tapped her shoulder rapidly to show that she was depriving him of oxygen.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't to hurt- Oh, who cares, you're back! Wait, did you come now or before-?"

"Just a few minutes ago." He sat on her bed while she plopped next to him giddily.

"You have to tell me everything! How's it like in… in…?"

"Hogwarts."

"Right. Such a weird name."

"Yeah, it's amazing! You wouldn't believe how great it is! The school is basically a massive castle, and there are so many rooms and stairs that I was almost lost for a week!"

"How was the food? Tell me!"

Theodore placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her dead in the eye. "It. Was. Heavenly."

She widened her eyes. He told her how on the first day, he stuffed himself with more food than they could imagine. He told her about the steak, the chicken, the tarts and Pumpkin Pasties.

"Wow! Hogwarts sounds wicked! If only I could've gone there with you."

"Yeah… If only…"

…

"Do you want to know what I did with the Reaguls?"

"Sure."

Louise told him about how they went out one night to an exquisite restaurant that served French and Spanish food. Mrs Reagul had given her a dress and a little make up on the day to make her feel all grown up. Theodore, for a moment, wondered how she would look with make up on. She also told him how they brought her to their house which was grand. There were so many priceless antiques and Mr Reagul told her about every single one.

Both of them were ecstatic to know that they weren't moping around for each other, even though secretly they did. They just swapped stories and stories, till Louise got tired and fell to sleep just like that. Theodore tucked her in, with difficulty, and went back to his room with a smile on his face.

* * *

 _I should've known you'd go back to the Muggles… Why am I not surprised…?_

 _'You… You stay out of my head...'_

 _I'll never leave! As long as you remain in that traitorous House, I'll never leave!_

 _'Why are you still here?'_

…

 _You're so weak… Friendships with Mudbloods and Muggles. Slytherin would've been ashamed… Your father would've been ashamed…_

 _'Leave…'_

 _How is it that you've carried his blood for all this time…?_

 _'Leave!'_

… _but haven't fulfilled your purpose as his Heir?_

 _'I SAID LEAVE!'_

He woke up in a cold sweat. The window in his room was opened; he scoured across to see if anybody was there. Nobody. He thought so. That nightmare… It felt so real… Like there was somebody in his head. It couldn't be, no way.

Theodore got out of bed and wrapped his dressing gown on to protect him from the cold. The morning was fresh, and the snow was piling up outside; he didn't notice the Christmas tree in the corner of the entrance corridor, but there it was. It looked quite beautiful as well. He went into the kitchens to see if anybody was cooking any breakfast, but it was vacant. At least he could grab something without anybody looking. He made a piece of toast and buttered it before going into the living room. It was wide and big, perfect for most of the children to run around in. Tinsel and other Christmas decorations were all over the room, giving life to the grim building. They hadn't done this since he was three years old.

He went over to the back table and sat down, chewing his toast slowly. He could've went back to his bed for more sleep, but he figured that another nightmare wasn't worth the trouble. Theodore finished the toast and roamed around the empty orphanage that was silent. So silent that he could hear the aerial above the building swivel and squeak. He walked past many corners again and again until he bumped into someone. Simeon.

"Oh. Simeon. What are you doing up so early?"

"It's Christmas. I just wanted to see if I had gotten any presents." The bigger boy seemed to have lost all of his thuggish behaviour as he talked to Theodore like an acquaintance.

"Well, I haven't seen any so far. Maybe it's under your bed."

"I hadn't thought about that. Thanks, Theodore!" Simeon turned around and went straight into his room.

Theodore looked creeped out at his drastic change. He might've done a real number on him the last time they met. He paced away and went back into his room to see Louise lounging on his bed like it was her own. Again.

"Sup, Riddle."

"Hey, Louise."

"Sound a little bit happy; it's Christmas!"

He gave her a fake smile to which she giggled at. Theodore reached under his bed and brought out a big brown parcel that was for Louise. He handed it over to her to which she opened with curiosity. Inside were Liquorice Wands, Jelly Slugs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs and many more. He, along with Hermione, made sure to put Anti-Charms over the sweets so that they wouldn't make Louise suspicious about the way they jumped and blew up. And she wasn't troubled in the slightest.

"Yes! I love these! Chocolate Frogs? Are these new? Ooh, Jelly Slugs…!"

"Okay, now where's mine?"

Louise fumbled in her pockets and brought out a gleaming gold pocket watch. Its design suggested that it took a lot of money to buy.

"Whoa… How much did this cost?" Theodore asked he dangled it in front of his face.

"About… two hundred pounds, I think?"

"Two hundred pounds, are you nuts?! Did the Reaguls let you get this?"

She nodded her head and explained, "Mr Reagul asked me what you're like, and I said _a small boy with a man brain_ , and he brought me to the watch shop to get you this. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I like it, but… I barely paid like twelve pounds, and most of it wasn't even mine."

Louise tied her hair into pigtails and rolled her eyes. "You bought me Liquorice Wands and other sweets. That's all I need, Riddle. All I need."

Theodore was shocked. Nobody had spent that much on him. She could've gotten a houseful of sweets with that money.

"It is a nice pocket watch... But next year, we get something of equal price. I don't want you outshining me again."

"Always have to be the best, huh? Fine."

The two shook hands and carefully took their presents to the living room which was full of children. Most of them gave Theodore a quick look before turning back to their presents, some actually giving him a smile as he walked past. Perhaps they weren't so bad after all. Perhaps.

"Everyone come in for breakfast!"

A stampede of children ran to the dining room, ready to devour the food that was prepared. They all feasted on the surprisingly good food, chatting away to each other like it wasn't the worst place in the world. Theodore may have been a wizard, but in his heart, was always a Muggle in Stuggle's.

 **Boom. Second chapter in a single day; what do you think about that? So yeah, this story is mainly going to be about Theodore's innocence mostly before it gets eroded over time. It was the same for the original trio (well, for Harry), but it started around book four. For Theodore, it's a little earlier. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Later.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Failed Plan

The pocket watch was ticking quietly, but Theodore could still hear it. His room was cold and damp as if all the joy and happiness that was present on Christmas Day had been washed away. The window would occasionally shut and reopen by itself, and the door would shudder from the draft. The day after Boxing Day was just like any other normal day in the orphanage with nobody talking to him except Louise, the food returning back to its usual quality and the older children becoming spiteful once more. Simeon hadn't changed ever since Theodore bumped into him in the corridor on that day, but other than that it was all the same.

Theodore sat on his bed reading over the note from his childhood that he left behind in the cupboard. It surprisingly looked fresher than he had last seen it, but still had a sense of age to it. He traced over the words repeatedly like he could make sense of it. Something about this letter meant more than what he could see.

He snapped back into focus and stuffed the note in his pocket before going downstairs. The other children were quieter than on Christmas, forming small circles where they would exchange gifts to play with. Nobody took notice of Theodore wearing a distinct scarlet and gold scarf around his neck and face, probably mistaking it for a present. Theodore sat away from the others near the bookcase and tapped the pocket watch. He was careful to not scratch the gleaming glass, or scar the gold exterior. The time read twelve forty-three PM. Lunch was going to be soon. He sighed deeply and sprawled over the rigid table in front of him. He was not liking this quietness.

"Erm, Theodore?" Freddie Hestrude, a tall blonde boy with a freckled face was standing next to the chair opposite Theodore.

"What?"

"I just wanted to know how your new school is like."

Theodore took some time to absorb the fact that someone else was talking to him, about him. Not telling him that the Madam needed him, or that Gretchen was searching his room. Just a simple question.

"Oh. It's a good school."

"Is it far away?"

"Yeah. Like in another country."

"I heard that it's a school for training animals."

"Training animals? Where did you hear that?"

"Louise told me. Is it true?"

Of course, it would be Louise. Maybe sending Hedwig all the time was not such a good idea after all.

"We don't train animals. It's just a normal school."

"Well, it can't be that normal if you send owls all the way from a different country to here," Freddie said before turning around towards his friends.

Louise had slipped a bit too much about how Theodore was communicating with her during the school term. Granted that it was he that sent Hedwig all the time, she didn't need to tell anyone. It was supposed to be between them.

Theodore stood up to find Louise to talk to her. Sometimes being chatty was not always a good thing. And speaking of the devil…

"Louise, why did you tell Freddie about Hedwig?"

"Who's Hedwig? Is that the name of your owl?"

"It's not my owl and you were supposed to keep it a secret."

Louise sat on the other chair, twirling her fingers through her hair. "Look, I'm sorry for talking about your 'not my owl' bird. I didn't think it was a problem."

"Well, it is considering my school's rules."

"If it's a school rule to not share your owls, then why did you send one to me?"

Oh no. She wasn't trying to turn this back onto him. He had a good reason for what he did. She just couldn't keep quiet.

"I remember a certain somebody saying, 'don't forget me' multiple times before I left! And I was keeping that promise, in case you hadn't noticed!" Theodore snapped before holding himself back when Louise flinched away.

…

"I said I was sorry…"

Theodore saw her face turn pink with sadness with a hint of anger at her friend's jab flashing through her eyes. He felt bad that he snapped at her for something as small as this.

"Louise, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever, Theodore." She stood up and walked off in a huff, not giving Theodore a chance to properly apologise.

The young wizard reached an arm out for her, but pulled it back. Letting her cool off before apologising was the better option. Theodore slowly trudged back to his room to see if any school work could be done. Anything would be better than to be stuck with boredom and a best friend not talking to you on the mind.

He reached his room and pulled out his trunk that was full of his school books and equipment. His wand was also inside because he knew he couldn't resist the temptation to use it, if it were in his pocket. He rummaged through each one, trying to see if any would be of any interest to him.

"I guess I could look ahead," he said to himself as he pulled out his Potions book. Being Snape's new 'helper' was not going to sound all that pleasant, but the least he could do was to impress him. He finally recovered the book and pulled it out to flick through the pages until a flutter and a crash against his window echoed through the room.

Hedwig pecked her beak repeatedly against the glass with an envelope attached to her leg. Theodore didn't remember telling Harry where he lived. The boy opened the window to let the owl come inside and drop the letter off. He took the letter and stroked Hedwig before she flew off back to Hogwarts. The envelope was torn open and the letter was taken out which read:

 _Dear Theodore,_

 _Christmas at Hogwarts was really fun. You should stay next year, you know. I know you'll like it. I got a jumper from Ron's mother and an Invisibility Cloak! An actual Invisibility Cloak! Ron said that they were rare, but was sure that my one was real. Don't know who sent it though._

 _I also have to show you something when you get back; it'll blow your mind! Hope you had a Merry Christmas._

 _From Harry._

An Invisibility Cloak was new to Theodore. He didn't know that there were things like that which existed. For once, he was clueless about another aspect of the magical world. He read over the letter again, then stashed it in his draw. There was no way to reach Harry, so he was stuck in the orphanage, all alone.

"Why didn't I get an owl?!"

* * *

The holiday was coming to a wrap; New Year's passed, and the second term was going to begin soon. Louise didn't talk to Theodore for the duration of the break, still sore from their little spat. Theodore acted like he didn't care when she would come around, but in his head, he knew that he was being petty. He didn't want to go back to Hogwarts on bad terms with her. It was stupid and pathetic, the entire situation. But he was going to fix it.

"Riddle, have you packed your things yet?" Gretchen called from down the stairs. She miraculously recovered from her illness on New Year's, spoiling the mood for Theodore when she came back. And just when it was almost nice here.

"I'm almost done!"

"Well, hurry up! My car is running and I'm losing fuel!"

She was lying. Theodore knew fully well that her car was as still as ever, waiting on the edge of the pavement from across the orphanage door.

Theodore was busy folding his clothes and uniform in order as fast as he could. Doing this with three other people made it look easier than on your own. The last long-sleeved shirt was folded and placed inside his suitcase. He zipped it up, hauled it off the ground and out the door. The bag was taxing on his small arms, so he took many breaks in between every five seconds or so. He just made it to the top of the stairway when he decided a longer break was needed. He sat at the top step puffing slowly while rubbing his sore hands.

"You know, you'll break your arms if you pull that down the stairs."

"My arms are not that skinny, Louise."

Even when she didn't want to speak to him, she always managed to break in the end. She walked down midway of the steps and held out her arms. "Staring at me isn't going to bring the suitcase down the stairs either."

"I know that… Thank-"

"Don't mention it, Riddle. I was just saving you a traumatic injury down the steps. You're welcome."

Theodore rolled his eyes as the two lifted the hefty trunk down the stairs. When the two were done, they sat down in exhaustion from the difficulty of the task. Louise felt even weaker when Theodore said that there were still more. Up and down, up and down they went until everything was downstairs and ready to be carelessly dumped into Gretchen's car.

"I'm not coming back till summer."

"That's okay. I only wanted you back for Christmas… since I knew how lonely you'd be over there!" Louise had rushed the second part of that sentence, saving what could've sounded too awkward.

"I wasn't going to be lonely! You were going to be lonely, that's why you wanted me here!"

"Oh please, we both know that's not the truth!" Louise had a smirk on her face.

The wizard shook his head while he chuckled. "Well, I guess that you won't mind that I'm going back to a boarding school that's so far away… So far that it took ages for me to get there… and that you won't see me for a long, long, long…"

"I get it!"

"…time."

Louise hugged Theodore before lightly punching him in the arm as he left through the door. Gretchen was already in the car, exhibiting the same face as before when he was first going to Hogwarts. He opened the car door when Louise hugged him again from behind, making him especially embarrassed in front of the other children who were watching from the windows. She finally released and walked backwards, waving with no tears compared to before. And again, she went further and further till he could not see her no more. Why did it hurt a little less than before?

Theodore was in the Great Hall feasting on the spectacular food that he had missed for so long. When he got back on the day before term started, Harry and Ron told him and Hermione all about a _Mirror of Erised_ , a mysterious object which revealed what was hidden deep within their hearts. Hermione, being Hermione, scolded them for wandering around the castle during late hours, and for not finding anything about Flamel. Theodore was mostly interested in the Cloak, but the other three held it off. Right now, they had to survive the second term which wasn't looking too good for them.

"Great! First, we don't find anything about Flamel, now Snape's going to referee our next Quidditch match with Hufflepuff! This is… this is…!"

"Shit?"

Hermione smacked Ron's arm. "Don't swear!" she hissed.

"Alright, Mum, relax! Anyway, can't you just pretend to be ill? Isn't there another Seeker for the team?"

Harry shook his head. "We can't play if I don't. Oliver would lose it if I dropped out."

Theodore carried on eating while listening to all of this. Considering that Dumbledore trusted Snape, despite being a babbling old man, Theodore did not share the same views with the other three. But he could be wrong. For all he knew, Snape could be creating an elaborate plan for Theodore to help him steal whatever was underneath the trapdoor. It was vague, but still something to think about.

He quickly scoffed the remainder of his food and remembered about helping the Potions Master while quickly packing his things up.

"Where are you off to?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, don't you see that Harry needs our help?"

"As long as Dumbledore is there, then you'll be fine, Harry. Snape isn't going to kill you in front of him, there's no way."

"Okay, but where are you going?"

"To McGonagall," he lied. "I need to give in a late piece of work for her."

"You? Late work? Doesn't go together, but whatever. You're still coming to the match though, right?"

"Yeah."

Theodore turned and walked over to the Great Hall doors, then took a left when Neville of all people, hopped across the corridor with his legs bounded tightly together. The passing students pointed fingers as they guffawed at the poor boy.

"Oh, Theo! Thank god! Theo! Malfoy hit me with the Leg-Locker Curse! Please give me the counter-curse!" Neville pleaded.

"I'm kind of in a rush right now."

"Pleeasssse," the frantic boy said as he struggled to keep upright.

"Hermione is inside the Hall; she knows the counter-curse."

"Thanks!" He hopped over to the entrance and disappeared into the Hall.

Theodore sworn he could've heard a large thud behind him, but that wasn't important. He ran through the hallways and down into the dungeons. He then rushed into the classroom which had nobody in sight.

 _'I come in my own time and you don't show up. Really great.'_

Walking around to see if he could entertain himself, Theodore stared at the various vials and jars that contained different potion ingredients. Newt tails, bat entrails and other vile substances. He continued to glance over each container until he paused.

In a cage that was obscured by the door leading to a small cupboard in the corner of Snape's classroom was a snake. Theodore wondered why he never paid attention to that door anyway. The serpent's skin looked murky green and slimy like it had recently shed its skin, but never dried off. Eyes that were a nasty shade of yellow with spots of orange. Quite the exquisite, but sickly creature.

"Looks like an oversized garden snake. I wonder where Snape scooped you up from..."

 _"I am not a garden snake!"_

It happened again. Theodore wasn't surprised that the snake spoke back. It was their language, and he understood it. Of course, he didn't tell anyone else except Dumbledore as he knew that it would cause a riot among everyone. They'd banish him to Slytherin in a second which honestly didn't sound so bad.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. How long have you been in there?"

 _"A Parselmouth? In this school? How strange… There hasn't been one since a long time ago."_

"Parselmouth is the name of the language?"

 _"No! It's what you are! How can you be so simple-minded? The last one wasn't as slow as you. In fact, you look quite like that boy from all those years ago…"_

Theodore leaned in. This snake knew something. "Wait, so how long have you been here in the castle? And who is this boy that you are referring too?"

 _"An extraordinary boy. He was gifted, and had deadly ambition just like the Founder of his House, the noble Slytherin himself. But of course, what else could you expect from the Heir of Slytherin...?"_

"Heir of Slytherin?! Who was it?! Tell me, please! I need to know!"

The snake lengthened its body and poised its head to Theodore's level to look at him, face to face.

" _It was an awful long time ago. I barely remember his name. Dark hair like yours, thin frame… Yessss. It's coming back to me… Tom Riddle..."_

The boy's heart felt like it exploded tenfold. His father… His very own father… was the Heir of Slytherin. But that didn't make any sense… yet it did. Slytherin himself was a Parselmouth, and so was he. That must've meant that his father was one as well. How could he overlook that? It was so clear now that he thought about it!

 _"Why the look of surprise, Parselmouth?"_

"That boy that you mentioned, Tom Riddle? That's my father! My name is Theodore Riddle."

The snake flickered its tongue as it made the connection. _"Ah yes, I see! You have a striking similarity! And here I thought the lineage of Slytherin died with him."_

"You know that he's dead?"

 _"Well, the pathway that he chose to take would only result in one's death,"_ hissed the snake as it lowered its head once more to flick its tongue over the scraps of skin that were scattered along the base of the cage.

Theodore could not believe that a simple snake such as this one could reveal so much to him. He had the blood of Slytherin running through him, but he wasn't in his House. It almost seemed insulting. He would keep this all in the back of his mind until he would be alone in the common room. Right now, Snape was neglecting his time and was sure to not come.

"Snape doesn't look like he's going to show up anytime soon, so I better get going."

 _"Wait! My dear boy, I've been trapped inside this container for almost fifty years, milked of my body parts for useless children! I beg of you, please release me from my bondage! Please!"_

Theodore looked over to the classroom doors, then turned back to say, "Won't Snape find out that you've left? I'm not getting into trouble because you want to be let out."

 _"Then I will give my life to you! I will serve you always for you to be my master! Please, just don't leave me here with him! Your father would've taken pity on me!"_

"If he would've, then why aren't you free?"

The snake's eyes quivered as it tried to pierce into the boy's soul, searching for any empathy. And somehow, it worked. Theodore knew what it was like to be caged, not able to escape from your prison. And he knew what it felt like to be released. It was only fair that this snake would receive the same. And he had a new pet, even though if it wasn't an owl.

"All right, but we need to be quick! You might fit into my bag, but you can't make a single sound, got it?"

The snake nodded in glee.

Theodore brought out his wand and pointed at the top of the container. _"Alohomora!"_

The upside of the box clicked as the lid flipped open. The snake winded up to the open hole, excited by the sensation of new air around it. It slithered above the container, and wrapped itself around Theodore in an affectionate manner.

 _"Thank you! Oh, thank you, dear child!"_

"Don't thank me now! Get inside before he comes in!"

The snake entered his open school bag, twisting to fit its entire lengthy body inside. Upon observing it further, Theodore could see that this was no ordinary snake. He zipped it up and hoisted it on his back, stumbling a bit due to the sudden weight change.

"Now, don't hiss, speak or move! I'm going to put you inside the common room, so that I can go to the Quidditch match."

 _"Quidditch, ey? They still play that-? I smell somebody coming."_

"What? Where-?"

"Who were you talking to?!" Snape burst into the room with his face flustered with anger.

Theodore jumped backwards, hitting his back against the cupboard door. He hoped he didn't hurt the snake.

"I-I wasn't speaking to anyone!"

"Don't lie to me! I heard hissing coming from the cupboard that _you_ weren't supposed to look into," Snape snapped as he bustled past Theodore before he frantically darted his head around the cupboard, "and the only thing that hisses in this room is the-" Snape looked at the empty container.

"Where is that blasted snake, boy?!"

He was talking to himself, for he was the only one there.

"RIDLLE!"

Theodore was casually up the marble staircase that was in the Entrance Hall after sneakily evading Snape from his moment of distraction. Several other students beamed at him as he walked past, some even giving flirtatious winks that caused him to hurry along.

"Okay, so you can sleep in my other spare bag if you want. I don't know if that's comfortable enough for you though," he hissed quietly as he stood on a moving staircase.

 _"Your bag would be most homely. Thank you for offering it to me."_

Theodore planned on getting to Gryffindor common room to drop the snake off quickly so that he could make it to Harry's match. Even though Snape would be there as well, he knew that being a referee meant being nowhere near the stands, so it should be okay. He said the password for the Fat Lady to let him in and entered the empty room.

 _"This doesn't smell like the dungeons,"_ said the snake as it poked its snout against the fabric of the bag.

"That's because it isn't. We're in the Gryffindor common room."

"How did you break into here?"

"I didn't break into here! I'm… in Gryffindor," Theodore admitted before he felt the snake shake violently inside the bag.

 _"The Heir of Slytherin in-in Gryffindor? What an outrage! How is this possible?! Why are you in here?!"_

"Believe me, I wish I knew as well. The Sorting Hat was about to put me in Slytherin, but changed at the last second."

 _"You should complain about it! Announce that you are the descendent of the Founder, and deserve a place in his House!"_

"Would you hush already! You're hissing all over the place!" Theodore opened the bag to let the snake fall onto his bed. "Besides, I can't tell people I'm the Heir of Slytherin! People would be scared, and would go crazy every time they'd see me! I don't need any of that for the next six years."

Theodore left the bag open under his bed, and brought out a few of his potion ingredients as food for the snake. "The bag's open underneath the bed, here's some food and don't eat any of the owls that come in, please, snake?"

 _"I'll try to resist the urge. And my name is not 'snake', master. It is Viripin."_

"Sounds like a female name."

 _"I am a female."_

…

"Oh… Well, Viripin, I have to go now. Do not leave. I'll be back soon."

 _"Goodbye, Master Riddle,"_ she hissed gently, slowly crawling into Theodore's bag.

Theodore left the common room and ran all the way to the match, taking the utmost care around each corner, dreading to confront Snape at any given turn.

"I can't believe you missed it! Harry was fantastic, Theo! Where were you?" Ron squealed.

Theodore was unfortunately late to the match as apparently, it only lasted for about five minutes until Harry caught the Snitch. He had to admit that Harry was doing the House a massive favour. And Snape looked too bitter to point his attention to Theodore, although he'd probably get him later.

Ron told him how he gave Draco a black eye, and how Neville fought bravely against his goons. He lost, but 'he had the Gryffindor heart', according to Ron. And Hermione rushed through everything they found out about Nicolas Flamel. According to her, he was an alchemist who created the _Philosopher's Stone_ , a mineral so precious that it could turn any metal into gold and produce the _Elixir of Life_ which was a substance that granted the drinker immortality.

"The Stone was inside Gringotts, so Snape tried to steal it then. The Stone is in Hogwarts, Snape tries to steal it again, and now he's going to strike once more if we don't stop him," whispered Hermione as she, Theodore and Ron retreated to the back tables in the common room later that night.

"All of that seems plausible, but…"

"There's always a but with you," Ron muttered.

"…what would Snape do with the Stone? Be rich and immortal? That doesn't really sound like him at all."

"I can't believe you're defending him!"

"I'm not defending him, I'm just saying that the idea of Snape trying to steal the Stone is quite far-fetched, that's all."

Hermione leaned towards Theodore's face with her hair shaking wilder than ever before. "We have all the evidence right here. Why won't you believe us?"

"Fine, if you want me to believe you then I will. Is that what you want?"

…

"Cool," Ron said.

Hermione facepalmed. Harry had just entered the common room, and had a wild look in his eye as if he just saw something crazy.

"Guys, listen to what I've just seen!"

 _A few moments later…_

"I flipping knew it!" Ron exclaimed.

"Are you sure that this is true, Harry?" Theodore asked.

"Every last word. This pretty much confirms it."

Theodore looked slightly doubtful until Hermione put a hand on his shoulder.

"There's no time to think if he's innocent or not. If we don't act now, then the Stone could be lost forever. Come on, Theo."

He waited. And waited. Then made a choice. "So, if it really is Snape, how do we catch him? He's got us beat in experience, and would probably kill us if we interfere."

"We can only hope that Quirrell hangs on to the little balls that he has left."

The next few days had been rough. Snape had finally caught him and gave him extra time after Potions to clean and rearrange the ingredients for the next class. If it were Harry and Ron, they'd be cursing every single hour of each day. For Theodore, he felt the same, but now he was able to get food for Viripin without worrying about sneaking into Snape's room. The spiteful professor enchanted the door to the classroom, so that it would only open to him and Theodore when classes were over, giving him full access to the room itself.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had to constantly update him on what was happening with Quirrell while he exchanged information about Snape. There wasn't any suspicious behaviour so far, or at least anything more suspicious. Snape was still grumpy and bad-tempered, meaning that the Stone had to be safe.

And the classwork was even more stressful in the second term. The teachers doubled up on homework and loaded him with more notes than he could count. He was lucky that he was just as studious as Hermione, otherwise he'd end up in St Mungo's for finally cracking under pressure. Theodore had used up all his little free time with the others in the library, going over everything while fending off anyone who asked for help, although he made an exception for Neville. The boy was near hopeless in almost every subject, save for Herbology.

"No, no, no! Dumbledore found the _twelve_ uses of dragon's blood, and there's no troll whiskers inside the Antidote to Common Poisons! Were you even listening to me, Ron?"

"Yes, after the billionth time, yes!"

"Then why are you getting it wrong?"

Ron gripped his ginger locks as he tugged them in frustration. Theodore was putting too much pressure on him and he didn't know how much longer he could take it. The stress from Hermione, the overbearing nature from Theodore and the upcoming exams was taxing on him.

"Maybe you should take a break, Ron," Theodore sighed as he closed the book.

Ron glared at him, then slumped over the desk again. Theodore went to go return his books and packed his stuff away.

"You going to Snape again?" Ron mumbled with his head in his arms.

"Er, yeah. The guy won't leave me alone."

"Well, that's what happens when you break into his room. Rules are rules." Hermione was helping Harry with his wand movements as he was getting the hang of it.

"I wasn't…! Bye." Theodore walked off, ignoring a group of girls that were gawping at him. What they didn't know about him was burning his insides. An actual relative of Slytherin was currently walking through the castle's halls, but was unable to tell his friends out of fear of rejection. They all had a passionate hate for the House, so how would they react when they knew that his possible great-great-great-great-great, etc… grandfather was the man himself? He wasn't ready for that at all. He had to lie to them, even more than usual now that he knew where he came from, and sometimes it didn't sit well with him.

Theodore took a detour to the common room to check up on Viripin. The Maibian Adder, a very rare type of snake, was quite interesting to talk to during the time Theodore took to know her. She was found near the Lake almost dying from being attacked by gulls that preyed on her many years ago. The Slytherin students made her their mascot until she was used to provide products for the school to use in their potions. She described it as torturous and suicidal. Viripin tried to kill herself many times, but as she grew older her hide became too dense to break through. Even if that meant that she wouldn't be diced up all the time, her fangs would be removed every time they'd grow back into place. The young wizard felt so much empathy, relating to how he was singled out in his orphanage. He had only one friend, but if it wasn't for her than he probably be even worse.

He crawled through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room which was a bit more packed than usual. Most of the third-years were there, probably studying for whatever exam that they had. Nobody noticed him slipping inside; he quickly ran up to the dorm room and gently pulled the bag under his bed outwards. Viripin was snapping inside, possibly because he disturbed her slumber, and poked a head out.

 _"I was sleeping, Master. Why did you wake me up?"_

"Because I need all the answers that I can get from you about my dad."

 _"Can't I sleep for a little bit longer? How about something to eat?"_ Theodore brought out a bag of dead frogs and laid them all on the ground. Viripin scoffed each one, showing her miniature fangs that hooked into her dinner. _"These ones tasted extra juicy!"_

"That's because they're fresh. Now. How did you know that my father was the Heir of Slytherin?"

Viripin finished her last frog before asking the question. _"Tom was always bragging about the fact that he was Slytherin's heir. Almost like you. I'm sorry, Master, I was only joking. He'd come to me and speak in Parseltongue, trying to make me obey as if I were a simple serpent. He seemed like quite the vile boy."_

"But I thought that he was smart, the best in his classes."

 _"That he was. I saw how he manipulated magic. It was like nothing I've ever seen. Of course, I haven't had much experience with seeing all the magical arts in the school, but one must assume that he was one of a kind."_

"Huh… Do you think I'm anything like him?"

 _"Absolutely! I mean, yes, you are similar in some respects. I see his cheeks and hair on you, and I can see that his superiority complex was also passed down, no offence."_

"But am I _like_ like him?"

…

 _"No."_

Learning more about his father was like knowing your hero was actually not that great of a person. He didn't think that his father would've left Viripin in her cage without a single care. Did he have another snake on the side?

 _"Master, aren't you supposed to be with Torturer?"_

"Torturer? Oh, you mean Snape. He's probably going to make me wipe out all of the leechjuice from the pipes. I don't want to go down."

Viripin slithered out the bag and coiled around the boy. She placed her head on his lap and hissed a song that Theodore didn't recognise. He stroked her scales which turned into a much healthier shade of green and looked a lot sleeker. Her eyes were now a chrome shade, making the serpent look entirely exotic like she was meant to be. He finished stroking until she returned to his bag, tired and well fed. Leaving her to have her rest, Theodore then exited the common room, having found a new friend in Hogwarts.

* * *

"How am I always missing these things? A dragon? A real-life dragon?!"

"Shut up, do want us to be caught?!" Ron snapped.

Theodore was always missing the fun stuff whenever he would go off on his own. But whenever he stayed, it was dull seventy five percent of the time. This one, however, was the one that he'd stay around for.

"It's a Norwegian Ridgeback. It's still an egg but it'll crack soon," said Ron in a lower voice as he pushed aside his Transfiguration homework.

"That sounds wicked, but isn't Hagrid's Hut made out of wood?"

"That's what I said," said Hermione in a shrill before quietening herself quickly.

"But it's a dragon egg, Hermione! A chance to see one crack without being torched by its mother. You're not seeing the bigger picture."

Hermione slammed her book on the table. "The bigger picture, Ronald and Theodore, is working hard for our exams and getting good grades. If that thing destroys the school, then we're done for."

"You worry too much." Hermione and Ron went back and forth as Theodore turned to Harry. The scar-bearing boy had a letter in his hand.

"When is it going to hatch, Harry?"

"Now."

Ron stood up. "No…"

"Yes, Hagrid just sent me a letter."

Ron got all giddy. "We have to go now! Right now, all of us including you, Riddle."

"You can count me in!" Theodore replied. Even if it was a bad idea, it was a bad idea worth watching.

"We can't skip Herbology!" Hermione protested. The boys weren't hearing any of it. Theodore was on their side, singling Hermione as the odd one out. She grudgingly followed them as they all went down to Hagrid's Hut, who was outside with happiness and bliss ridden all over his face.

"Come on in!"

They all rushed inside to circle the charred black egg that was laying on the high table in Hagrid's home. It cracked, peeled, then the shell had burst everywhere in a puff of smoke. Everyone coughed and waved their hands at the sight of the newborn. It was, it was…

"Disgusting," Hermione gagged. Ron had a wide grin on his face. Harry leaned forward to get a better look at it, and Theodore was blinking as some smoke was still caught in his eye.

"Look at 'im. Jus' look. Ain't he beau'iful?" Hagrid sniffed as he watched the creature kicking off the remnants of egg shell off itself.

The hatchling flicked the slime that was dripping off its body all over the table, and stared at the relatively larger beings. Ron explained how his older brother dealt with this type of dragon in Romania, and was pressured by Hermione to let him take care of the dragon.

"Oh, alrigh'! S'pose Norbert is betta off with Charlie."

"Norbert?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Has ter have a name, righ'? Now, yeh kids run along. I'll send a letter ter 'im meself."

Hagrid shooed the four children out of his hut as they grudgingly walked back to Herbology. The passing days had elevated the risk of Norbert being discovered by somebody; on the day that Norbert hatched, Harry had spotted Draco in the windows, leering like the nosey leech he was. The quartet had to go on like they never saw him, but it was a hard commitment to stick to as he smirked at them at every single encounter.

And the dragon was increasing in size as it was increasing in being a pain. Ron was in the hospital wing due to Norbert biting his hand, which resulted in a wound that looked a bit too awful to ignore. Their plan to exchange Norbert with Ron's older brother, Charlie, had drastically changed from Ron going with Harry to a timid Hermione taking his place. Theodore agreed to be a lookout outside the common room to make sure that if they didn't come back at the required time, he'd look for them. While Theodore was sure that this plan would spiral out of control, he really didn't have anything else to do.

"We'll be back soon, Theo. Just make sure that if we're not here, you'll be careful about Filch," Harry warned.

"Just get back quickly."

"So much for _good luck_." Harry left through the hole and Hermione followed suit, just after nervously waving at Theodore. The painting swung shut and Theodore was inside the dark Gryffindor common room, all alone. He sat on the sofa in front of the dead fire place, and took in the silence that fell before him. Being set on the sidelines was a less risky position, but Theodore didn't mind. If anything, it was better for him as he was still on Snape's bad side after 'foolishly releasing a Hogwarts' property'. Getting caught outside during sleeping hours would definitely earn him the permanent train-ride home. Suddenly, a cold feeling ran along his leg, and then his left arm…

"Viripin! What are you doing here, go back inside the dorm!"

 _"You weren't there, Master. I wanted to check to see if you hadn't left me."_

"I'm not going to leave you. And keep quiet! I don't want somebody to hear that I can speak… to snakes."

 _"But why? You should be proud! The only way for others to accept you is to accept yourself."_ Viripin laid her head on his shoulder and affectionally rubbed her snout against his ear. The snake had fully invested her trust in the wizard, no longer sceptical about him being in Gryffindor, even if she brought up the subject once too many.

"You think so? If I tell my friends that I'm the Heir of Slytherin, would they care?"

 _"I wouldn't care."_

"Thanks, Viripin."

The two conversed in Parseltongue further until Theodore's pocket watch ticked rapidly. He pulled it out of his pockets and looked at the time. Twelve twenty-five AM. He turned to the entrance door. Nobody. He stood up from the couch and allowed Viripin to slide off.

 _"Where are you going, Master Riddle?"_

"I'm going to search for my friends. You go back into the bag. And don't let anyone hear you."

Viripin obeyed and trailed away back up the boys' dorm. Theodore made sure that his wand was inside his pocket. He couldn't do much with it, but it made him feel a little more secure. He opened the portrait and stepped out of the common room, making sure his steps were as quiet as ever. He tiptoed across the staircases and made it through the higher corridors. Hermione and Harry said that they would be at the tallest tower, so that's where he was headed. He'd stop at every corner to ease his chest and breathing before carrying on. All would've been fine, if that blasted cat wasn't in the way.

Mrs Norris, Filch's filthy cat, circled around inside the junction of hallways with the left-hand side being the only way up to the Astronomy Tower. The cat's bloodshot eyes shot all over the area as if it was searching for something valuable. Theodore knew that if he made any type of sound, Mrs Norris would call Filch, and if Filch caught him then Hogwarts would never see him again. He peered around the corner to see if she left. The cat meowed and continued its motion.

 _'This is stupid, but what the hell, I have to do it!'_

He pulled out his wand out and pointed it at Mrs Norris.

 _"Pertificus Totalus!"_

The cat tightened its entire body together, and fell over on its side like a stuffed animal. Theodore ran past the cursed cat and up the stairs of the Tower. The clash between him and Harry was painful enough to yell so loud, the Slytherins would be able to hear them from the dungeons. Luckily, their pain was expressed as hisses as they rubbed their heads.

"What took you so long? Why didn't you come back sooner?" Theodore said as Hermione tried to look if he had seriously hurt himself.

"Norbert was being fussy! And OW!"

Hermione hopped over to Harry to see if he was okay as she chimes in, "I think we just made it. Charlie's friends made off with the dragon, and we saw Malfoy getting into trouble by Professor McGonagall not too long ago." The trio then hurried down the spiral suitcase while whispering as loud as possible.

"Hurry up, guys! We can't be seen!" Theodore spoke as he led the group.

"McGonagall's long gone, Theo. We don't have to worry about her," replied Harry.

"It's not her, it's Filch. I petrified his cat, so he might be around… here." Theodore's blood froze.

At the bottom of the stairway, a grubby old man with thin grey ropes for hair stared at the three children with a mixture of delight and hatred in his eyes. In his hands, a stiff Mrs Norris was cradled like a baby with her tail sticking out oddly.

"Well," said Filch in a ghastly voice, "look at we have here, Mrs Norris."

 **Not going to be daily anymore; I'll just post them if I have time. The Norbert section had to be cut down really shortly as for me, it was the slowest part in the book. But at least it'll lead to one of the creepiest parts, the Forbidden Forest. I'll try to focus more on the imagery as this one felt a bit stale to me. Got a new character that will be featured in all the later stories so keep an eye out. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Later.**


	7. Chapter 7: Under and Through

"Outrageous! Unbelievable! Such disgusting behaviour from my own House! My house! I'm absolutely appalled!"

The three Gryffindors were sat inside McGonagall's study, each one of them receiving the livid professor's wrath upon themselves. Filch delivered them to her without a second's hesitation, and even requested that Theodore should be expelled for what he did to Mrs Norris. McGonagall did not oblige to this, but the way her nostrils flared with such anger, he might've been better off gone. And they weren't the only ones to be caught.

Neville was tailing Filch hopelessly as the old man slinked in with such glee on his face. "Caught this one following the brat that petrified Mrs Norris. Should I put him on the shortlist?"

"No, Argus. That will be all."

Filch crept out the room and shut the door behind him. McGonagall panned her eyes over the four. None of them could look her in the eye at all. They were deeply ashamed with themselves, not because they broke school rules (except Hermione) but that they had carelessly allowed themselves to be caught.

"All of this? All because you wanted to frame Draco Malfoy and get some petty payback, I presume? He's already been caught and so was Longbottom. You deceived the boy as well to drag him into your idiotic revenge plan, right?!"

"Professor, we…"

"Hush, Riddle! You are in no position to speak out! Attacking the janitor's cat was crossing the line at its peak! I expected better of you. To risk your gifts for something so stupid. It's a complete waste of everyone's time - no, Potter, you may not speak! Miss Granger, you have disappointed me the most. I thought you were the mature one of the bunch, but I see that their influence was too strong on you… Fifty points from Gryffindor."

"Fifty points?" Harry exclaimed.

"Fifty points, each."

Theodore spoke out of turn at the seemingly ludicrous punishment. "Each?! But that's two hundred points, we'll lose the lead!"

"Will you be quiet, Riddle?!" Theodore hushed. McGonagall huffed through her pointed nose, unable to say anything else. The study was silent for ten seconds. "Leave. Get to bed, all of you. I can't look at any of you. My own Gryffindor students… Absolutely appalled."

She carried on tutting as the four walked out of the office with their heads low. Two hundred points. All gone. The House Cup was certainly lost; there was no way to regain the points back. Everyone was going to hate them for this. Theodore didn't know what to think of himself. After tonight, he only felt even more isolated from Gryffindor. He didn't belong there. This would've never happened if he was in Slytherin. All because of a stupid dragon and the stupid oaf that hatched him. His inner tongue became sharpened. Spiteful comments about Hagrid, Filch, McGonagall, Harry and even Hermione, zipped and raced within his mind.

 _'If they cost me my place in Hogwarts, I'll… I'll…! Whoa… Whoa, whoa, whoa. Relax… Where's this coming from? They're my friends… My friends. And it was partially my fault for petrifying the cat when I shouldn't have. I was to blame as well. Right?"_

Theodore climbed into the common room without saying a word to the others. He didn't even say goodnight to Viripin, who was hurt by her master shutting himself off from her. Neville was crying in his bed for so long and he heard Harry becoming restless, signalling that sleep had escaped from him. Theodore rejected any feeling of falling off into slumber, scared that he'd get another nightmare from that high, evil voice in his head that poisoned his thoughts. His eyes were burning, but he had to stay awake. It wasn't like he could avoid the next day.

The next morning started off _normally_ , with the other Gryffindors frantically asking why their points had decreased dramatically in one night. Theodore was hoping that it would stop at the questions, but the story was leaked. By midday, everyone knew that it was the Boy Who Lived that led the charge of losing points from Gryffindor. Theodore's name had been brought up as well as Hermione's and Neville's, but they were having a 'golden time' compared to Harry. Harry was being shelled with insults and hatred from not only Gryffindor, but from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. He'd hear 'fucking pompous twat', or 'skinny little shit' from all over the school. It all seemed too much for him as he walked through the hallways as a pariah with shame whirling inside of him like an internal hurricane.

The following days had been the worst sort of kind. Like pre-Hogwarts, Stuggle's worst days. Theodore had shut himself from the group, believing that it was his fault that they were caught, despite Harry's insistence that it was his. The young Parselmouth would sit by himself away from everyone else, only to speak mostly with Viripin. He hadn't seen Dumbledore around anywhere to give him any of his frequent talks, Snape looked happy that Slytherin was back on top and the slimy professor pressured Theodore to do even more work for him, causing the boy a lot of stress. Being an outcast was nothing new to him. He actually started to like being alone as it made him feel like he was more to home than at Hogwarts.

Despite the harsh treatment from the other students, Theodore was still able to hold up with his studies, working as hard as he could to revise everything before the final exams would arrive. At least he'd go home with a bad reputation and good grades. He'd go off in the library on his own, or in the boys' dorm on his own, or anywhere in the castle that would be away from everybody else. Every once in a while, Viripin would travel in his bag and he'd let her see the outside that she was hidden from for so long. The snake was very pleased and almost slipped out of his bag before remembering what had happened all those years ago. It seemed that she had retained her phobia of gulls swooping down and snatching her away after the many years that she spent in the dungeons.

"I won't let them take you, not a chance."

 _"Thank you, Master. You are most kind."_

In the library during his free period, Theodore was testing himself on Defence; Quirrell had become an even bigger babbling idiot, not being able to teach a single lesson from start to finish. Every time somebody would reach for his purple turban, he'd flinch like a scared chicken and would scurry out the classroom to fit it on properly. The man was impressed with the boy's aptitude on the subject and praised him constantly. Theodore thought that he was only trying to be friendly with him to see him as a great teacher, but it didn't work. Quirrell was now a bumbling idiot and a suck up. And he hated that.

Theodore had finished the section on Imps and Ghosts, and turned over to learn about werewolf bites when none other than Parvati, invited herself over to him, without Lavender or Padma. How strange.

"I'm not in the mood, Parvati. Please, just leave me alone. I don't want to hear-"

"I'm not going to say anything, all I wanted was to ask for your help."

"I'm not helping anyone," Theodore replied sulkily as his gaze didn't met Parvati's.

Parvati put her puppy eyes on for display and said, "Please? Hermione is over there with Harry, and it's kind of awkward to ask for their help."

"No."

She pulled out her Astronomy work with a map of Jupiter and sprawled it out. "It'll only be just a second, I'll be quick!"

Theodore glanced over to Harry, Hermione and Ron, who had left the hospital wing recently. They looked just as gloomy as he did. "I'll do it, only if you and Lavender stop following me around. It's annoying, you know."

"It's okay. Lavender sort of hates you right now, but she doesn't mean it. She's always talking about how you ignore her and act rude, walking around like you're some sort of god. Personally, I don't take the offence that seriously, but I'm convinced that she's totally in love with you."

"WHAT?!"

The two clasped their hands over their mouths. The trio in the corner turned around to see who screamed, then went back to studying. They recognised it as Theodore's voice, but didn't bother to keep looking.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you that," whispered Parvati.

"L-let's just study this thing, okay?" The embarrassed boy traced the map and wrote down notes for Parvati to copy, still thinking about why Lavender was always leeching off of him. Theodore was many things, but didn't strike people as vain, in his appearance at least. He never really thought about how he looked and how others saw him from the outside. Even in the orphanage, the girls would gawk at him as he'd walk by, then they'd look away as if he didn't exist. Maybe they could see how strange he was compared to them, but the same thing was happening in a place full of people like him at Hogwarts.

The two carried on with Astronomy far longer than Theodore had intended, and left the library finally. Theodore scooted to the common room instead of the Great Hall, for obvious reasons. He fed and talked to Viripin until it was time for the next lesson. Viripin was reluctant for him to leave, but slithered back to her area. Theodore couldn't stand another lesson of being around venomous eyes.

During breakfast on the next morning, Theodore was slowly eating his porridge by himself on the far end of the table. He was near the older Gryffindors, but was not shaken by their constant murmur among themselves. A note was delivered to him, reminding him that he had a detention near midnight on that day. He groaned as he saw that he had to meet up with Filch in the Entrance Hall. The cynical old man would surely torture him for what he did to Mrs Norris. Theodore saw the cat skipping along the corridors, and it would spit and hiss at him every time they'd cross paths. The urge to kick her aside was almost too hard to resist, but it would only end up with a trip back home.

He instantly looked over to the other end of the table to see Harry, Hermione and Neville receiving the same type of note. Hermione's hair stood on end as her eyes couldn't widen any further. Theodore turned his head again at somebody cursing at the Slytherin table, the person being Draco. His pale face was red with anger as he scrunched the note and chucked it somewhere else. Theodore hadn't talked to Draco ever since the train, and had presumed that he finally had enough of him. Oh well. Any sort of friendship that Draco had in mind would've surely faltered sooner or later.

Eleven o'clock had arrived and the five children were standing in the Entrance Hall. The silence was unnerving to all as nobody, not even Draco, said a word. They all followed Filch out of the castle and across the grounds. Theodore was trailing behind the group, but Filch would always wave his lantern in his face, screaming at him to get back with the others.

"You think I'm stupid? I've seen it all before! You slow down behind everyone, and then run off to your little cosy bed! You out of all of them deserve the old punishments for what you did to my darling. You should be hanging by your ankles for a few days, scrubbing the soot off the castle with your fingernails! I ought to complain to the Headmaster himself, but who would listen to a wise old man like me, eh? If you touch her again, I'll make sure that you never wished to come here in the first place… We're here. Stop!"

The group all halted as they stood on cold grass in the dead of night. Temptation was persuading Theodore to kick Filch and leave, but he remained still. The light from Hagrid's Hut was bright from distance, and only grew brighter as the front door opened. Hagrid walked over and greeted them all before taking command.

"Now you kids be careful. I heard that there are werewolves and other beasties inside the forest, all hungry for little troublemaking children..." Filch said wickedly.

"Tha's enough," huffed Hagrid. Filch sneered and walked off into the darkness and back to the castle.

"He was joking, right? About the werewolves," asked Draco in a slight panic. Hagrid opened his mouth to speak, but chose not to. Draco didn't stop. "If you think that I'm going in there, then-"

"Then wha'? Cry ter yer daddy? This is how 's done in Hogwarts. Copyin' lines ain't gonna teach yeh anythin'! So suck it up, o' go home!"

Draco was silent. He looked like he wanted to curse at the half-giant, but he held his tongue. They all followed Hagrid towards the edge of the forest who explained what they had to do for their detention. According to the silvery substance that trailed into the forest, a unicorn must've been badly wounded, and was the second one during the week. Hagrid told them that they would find the creature to see if it could be saved. Otherwise…

"Alrigh', seein' as how there are six o' us, we're gonna split up inter three groups o' twos, an' we'll tryna find the unicorn. Cover more ground tha' way."

Neville paired up with Hagrid and Fang, which he was most ecstatic about, Harry wanted to be with Hermione, but was forced to be with Draco. Draco objected to this and insisted that Theodore would be his partner. After some convincing from Hagrid, Harry and Draco were stuck together while Theodore was partnered with Hermione. He didn't know how to react to that as he could see that she missed talking to him, but could also see some anger in her eyes. The pairs walked together inside the eerie forest and divided in three ways. Theodore and Hermione took the middle route and silently made their way, being in an awkwardly close vicinity with each other.

Twigs and dried leaves crunched underneath their feet while the moonlight partially lit the pathway in front of them. It was after two minutes of walking that they found a trail of blood leading and winding around the trees.

"Do you think it's close by," asked Hermione timidly as Theodore crouched down to take a closer look.

"Maybe. Although I would think that this is where it was first attacked, since there are some deep hoofmarks in the ground."

"Huh."

"Is there something wrong?" She shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Uh huh." She didn't sound sure.

Theodore walked on while Hermione hopped next to him. They slowly took their time, foot after foot, making sure that they didn't make any suspicious sounds that would compromise their presence in the woods. Well, if anything nearby was dangerous, then it would've came for them already as Hermione had screamed before grabbing Theodore by the arm tightly.

"What, what is it, Hermione?! D-did you see something? A werewolf?!"

"Oh… no, sorry. I thought I stepped on a snake or an animal. I didn't mean to scare you."

Theodore swallowed while he regained his composure. "I-I wasn't scared… You were scared." He looked down on his arm as Hermione was still clinging onto it. "Erm, there's no monster so you can let go now.

"Hmm? Oh, you don't mind do you?"

"No, no. It's fine. Let's just find the unicorn and get out of here."

The two followed the bloody trail which diminished and thickened at times, almost throwing the duo off. Theodore suggested that they should stop every single minute to make sure that nothing was preying on them, but Hermione objected to that idea saying that if they stopped, they'd be sitting ducks. After a quiet quarrel, Hermione won, and they trekked on without stopping.

"I'm never leaving the common room after this," Theodore said quietly.

"It's not like you ever come out now these days."

"Yeah…"

"Yeah, what?"

…

"Are you angry, Hermione?"

…

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Theodore?" Here it comes.

"Are you angry at me?"

"Yes!" she hissed. Her frown became heavily pronounced as her hair seemingly reacted to her anger as well.

"It's not a good idea to talk about this here, you know. In a FORBIDDEN FOREST."

"Yes well, it wasn't me who decided to become mute and shut off his friends. All of us were in trouble, remember?"

"It's more than that," he replied softly.

She tightened her grip on his arm and stopped him underneath the arch of combining tree branches. "We've known each other for almost a year. It may not seem that much, but don't you think that when you had a friend for that long, you can at least trust them with what's on your mind? Whatever you're feeling, I'm sure it's the same for us lot."

 _'Not even close.'_

"I'll tell you when I want to tell you. As of now, I'm not saying anything," Theodore said sternly as he looked in her eyes forcibly.

To Hermione, his eyes looked a bit cold and empty, but had some sort of life that was hidden. Some type of sentience which she thought was… honestly scary. He then softened his expression to a more comforting one, making Hermione's cheeks grow pink. She turned around and released his arm to march forward. The darkness that blanketed them luckily dulled the colour of the girl's face, giving the impression that she was sad that he didn't want to speak any further, rather than her being flustered by his face.

Theodore tagged behind her and hopped over raised roots and boulders. Hermione stopped in her tracks suddenly; her face turned white and her breathing was even louder than before.

"Hermione, why'd you stop," whispered Theodore as he caught up. He turned his eyes to where Hermione was looking, and fell under the same state as her.

Bending over and leaning against a tree was a hooded figure as black as the Great Lake in the night. It hadn't noticed the two children until Theodore released a semi-squeal from his throat. The hooded figure whipped its head around. Although it had no visible eyes, Theodore was sure that it could see them. Slowly, it walked towards them, silver liquid dripping from its chapped lips. Theodore backed up as Hermione snatched his hand quickly. She couldn't take her eyes off it and it looked as if all her other senses had been shut off. The figure came closer and hissed before speaking. In Parseltongue.

 _"The boy… leave the boy… kill the Mudblood!"_

Theodore stupidly replied back, unaware that Hermione was right next to him and hissed, "Get back…! I said, get back!"

 _"Slytherin's tongue…"_

"Hermione, come on! Let's leave, let's - Oh no..."

She looked at him as if he was a feral animal. She heard him. She now knew. She knew that he could speak Parseltongue and now she would make the connection, which would mean that she would shun him forever like…

Theodore shook his head and pulled her by the arm as they ran in the other direction. He covered Hermione to make sure that the stranger couldn't harm her without harming him first. It only wanted to kill her. But why? As the two ran, they heard it rustle past the leaves, hellbent on pursuing the Muggle-born for no apparent reason. Theodore wasn't going to allow that to happen. He reached inside his pockets to grab his wand and pointed it to the sky as he ran. He released a jet of sparks in the air as a signal for the others. Hermione was well in front, so Theodore didn't need to worry about her being left behind. Now all he needed to do was to outsmart the stranger and escape from it somehow. But how was he going to…?

Overthinking so much in an adrenaline-filled setting was the wrong thing to do, no matter where you were. The only thing to keep you going was your basic instincts controlling you instead. Theodore, unfortunately, learnt the hard way. A protruding root had caught Theodore's left foot underneath, sending him slamming to the ground and smacking his head straight onto the forest floor. A large ringing noise filled his head as he couldn't hear the apparent screams from Hermione. A shadow was creeping up from behind, and it was exactly what he thought it was. He stumbled as he rolled over to gaze at the 'thing', all while having most of his vision being knocked out of him the second he hit the ground.

The hooded figure crouched down to lower its head while the unicorn blood still dripped from its mouth.

 _"Fresh blood… Slytherin's blood… Our blood…"_

A cry from Hagrid racing over to the dazed boy made the figure disappear. The gamekeeper came thundering his heavy boots with an armed crossbow in his right hand. His face looked fierce and ready for a fight. Behind him was the rest of the group, all looking shaken to death, particularly Harry. His hand was clasped to his forehead, but Theodore couldn't see that.

"Theo?! Theo?! Yeh okay, lil fella? Come on, speak ter me!"

"Hagrid… I saw something…" Theodore slurred.

"'S okay. Yeh don' speak. Yeh had a nasty fall an' got a cut on yer head. We'll get yeh ter medical in no time. 'Arry, come over!" Harry helped Theodore on his feet as he struggled to get up.

"What happened to you?" Draco asked.

"I-I don't know. We saw this… person in a cloak. It had some unicorn blood dripping in its mouth… like it drank it."

Hagrid saw that this was now too much for the kids. He escorted them back to the castle and Theodore to Madam Pomfrey. The nurse was a lot like the Madam at home, strict but kind and generous at heart. She healed up most of the cut, but said that it was a bit deep, so she covered it with a bandage to protect it till the morning.

In the common room, Theodore was still shaken by what he saw. Viripin tried to comfort him, but he told her to stay put. His covers were well over his head to make him feel more secure. The hooded man had a similar voice as the one in his dream, only it sounded so much more poised in person, as if it had dipped its tongue into pure evil instead of unicorn blood. He snapped his eyes shut and thought of everything that had brought him joy in the past year: Louise, Viripin, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Hogwarts, anything but that… thing. He felt something poke his side, thinking that Viripin had peeked under the sheets. Theodore threw the covers off and was about to scold the snake, only to be met with Harry and Ron.

"Whatever problem that we have with each other needs to die. We need you to help us," Harry said.

Theodore nodded slowly and followed them into the main room downstairs. Harry, and by an extension Theodore, explained exactly what happened in the forest and what they saw. Hermione sat next to Theodore as he looked the most hurt from all of this, but he insisted that he was fine.

"It was him. It had to be Voldemort. He was there, hiding in the forest and waiting for Snape to give the stone. Voldemort-"

"Stop it, Harry! Don't say the name!" Ron whispered. He shuddered at the sound of the feared Dark Lord, but Harry didn't care. Neither did Theodore.

"Yeah, I believe you. Voldemort was said to be destroyed when he tried to kill you that night, but even he was too powerful to die. Maybe he was drinking the blood… for sustenance…" Theodore added while rubbing his bandage. Hermione pushed his hand off as Harry carried it on.

"Right! And Voldemort needs the stone-"

"Stop saying that name!"

"-to come back to full power again! And if that happens then… I'm done for." Harry slumped onto the sofa with his glasses almost falling off his nose. He looked so worn out that he could've keeled over at any second. Theodore remembered what Viripin said about Parselmouths being rare in Hogwarts, and that the last one there came over fifty years ago. But that was his father, who was dead. He _is_ dead. Never came back to life, dead forever.

"But guys, everyone knows that Dumbledore is the only wizard that You-Know-Who fears. If he's around, then You-Know-Who wouldn't even see you let alone come near. As long as he's here, you'll be safe," Hermione said.

"Yeah, for how long?" Theodore replied in a grim tone. All these downright dreaded days were putting him in a bad mood. He almost felt like lashing out to someone, making them squeal in pain like a pig being slaughtered inhumanely. He shook his head. What was with these thoughts?

The four went back to bed with Hermione making sure that the three boys were okay before heading up the opposite direction. As he laid in his bed, he stared up to the ceiling, running through all the possible outcomes of what could happen if he were to encounter the figure again. He turned to his right and gently petted Viripin before falling into the slumber that he now feared.

* * *

The exams had come around as the season for it was taking a toll on everyone else. In the bigger classrooms the summer heat penetrated through the windows, requiring for everyone to lose their robes and jumpers. Theodore felt drained from all the work that he had done, but tried his best to balance his exams and locking out all the nightmares that he was having. He and Harry seemed to have the same image of the cloaked man chasing after them; they only kept it between them because it felt as if they were affected by it the most. It almost linked them together, even if they were more connected than they knew.

Theodore was shaking in the practical exams and almost spilt his cauldron over in Potions. He didn't know if Snape had seen it, but it didn't matter. After History of Magic, the last exam, the room erupted with cheer as it was finally over. Theodore didn't feel as merry as the others, but cracked a smile when Ron told him a funny joke about Snape and his hooked nose.

"I can finally… relax," said Ron as he spread his body over the warm grass of the school's field. Harry was rubbing his forehead in pain like a madman. Hermione took notice and told him to go get it checked out.

"It's not hurting like that. It happened on the same day as the detention… It just keeps on burning like there's trouble coming!"

"Maybe there is," Theodore said as he stared at Lee, Fred and George playing with the giant squid in the Lake. Everyone turned to him. "Well, he said it happened! Maybe there's danger lurking around here somewhere."

"I doubt that. If Dumbledore's here, then the Stone is safe. You-Know-Who won't try anything, and Snape will definitely think again about going past Fluffy for the second time. The man almost became one-legged…"

"She's right, Harry. We're safe at the moment, no need to worry."

Harry sighed as he thought to himself. The other three could see his mind gearing up to faster speeds to process whatever he was going to blurt out. He sprang up from the ground.

"What's gotten into you?" Ron asked.

"Something that we should've thought of a long time ago. Theodore, could you go to Dumbledore's office and tell him about everything?"

"Why me?"

Harry cocked his head to the side and widened his eyes.

"All right, I get it. But what are you guys going to do?"

"We're going to see Hagrid, right now."

The four broke as Theodore rushed all the way to Dumbledore's office. Looking back on the past weeks, they felt so much different than when he first came. Back then, he wanted to dominate, prove his worth among everyone else that he was superior. He still had the same ambition, but all of it was suppressed by the entire situation revolving around the Philosopher's Stone.

He had finally reached the tower of the Headmaster's office, and was about to knock until he remembered about the gargoyle.

"Grr, what's the password again? It was a stupid sweet… um, um… right, sherbet lemon!"

The gargoyle raised itself up as it pulled the spiral staircase from underneath. Theodore jumped on the moving stairs and waited until it halted to rush into Dumbledore's room. He looked around to see nobody there. The phoenix wasn't there as well. The office seemed empty without it. Theodore paced around the room, looking to see if the old man was hiding behind a wall or just in plain sight. Dumbledore seemed like the type to pull pranks for the fun of it.

The boy finally gave up looking and walked to the door to join the others at Hagrid's when none other than Dumbledore appeared in his chair, wearing his same purple robes without his pointed hat.

"I see you let yourself in, Theodore. Care for a sherbet?"

"There's no time! You have to listen to me, Professor! Something bad is going to happen soon! It's the Stone, the one that Hagrid's dog is guarding under the trapdoor! Voldemort has a plan, I know he does a-and he's using Snape to take it for him! Voldemort is trying to come back and… Why are you still sitting there?"

Dumbledore tapped his fingers together as he listened. He didn't seem shocked in the slightest.

"Professor, did you not hear what I just said, Voldemort is coming back and he's in the school somewhere! Don't you care?"

"My dear boy, I'm afraid that there's nothing that I can do about it for I'm needed at the Ministry of Magic. In fact, I mustn't dillydally, for I'm quite late!"

Theodore couldn't believe it. The supposed greatest wizard of all time would rather go to the magical government than protect his students from the most dangerous wizard in history. He was dumbfounded, clueless, felt like blowing his own head up. He went to go turn around when Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder. Honestly, Theodore just had enough at this point.

"If you believe in those around you, expect yourself to become like them. If the others around believe in you, then expect them to follow you forward."

…

"What?"

Dumbledore walked backwards and vanished with a pop, after winking at the confused boy.

 _'Why does he always have to be so… irritating?!'_

He spun back round and exited the office. He dashed through the hallways, almost ramming into Percy without apologising, and tried to find the other three. Peeves had insisted that they went through a certain door, but he knew that it wasn't really a door to begin with. He learnt that on his second day at Hogwarts. He ran, and he ran until he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione at the bottom of the steps in the Entrance Hall. He wheezed before telling them what happened all the way up there.

"Fucking hell," muttered Ron.

"We've lost it. It's gone forever. Snape is going to get it, and You-Know-Who is coming back."

Hermione chattered through her long front teeth and Harry looked like he was about to go mental.

The four were in the common room, thinking about what could happen if Voldemort came back on this very day. Ron bit his fingernails and Theodore tapped his foot loudly against the floor. The most powerful Dark Lord was coming back, and he was going to kill Harry. He was going to kill Harry and probably Hermione and every other Muggle-born in the school. And there was nobody able to stop Snape from delivering the one thing that would bring all of this true. It was hopeless.

…

"We're going to go get the Stone tonight, me and Theodore."

Theodore whipped his head at Harry. Now he was pushing it. Theodore shot up and loomed over the scar-bearing boy with anger leaking from his eyes. "You're actually sick in the head if you think that I'm going down there with you! After everything that happened, you still want to break the rules? Our stay at Hogwarts is shaky, Harry, and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me, just so that we can risk our lives for nothing!"

It was Harry's turn to shoot back. "For nothing? For nothing?! Are you that so far up your arse that you only see yourself coming out bad in this? Voldemort is coming back. And in case you hadn't noticed, Hogwarts won't even be there if he's back into power! You think that he'll care about your _position_ here? He'd take over in a second and it'll be even worse than the last time he tried! You and I are going there tonight!"

Theodore got dangerously close to Harry's face. "You don't tell me what to do. I've already lost my parents and I barely have anything to my name. After all these years of having nothing, of being treated like shit, you really think I'm going to go kill myself, so that Voldemort can gloat over our dead bodies as we failed? I refuse. Take Ron and Hermione. I'm not going."

…

"Voldemort killed my parents, remember? You're not the only one who had to suffer through all that. I know how it feels like to be treated like you're nothing, like you don't mean anything to the world. All I'm asking is that you come with me, as a friend… We're alike, you and me. And you know that. The Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor for a reason. I'm just asking for this one time, to stop being selfish and help me. Please, Theodore."

Theodore had already turned away from Harry, unable to look him in the eye as he knew that he was right. The young Parselmouth was still stuck between himself. He didn't answer for a while.

"Aren't you scared?" Theodore said softly.

"Of course, I am. And so are you."

The urge to do the right thing seared his insides. Harry was right about Theodore being scared. He didn't want to face whatever lurked underneath the trapped door. If they could get pass Fluffy, only god knows what was in store after. He sucked it down and nodded at Harry. He seemed relieved that he got through to the stubborn boy.

"How are we all going to get to the third floor then? You don't even have your Invisibility Cloak, there's no way we won't get through unnoticed."

"I got it back in the nick of time, don't ask me - wait, we all?" Hermione, Ron and Theodore all nodded. "But it's just me and Theodore, it has to be."

Hermione rose to her feet with her hands on her hips and said, "It doesn't have to be anything else than all of us! We're all going and that's final!"

"What she said."

Harry admired his friends' courage and loyalty at what seemed to be a suicide mission. They all agreed that they'd go after dinner when everyone else was asleep.

The four of them sat in the common room in the later hours of the day, shaking with fear on how they were going to do this. Hermione prepared herself for anything that they might encounter under the trapdoor while Theodore talked to Viripin in the very corner of the dorm, being careful to not wake up Seamus who was closest one by.

"Viripin, I'm not going to be here for a while. In fact, I don't know if I'll come back at all."

 _"What is it, Master Riddle? Why aren't you coming back?"_

"I might… die. Might!"

The snake spat and hissed on the ground. _"You cannot die! I won't allow it! I'll make you stay right here, so that you won't have to leave!"_ She quickly wrapped her body around his, clamping tight enough so that he couldn't move.

"Let me go! I…! I have to do this, okay? If I don't make it back, then leave the castle. In the night, go to the girls' bathroom and escape through the pipes. It'll lead you to behind the castle and away from any gulls. I'm going now." He stood up and lifted her from the ground to his bed. If she were a person, Viripin's eyes would've been welling up with tears right now. Theodore couldn't afford to stay any further and joined the group who were now the only ones in the common room.

Ron, Theodore and Hermione waited at the door for Harry to come down with his Cloak. He came down and the four were ready.

"I don't know if it's big enough to cover us all. We better stay nearer to the ground. Our feet shouldn't be seen by anyone-"

"You're doing it again, aren't you?" In the corner on an armchair was Neville in his pyjamas with his toad in his hands. Neville looked a bit frightened, but still found his voice.

"Erm, no, Neville, don't worry," said Harry as he stashed the Cloak behind his back.

Neville wasn't that absent-minded to see that they were lying to him. "Yes, you are. You're leaving."

"Neville, how about you go back to sleep, yeah? It's getting late," Hermione said.

"That's why you can't go. You'll lose Gryffindor even more points!"

"Neville…"

"I can't let you!"

"Neville."

"I won't let you!"

"Neville!" Theodore shouted. He didn't care that he was loud enough to wake up the entire House. They were wasting precious time and as of now, Neville was only an obstacle in their eyes. "Don't make me hurt you."

"I'm not scared of you, Theodore! I know you won't hurt me!" Neville raised his fists. "Fight me then. Fight me!"

Theodore looked at Ron who gave him the eyes of agreement, and pulled out his wand. He intended to hex the resistive boy, but Hermione got to him first.

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_

And just like Mrs Norris, Neville fell over like a cardboard cut-out, his arms and legs bounded tightly together.

The boys had to pull Hermione off as she continuously apologised to the cursed boy. They hid underneath the Invisibility Cloak, which was big enough for all of them, and made their way to the third floor. After a brief run in with Peeves, their journey across the silent castle was over. The children all waited outside the half-opened door, reassuring themselves that they could take on Fluffy.

"After we go in, there's no going back. Anybody want to turn back?" Harry asked. Nobody said anything under the Cloak. With one final breath, the four pulled the door open and entered the room.

Theodore was stunned by what he was looking at in front of him. The others had called Fluffy a giant three-headed dog, but comparing their description of the beast and what he was witnessing, they were incredibly underwhelming. But the young wizard kept his cool under the Cloak and tried to ignore the rising fear that was bubbling inside of him.

"Ok, guys. I've got the flute that Hagrid gave me for Christmas. I'm going to play it and you guys go to the trapdoor. I'll be right behind you," Harry whispered.

"Don't play for too long," said Hermione, "Snape could be right below, waiting for us."

Harry placed the wooden flute to his lips and played a series of orchestrated notes at the level of a five year old. The beast's eyes fluttered and it swayed side to side. Its heads flailed all over the place until they crashed onto the ground, shaking the entire room with them. Ron pulled the cloak off their heads as they stepped closer to Fluffy, looking for the trapdoor. Harry was still playing the flute, still rather badly, and followed the others forward.

"Okay, the big beastie is out of the way. Who wants to go first?" Ron looked over to Hermione.

She stiffened up. "No! No, no, no! I'm not going first!"

"You're the best one with spells, so if anything's down there, you would be the first one ready!"

"So is Theodore! Have you forgotten about him?!" Hermione hissed.

"Well, since you're the one shooting curses at everyone, I thought you would be most eager to follow through!" The two bickered some more until Harry made them both stop and handed the flute to Theodore.

"You didn't even wipe it…" muttered Theodore.

"I'll go down first, okay? Just stop arguing for once! Please!" Harry opened the trapdoor and hung down on his fingers against the edges of the opening. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then he disappeared. The three on top quickly circled the hole to see if their friend was all right.

"Harry? Harry! Harry, are you okay?" Hermione called down. There was no reply. Hermione was starting to shudder at the thought of Harry being killed on impact, but was relieved to hear his faint voice shout from the bottom.

"It's okay! You can jump, there's something here that'll break your fall!"

Ron went as stiff as a board and hopped in through the hole. Hermione held her hair in a massive bun and followed suit. Fluffy was still out cold so even if he stopped, Theodore was in no harm. Lucky too, because he didn't think that he would be able to carry on playing for so long. He quickly backed over to the trapdoor and copied Ron. The second the flute left his lips, Fluffy was on like a light, but Theodore was long gone, free-falling down, probably miles under the school.

Harry was right as a soft sort of mesh-like sensation hit his back as he bounced a bit. Hermione was shocked that he had landed so near as he nearly squashed her. He apologised and tried to figure out what exactly was underneath them.

"Really smells down here," said Ron in disgust.

"Well, at least these plants saved us, or we would've been mushy bits by now." Hermione stood up awkwardly, then her face dropped almost instantly.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"I think I dropped my wand, guys…" Theodore muttered.

"Hermione, what is it?" Harry asked, looking quite scared. Did the plants do something to her?

"Devil's Snare… It's Devil's Snare…"

"Well what the hell is - shit, is it moving?" Ron suspected correctly as the tendrils of the Snare wrapped themselves around the children with the intent to suffocate them. Theodore looked everywhere for his wand, but there wasn't anything in his pockets. Just the stupid flute. A plant appendage grabbed his right wrist as another caught his other. One of thicker ones twirled around his body slowly, making his skin tighten as it grew cold so quickly.

"Theodore, do something!" Harry exclaimed as he struggled against the killer plants.

"I just said I don't have my wand - ARGGH!" Theodore's neck and mouth had been encompassed by a creeping tendril as it caught him quickly. He shouted in desperation, he even tried to bite the Snare, but it was no use. The more he fought, the stronger the tension was on his joints. It would only be a matter of time before his dead body would be mangled and broken inside a thick web of Devil's Snare. What a way to die.

"Hermione, it's killing Theo! Do something!"

"I'm trying! I can't remember how to kill it!"

"What do you mean you don't remember?! You remember everything!" Ron bellowed as he too was slowly being entangled by the Snare. "Now you decide it's not the time to be a know-it-all?! Just get us out of here!"

"Don't rush me!" Hermione's left hand was free. She grabbed her wand and aimed it in the air, waiting for the spell to come to mind.

"He's dying, Hermione!" Harry mumbled.

Theodore was almost out of sight and could not hear a thing. His oxygen was being sucked out of his lungs as he couldn't think anymore. His body was to be found under the school grounds a hundred years later as a reminder of what happened when stupid children decided to chase danger. He'd never know who his parents really were. How he was supposed to be in Slytherin, his rightful place. How Louise would never see him again, never knowing the truth on how he died…

Suddenly, a strange warmth washed all over him as the vines whipped back, releasing him from their deadly grasp. Theodore sunk down until he dropped on the hard floor, gasping for air. He felt so dizzy that he almost passed out on the ground, had it not been for the others helping him up from the lower floor. Ron patted his back as Hermione lifted his chin to get a clear flow of air to his lungs. He was slowly starting to get back on, able to see his friends' faces in detail.

"Oh man! I thought you'd be a goner back there! Don't scare us like that!" Ron said. He gave Theodore a sincere look to show that he wasn't being sarcastic at his concern.

Theodore gave him a weak smile before shaking his head. "How did you guys break free from the Devil's Snare? Did you light a fire up in there?"

Hermione nodded proudly. Ron scoffed, but she didn't take any notice. Harry placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a worried look as well.

"I can see why you didn't want to come down here. Oh, I found your wand on the floor over there. Here you go…"

"Thanks. But there's no point thinking about what I said before. Let's just get that Stone before Snape, and get out of here."

Theodore took his wand back in his pocket and thumped his chest to clear his throat. His neck still felt like it was dragged by a noose. He was even sure that there was some bruising. No Madam Pomfrey to help him now.

Harry led the way as the other three followed. Hermione held onto her wand tightly, just in case a Snare had decided to snatch them up from behind. Theodore could hear the water drip from all around him, splashing into the murky puddles on the floor. He imagined that the Slytherin common room would be similar to this, only more refined. The idea didn't seem that bad, to be honest.

As they walked through the only passageway, the drips of water were slowly overtaken by another sound, far in front of them. A strange… chiming noise…

"What do you think that is?" Theodore asked.

"Dunno. It could be a bell, or a ghost…"

"I don't think a ghost would be down here, Harry," Hermione said.

Light was creeping out from the other end. The four were slightly glad to this as they had enough of the dark for a while. They reached the heavy arched door and pushed it open. The room, in contrast of the Devil's Snare, was luminous to the point that they all needed to shield their eyes for a few seconds. In the air were birdlike creatures, whisking all over the ceiling with their feathery snowy wings.

It was uncertain to know if they would notice and attack the intruding children, so they instead scooted along the walls with their backs firmly against it, trying not to be caught out. On the other side of the room, a larger door was facing the one that they entered. Surprisingly, the birds didn't attack them as they reached the opposite door. They pulled and pulled against its handle, tugging as hard as they could until their hands turned sore. Everyone tried the Unlocking Charm, but it wouldn't budge. Hermione and Theodore agreed to work on the door while Ron and Harry went around the room to look for a key. It had taken forever for one of them to realise what kind of room that they were in, and what the actual 'birds' were.

"Keys! They're keys! Look!"

Theodore and Hermione turned around to see what Harry was so excited about. Once he pointed to the sky, they all saw that he was right again. Winged keys of many different colours, raced around the sky without even skimming one another.

"Well, we can't get up there. And even if we did, we don't know which key it's going to be; there are way too many."

"It has to be the biggest one. The keyhole looks massive, so it has to be the biggest key. And look! Broomsticks!"

Five broomsticks leaned across the wall in the corner, unnoticed. Harry ran to retrieve one, as did Ron. Hermione reluctantly followed, but Theodore stayed put. He was useless on a broom; he'd throw up and topple over to the ground as soon as he was ten feet in the air.

Harry, Ron and Hermione kicked off in the air as Theodore watched them from below. He watched in awe as Harry was the only one who knew how to properly fly; he pelted straight after the large silver key. Hermione and Ron were behind him, but didn't possess the same type of skill. Harry went in loops and twists with his hand outstretched. It was only a matter of seconds before he spun around and landed with the worn out key in his hand. They all congratulated him briefly before they ran to the door. Harry twisted the key and led them through.

The next room was vastly different again. This time, a small hole in the centre of the ceiling allowed a beam of light to cover what seemed to be a large flooring in an equally patterned, black and white tiling. The light had also revealed that there were chessboard pieces on the tiles as well. Not ordinary-sized chess pieces. No, big ones. Large ones. Ones that towered the four children well above their heads. Ron stepped forward with suppressed excitement on his face.

"I think I know what we have to do here," said Ron as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"What?"

"We've got to play across. It's chess, don't you see? They're just extremely bigger. Come on!" Ron ran forwards, leaving the others to catch up. He tapped the black horse which ruffled its head like a real one. Some of the black pieces turned their heads to Ron as he spoke to the Knight.

"What is he saying to them?" Harry asked as they reached the edge of the life-sized chessboard.

"Maybe he's asking for help."

Ron beckoned them over, and told them what they had to do. He explained to them that they needed to play chess and win, so that they could cross the other side. He instructed them to take certain positions on the board as he climbed onto the Knight. Theodore was a little offended that he was placed as a pawn, but argued his way to being the Queen.

The whites played first as a pawn moved forward two spaces. Ron was analysing the possible ways to win from the one move, and told Harry to move diagonally four spaces to the right. Harry didn't hesitate and did what he was told. Piece after piece, all of the black chessmen were under Ron's control as he ordered them to wherever he pleased. Hermione and Harry were jolted at the sight of one of their pawns being demolished by the White Queen. Theodore was feeling a bit cowardly that he was hidden in the back, away from everyone else, but did not dare move from his spot.

Time passed as the number of players on the board decreased. Harry had caught a little rubble to the face as a black piece flew all the way to his forehead. Ron was confident in making the moves, and even made Theodore move around as well. The game carried on further and the turn was on the black side, when Ron was suddenly silent. He focused long and hard until he said something drastic.

"I… I have to be taken, guys…"

"NO!" Hermione and Harry shouted.

Theodore was struck as he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Ron was going to let himself be… pulverised by the merciless White Queen?

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"I said I have to be taken," said Ron, gritting through his teeth.

"Think of another plan!" Theodore shouted.

"There is no other plan, Theo! If I don't sacrifice myself, then we'd be stuck here, and Snape would've gotten the Stone before us! Is that what you want?! Huh?!"

"We can't leave you behind! We won't leave you behind!"

Ron turned his head and ignored Theodore. He said aloud that their 'Queen' had to corner the White King, giving them a checkmate after he had given himself up.

Theodore fumbled in his pocket for his wand. He was going to blow the White Queen to bits before she'd get to Ron. "Ron, get out of the way."

He didn't listen.

"I said, move!" Theodore shouted.

Ron stepped in front of the Queen, with terror upon his face. She slowly raised her arm up, ready to strike. Harry turned around to see Theodore's wand raised.

"THEODORE, DON'T! SHE COULD KILL RON!"

Theodore began to mutter a dangerous spell that he had learnt on his own, but he wasn't fast enough. Ron was sent skidding across the board, surely having cracked his skull. The Queen dragged him like a piece of meat, and flung him over to the other broken pieces. Hermione put her hands on her mouth as her eyes watered. Harry closed his eyes and breathed slowly while Theodore still had his arm raised, wand almost falling as his hand shook. Everyone was still. Even Harry couldn't speak. Theodore swallowed a burning lump in his throat, suddenly remembering what he had to do.

Theodore stepped in front of the White King, forcing him to throw his crown on the floor. Harry and Hermione ran to Ron on the other side, but were unable to, due to the broken, but still working, chess pieces blocking them from doing so. Theodore slowly walked to the next door with his head down. He gripped his wand tightly as venom filled his thoughts. He remained silent as the two reached him. Harry nodded and walked through the door while Hermione held his free hand for a bit. She left him alone and followed Harry.

Theodore inhaled deeply and released. He closed his eyes, then lashed his wand towards the White Queen, obliterating her completely. Some of the black pieces also cracked and crumbled at the sheer power of the young boy. He widened his eyes at what he had done and quickly left the room. Never in his life could he do something like that. He forced it out of his brain as he ran to the others.

There was a long passageway leading to the next room. This one now had a pungent odour that reeked of a familiar smell. A mountain troll that was knocked out on the floor, was laying spreadeagled… naked. The trio were immediately scarred at the horrid sight, and instantly pushed into the next room. Theodore didn't think that he could get that out of his mind.

Luckily, the next room was probably the most normal one yet, as a cauldron, three vials and various ingredients all over a table was placed in front of them. The familiar sight of the setup clicked in Theodore's mind as he knew who did this.

"Snape!"

"Yeah. Which means that this must've been the easiest for him. What do we do?" Harry asked.

Theodore walked forwards and circled the table, looking closely at the specific ingredients. Maybe he could recognise what potion he had to make. Of course, he wouldn't know why as there was nothing stopping them from going onto the next door.

"Maybe we should just carry on forward," said Theodore as he walked over to the opposite door. "Snape probably cracked this obstacle and forget to —"

A purply-black fire burst from in front of the door as the same for the back one. Theodore managed to pull his hand back in time. He backed up to Harry and Hermione as they all began to panic. The fire had trapped them without any signs of escaping.

"Just great. Now what do we do?"

Hermione searched the table and picked up a note for her to read aloud. She traced along it as it said:

 _The path you take, will be a path of option,_

 _For you are required to prepare a specific concoction._

 _A mixture that will aid and help you across,_

 _Not a potion that will ruin you, and would reward your loss._

 _Be careful, be careful, as your mind must be quick,_

 _As these dangerous ingredients are not to be handled by the thick._

 _Lion Fish spine and Death-Cap extract,_

 _Ten centimetres cubed of Lobalug Venom to be exact._

 _These are the first steps for you to pass through the fire,_

 _But failing to produce this carefully will only take you to the place that is 'higher'._

 _The rest is up to you if you choose to do this task,_

 _For death or victory may be the only two things where you can bask,_

 _To the witch or wizard that completes this test, shall be honoured by myself, a cut above the rest._

Theodore finished and reread it four times before getting to work. He carefully picked and pushed the jars and vials, completely silent and fully focused. He picked a small pile of wood from the corner of the table, and used his wand to set it alight under the cauldron. After that, Theodore was off. Both Harry and Hermione stood near his shoulders, intrigued by how professional he performed, measuring each powder with such proficiency. He stirred and poured, sliced and dropped, grounded and smelt. It was all natural to him. Maybe learning from Snape after all these months proved to be useful. They all stayed silent until Theodore called Hermione over.

"Uh huh? I mean, yes! What is it? Do you need help?"

He stared at the note with a puzzled expression. He carried on looking as he spoke to Hermione as well. "Yes. I need you to grind the Lion Fish spine, and the extract? Pour that inside the cauldron with the venom as well."

"Lobalug Venom with Lion Fish spine, and the Dittany I just saw you put inside there?! Are you mad, you'll kill us all!"

"Trust me."

"No! We'll die if I put it inside!"

"I know what I'm doing. The Dittany is for the rapid regeneration when we go through the fire, and the Death Cap is for numbing our bodies from the pain. I've figured it out quite easily."

"Stop being so casual! The Stone is probably on the other side, and you're acting all calm about risking our lives! You can't do this."

"That's why I asked you. You have steady fingers. One little bit extra, and we all die. I just need you to trust me."

Hermione puffed up her chest.

Theodore was certain that he was right. He had seen this potion in Snape's notes when he was 'looking around'. He had memorised every single instruction to the type of spell used for the fire. It was all precise, and all he needed was her contribution. Plus, they were Potions partners, how could he not know this about her?

"Come on, Hermione. Theo has been around Snape for the longest time out of the three of us. If anyone knew what he was doing, it'd be him."

...

"Okay…" she said quietly. She picked up the spine and used the spoon to crush it to a powder and weighed it exactly before emptying it inside the cauldron. The mixture popped and released black smoke, making Hermione gasp. She carried on with the extract and venom, filling up two small vials. She lifted them slowly above the cauldron and waited. Hermione thought that Theodore was lying about her having steady hands as she could feel them about to have a random spasm at any second. She poured the venom first, releasing the extract a split second after.

The potion turned gold, then green, then purple and violently shook. Hermione stepped backwards and pulled Theodore to crouch with Harry away from the exploding cauldron. Theodore shut his eyes as he expected the burning sensation of death to kiss his body.

He could hear Harry sniff and Hermione coughing. He opened one eye, and saw that a cloud of dark blue smoke had covered the ceiling with the cauldron settling down. Theodore ran over and quickly used a small clean cup to scoop up the potion within. He turned around and showed it to the others, smiling.

"I knew I could do it. Probably could do it in my sleep."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but was very approving of his statement. Theodore proved himself that he was more spectacular than he had let himself on.

"Nice one! I didn't even know you could be that good. What's it called?" Harry asked as he patted Theodore's back. Theodore shrugged. Harry looked closer and realised something. The contents of the cup was barely large enough for two people. Hermione noticed this as well.

"Theodore, wasn't there supposed to be more of this," asked Hermione.

"Yeahhh, that's the thing… That little explosion that just happened evaporated most of the potion. It's useless as a gas so… this is all that's left..." Theodore said while he scratched his head.

"But how are we all supposed to get through? It would be all gone by the third person!"

…

"I'll drink it," Theodore suggested.

"If you drink it, then I will!" Hermione exclaimed.

Harry put two hands on her shoulders and gave her a serious stare. "Hermione. This is for me, okay? Voldemort was coming for me only. I have to take this. Me and Theodore. We'll go forward and try to stop Snape. If we're not lucky then…"

"But what could you do? Both of you? If You-Know-Who is with Snape then —"

"I'll have Harry," Theodore said smiling. "The cloud will drip from ceiling when it gets cold. Go back to Ron, get all the way to the top of the Astronomy Tower, and alert Dumbledore about everything, you hear me? Everything. Harry and I will… We'll try our best. Won't we?"

Harry gave him a smirk.

Hermione hugged both boys tightly, and stepped back to stop herself from hanging on forever. Theodore took a sip from the cup and tried to dull the revolting taste as Harry drank the rest. They felt their insides turn and twist until they couldn't feel anything. Granted that they could still walk, their bodies were absolutely numb and impervious to harm for a small while. They walked over to the forward door, ready to face what was held behind the last chamber, their destinies finally intertwined from this very moment in time…

 **Okay, this is the longest chapter I've written. I didn't know I could do so much. I've decided to keep this story as two-parter with Chamber of Secrets and will do the same for the others. Last one may be a story on its own but who knows if I'll get that far? This one was surprisingly fun to write and reread so I hope you enjoyed it. Later.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Boy's Innocense

"It can't be.."

"Yes…"

"Professor Quirrell?" The timid professor stood firmly inside the wide stoned chamber, only he wasn't looking so timid. While still garbed in his usual purple robes, the expression that Quirrell bore was not of his own as malicious intent was bleeding from his eyes.

"What are you… I thought…" Harry stammered.

"Snape? Ah, yes. I thought that you would suspect him. Severus was always that type, to turn eyes away from those who needed closer… observation. I myself, am quite glad for that." Theodore instantly reached for his wand but Quirrell was quick, snapping his fingers and instantly bonding Theodore in chains. The boy sunk straight to the floor as the sheer weight dragged his little body down.

"Theo! Let him go!" Harry shouted as he tried to pry the links off Theodore's body. Quirrell tutted. "Why are you doing this? It doesn't make sense!"

"Then let me make sense, of it," hissed the teacher. "You were never in danger from Severus. Not in the slightest. In fact, pissy old Snape was actually trying to save you. From me." Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion until he figured it out.

"S-so, it was you who jinxed my broom. You tried to kill me on my first Quidditch match!"

"Ahh, right you are, Potter! I was sure a quick plummet to your death would've been the end for you, but of course I'd be foiled. Snape was countering my curse as I performed it! And I would've done it sooner if your little friend hadn't gotten in my way earlier before!"

Theodore was listening to all of this but was feeling the stress on his body. The thick chains were tugging on his neck and back and soon enough, his bones would probably distort in the most gruesome of ways. As Harry and Quirrell carried on to converse with one another, Theodore slowly tried to lay down flat so that the pressure would even all over but it was proving to be a difficult task. He quietly winced as he twisted his neck and bounded wrists, fighting against the increasing crushing weight of the chains.

"This final barrier… it's frustrating! Dumbledore was always so vague in everything that he has ever done. No surprise there. But when we are finished, the fool wouldn't even see a single trace." Quirrell remarked as he studied the obvious mirror that sat in the middle of the chamber. The golden, refined framing held a sheen, perfect mirror which had captured all the light in the room from the torches.

"What… do you mean… we?" Theodore asked weakly. The chains were getting heavier and heavier, and Quirrell didn't look like he cared. All of his attention was on Harry and the mirror. But he didn't ignore the question.

"Yes, young Riddle. We. My Lord has always been by my side, never wavering even if I fail him. My master has been disappointed in me recently."

"Probably because you're a weak fool," said Theodore under his breath. Quirrell had heard this and twisted his head with a grin on his face. The man had found content in this insult from the boy.

"Hmph. Is that Valerie's tongue I hear? You know, I went to school with your mother. She was a useful asset to the Dark Lord, until she-"

"Hush, Quirrell and get the Stone," a voice hissed. Its emphasised 's', sounded ugly inside the boys' ears. Quirrell stammered like 'usual', and replied to the voice that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Y-yes, my lord! Of course!" He went back over to the mirror and observed it further while muttering to himself. Harry was desperately trying to release the chains off of Theodore, who felt his own lungs fail him. His thin cheeks were full of blue and his throat felt like it was clamped in the strongest vice. It was torturous. Harry was trying everything he could but they wouldn't budge. And he wasn't even sure if he could do anything with Theodore's wand. He attempted once more until he was called over by Quirrell to look inside the mirror.

"I won't do anything for you until you let Theo go!"

"Come here now! Or I will kill your friend where he lies!" Quirrell screamed.

"Release the boy…" the haunting voice said. Quirrell swallowed nervously and snapped his fingers, making the constricting chains around Theodore vanish into thin air. Theodore coughed and spluttered over the stone flooring as his body was free from bondage. Harry went over to help him up but Quirrell forced him to walk towards the mirror. Theodore was sprawled on the ground, clinging on the edge of consciousness as he felt his body burn.

"Fool! You were supposed to leave him unharmed!"

"Master, I didn't think. I-I'm sorry…" Quirrell sounded like a child being told off. Quirrell then screamed in agony as he clutched his head, pressing down on the turban. He panted heavily as the screaming subsided. He motioned Harry to come to his side and the boy obeyed.

"Look… LOOK! What do you see Potter?!" Theodore stood up slowly, reaching to a nearby pillar for support. His back was searing with pain but he pushed past that. All he had to do was to reach for his wand and attack Quirrell without being seen. Seemed simple enough, right? He shook his head to rid his haziness and took his wand in his right hand. Just as he was about utter a spell, the chilling voice returned once more, filling the entire chamber.

"Quirrell… the boy behind you… he's about to-"

"I understand, master!" Quirrell snapped his fingers and Theodore's wand flew out of his hand and straight to Quirrell's. Theodore cursed under his breath and slowly walked over to the two others. Harry was still frozen as he stared into the mirror. The temptation to kick Quirrell and run away with Harry was growing strong but the stupidness of that idea stopped him from doing so. He stood right next to Harry as he gazed onto the mirror. It wasn't anything special apart from the fact that it was perfectly clean. How did Dumbledore make this a barrier for the Stone? It made no sense.

"Perhaps you'll be of better use than Potter. Look! What do you see inside the mirror?" Theodore's neck was burning.

"I-I can't see anything," he truthfully said. It was just a plain old mirror. Nothing special at all. Quirrell placed his deathly pale hands on Theodore's shoulders and lowered his head to the boy's ear level.

"Look… closely. If you focus then you can see whatever you desire." Quirrell whispered. Theodore was not sure if the foul odour was coming from the professor's breath or the turban. He squinted his eyes as he looked onto his reflection, as well as Harry's. They both copied their movements like normal reflections did, until Harry's waved at the two. Theodore could see that in the corner of his eye, Harry was as still as ever but the reflection? It waved and danced inside the mirror, and prompted Theodore's to do the same. Theodore couldn't believe it. Their reflections were dancing like maniacs while Quirrell was acting as if he couldn't see a thing. Unless he couldn't see a thing. It came to him.

"The Mirror of Erised…" whispered Theodore.

"Yes yes yes, I know that, but what do you see?" Quirrell hissed. Theodore couldn't tell him that he saw him and Harry dancing wildly. There was no telling what Quirrell would do after his revelation. He had to lie.

"I see… I see…" he stammered as he tried to come up with a lie. _'Dammit, Harry! Say something instead of just standing there! Wait… what's that in our hands?'_ Theodore understood why Harry had been mute for this entire time. Inside the mirror in between their odd dancing, was their reflection's holding a blood-red stone in between their palms as they circled around each other. They played catch with it, chucked it up in the air and pretended to smash it. It wasn't until then that they stopped and the stone was in Harry's reflection's hand.

"What is it that you see, boy?! Do not waste my time!"

"I… I think I see myself as headmaster of Hogwarts. Dumbledore has stepped down from the position and is giving me his blessing. E-everyone is below me and…"

"And? And what? Spit it out!"

"…that's it." Quirrell looked at him suspiciously. The boy was falling over his words, he could very well be lying. But after everything that his master had told him about Theodore, it could be the truth.

"Use… Potter." The voice hissed. Quirrell whipped his head to Harry. Harry still looked entranced by the mirror.

"Potter! Tell me! What do you see?" Quirrell screamed. Theodore could see his face lose colour and his eyes slowly beginning to sink in his sockets. Almost like he was being drained.

"I-I've won the House Cup. Dumbledore is awarding Gryffindor with the cup." Harry spoke. Theodore had a feeling that he was lying as well. They both saw the same thing, he knew that. But how exactly was the Stone supposed to come out of the mirror? Did they have to break it?

"He lies!"

"Tell the truth!" Harry found himself moving backwards, noticing that Theodore was planted on the spot. He wanted to scream for him to make a run but Quirrell would strike them down the second he'd yell 'RUN'.

Theodore was breathing heavily. The pain on his body had gone mostly but the fear was sticking inside of him like a disease. He continued to stare into the mirror at his own reflection, which did everything a reflection was supposed to do.

"Let me speak to them… face to face… I must!" The voice spoke.

"But, Master! You are still weak! I'll find the Stone soon enough, please!"

"Release me, Quirrell!" Theodore's stomach was lurching violently inside of him. It was like it had been sliced and its acid had spilt all over inside. He felt deathly nausea infect him as he saw Quirrell unwind his turban through the mirror. Theodore could see Harry further away but he looked just as shocked. Maybe even more. Quirrell unwrapped and pulled, gradually building the suspense that had pierced through the boys the second they stepped in. The professor's turban fell to the ground and exhibited what it had been hiding for all this time. And it was horrifying.

Through the mirror, Theodore could see a face on the back of Quirrell's bald head. A horrid face. A vile, disgusting, loathsome face that could conjure nightmares from one glance. It had a chalky-white tone, with worn out skin. Its eyes red with serpentine slits inside of them. And the most distinguishing feature that this face did not have was a nose. Instead, it had small slits, resembling a snake of some sorts. It was all, just… sickening.

"Theodore Riddle… and Harry Potter…" the face wheezed. It had said Harry's name with such spite and hatred. Theodore could only watch the face as words failed to come out.

"You…" Harry whispered.

"Yes… look at me. This… was because of you, Harry. You left me like this. A broken soul, unable to regain his body… I have been so weak during these past ten years… I had to live off others, for my own soul was diminishing into something lesser of a ghost… I needed a form… I'll have form!"

"Not without the Stone."

"That's why I'll gladly take it from you. Hand it over… boy." Theodore was sure that face had not taken any notice of him as he tried to shuffle behind the mirror discreetly. He closed his eyes as his heart thumped wildly, pressing against his lungs and rib cage. He felt as if it could explode. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to think of something. If he could push Quirrell over and take his wand back, he probably bring the place down with the traitorous teacher and leave with Harry. He ran through this crude plan again and again, making sure that it would follow through without any problems.

"I know you hide from me, Theodore… come out, now…" said Voldemort. Theodore's blood halted. He could feel it freeze in his veins. If he knew that he was there then why didn't he stop him? Theodore's eyes twitched as he slowly came out from behind the mirror. He was directly facing the darkest wizard of all time, in his face. Those snake-like eyes gazed into his own. Theodore could feel his soul being tarnished by mere eye contact.

"Theodore… do you know who I am?"

"You're him. Voldemort." Theodore replied quietly.

"Good… it's nice to see that the old fool has not tried to rid my name from the world… of course, my name is to be feared by the likes of mere wizards. But you, child. Are no mere wizard." Voldemort hissed. He had a hair-raising smile on his face, bearing no lips which revealed his mustard-yellow teeth.

"I… I know that."

"Of course! Do you know what sacred blood runs through your veins? What your blood means to this school that has been corrupted by Dumbledore?! Come! Join me, Theodore! And I can show you true power! Power that is rightfully yours!" Theodore looked down on the stone ground. The Dark Lord himself was trying to… recruit him. Voldemort, the wizard who had destroyed so many, and who slaughtered his friend's parents, wanted Theodore to join his ranks. He didn't know what to say.

"You know who I am?"

"Yes," hissed Voldemort. "I know what you are, and what you desire… I'll give you everything! Just get me the Stone!" Theodore glanced over to Harry, who slightly shook his head. To side with the Dark Lord was the ultimate betrayal to Harry and Dumbledore. Theodore wouldn't dare. But…

"Master, we didn't come for the boy now! You said that he would be useful later!" Quirrell protested.

"Silence! Give him his wand, Quirrell… he'll prove himself to being more worthy than you could ever hope to be!" Quirrell reluctantly handed Theodore's wand back to its owner. Theodore gripped it tightly and looked up to Voldemort, who's eyes were wide with curiosity and malice. Theodore pointed his wand to Harry and walked closer to him. Harry was scared, frightened that his friend had been convinced by his parents' murderer. He stumbled backwards but kept eye contact.

"Theo… don't. Please." Harry whispered.

"Do it now! Take the Stone! Kill him if you must!" Voldemort screamed from the back of Quirrell's head. Theodore's wand tip pressed against Harry's scar, as Harry was shuddering. His own friend was going to kill him. Harry grimaced and gritted his teeth. Theodore looked serious. He stared into Harry's eyes… then winked. Harry was confused.

"Theo?"

"Just play along, don't worry." Theodore whispered. Harry nodded. He slowly reached inside of his pocket and lifted the Philosopher's Stone, gripping it tightly. Theodore snatched it and turned around.

"Yes, Theodore! You are most loyal! Now, give me the Stone!" He looked at the Stone closely, observing its rough edges and its red gleam that made it seem as if it was alive. He lifted it above his head for everyone to see.

"So this is the key for immortality." Theodore stated.

"Yes… now hand it over," said Voldemort, who looked confused. Quirrell had the same expression on his face as the boy stood still.

"Hmm… I think that we'll keep it for a while."

"WHAT?!" Voldemort screamed. Theodore chucked the Stone behind him and hoped that Harry's reflexes were still sharp. He aimed his wand at Quirrell and shouted:

"Flipendo!" Quirrell crashed into the mirror as Voldemort's screams echoed inside the chamber. Harry and Theodore ran to the door and pulled the handle to try and pry it open but it wouldn't budge. Theodore tried the Unlocking Charm but was pulled backwards by a powerful force, casted by Quirrell who had gotten back up. He lifted Theodore in the air and spun him vigorously without a second's thought. Theodore could feel his brain being squeezed and stretched repeatedly as he couldn't tell if he was upside down or right side up. Although, he could hear the livid commands from Voldemort hit his eardrums, despite sounding distorted.

"STOP! LEAVE HIM AND GET THE STONE! THE STONE!" Theodore slowed down and dropped to the ground. His balance was entirely shaken and he couldn't stay upright, even when he was balanced on his hands and knees. He saw a blurry Quirrell leap towards Harry as Voldemort continued scream. Harry's screams made Theodore feel helpless but that feeling diminished as he heard Quirrell scream in agony as well. Theodore shakily got up and walked over to Harry, who clasped his head in pain.

"Harry! What did you do to him?"

"I… don't know. Move!" Harry pushed Theodore out of the way as Quirrell attempted to kill Harry once more. Harry grabbed his face and dragged him down, sending him into a screaming frenzy. Theodore was on his knees, watching closely as he saw Quirrell's face blister like he was being scorched by Harry's hands. Voldemort was screaming even more as his host proved to be futile and weak against an eleven year old boy.

"KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM!" Quirrell fell back as his entire face was flaking with red and white skin melting from his face. His left eye hung out from his socket and his right cheek had been corroded to expose his jawline and teeth. His tongue feebly dropped to the ground, scorched and black. Theodore couldn't keep his eyes off him. It looked even more foul than Voldemort's own. Theodore turned to Harry, who laid on the ground. He was motionless and didn't respond to Theodore's desperate shouts. Harry was out and Quirrell still looked alive, disregarding his decaying body. The disfigured professor staggered towards Theodore, murmuring something nonsensical as his tongue had shrivelled up on the floor somewhere. Voldemort's screams could not be heard but Theodore didn't care about that. He raised his wand at Quirrell, knowing that he wouldn't stop. He said the first spell that came to mind but the results were quite haunting to him.

"Diffindo!"

From his left shoulder to underneath his right rib cage, Quirrell's entire top half was severed from the bottom, leaving two large parts on the ground. The darkened blood seeped into the stone cracks and trailed in between the stone blocks. Quirrell's mutilated body was almost still, as his swollen, blistered hand twitched before assuming its final position. Theodore was horrified by what he did. He killed him. He took his wand and used it to kill Quirrell... He was a murderer. It suddenly felt hard to breath. His chest tightened, his head felt heavy and his skin began to crawl. He dropped to his palms and grunted in pain. Theodore could feel something almost… rip inside of him. He clenched his stomach but it didn't make the pain go away. Something was definitely ripping all right. He inhaled deeply in rhythms, easing his mind in reassurance that he wasn't a killer. More tearing. He screamed as he rolled over, holding his abdomen in agony. The pain was too much to bear. He didn't mean to kill him. He didn't mean to put him down like an animal which was suffering. He didn't mean any of it. Dying underground with his last thought being the death that he caused. _'I'm sorry! I-I'm sorry…"_ The tearing stopped. The pain was numbing and he released his hands. But he didn't get up. That excruciating episode had sent him into shock. Three bodies in the hidden chamber, unable to escape. All that Theodore could hear was that voice that haunted his nightmares, speak to him softly in his ear.

" _Fresh blood… Slytherin's blood… my blood…"_

Theodore opened his eyes, staring at the raised ceiling. _'Am I dead? Is this still Hogwarts? Where am-'_ A bush of hair was propped against his left arm. He could feel something hold his hand very tightly as he could barely feel his own body. Recognising who this was, he tugged his arm slightly to wake her up. Hermione jolted up and instantly hugged Theodore, ignoring his obvious yelp of pain.

"Hermione, don't hug me so hard! My chest still hurts!"

"Oh, Theo! I thought that you and Harry died! It took Dumbledore hours before he came back from the Ministry!" She pulled away and started to well up slightly. "I honestly didn't know what to…" Theodore rubbed her shoulder and gave her a little smile.

"You… were amazing. If it weren't for you, both of us would've been dead. In fact we would've been dead from the very start. You saved me. Thank you." Hermione wiped her tears and beamed as happily as she did the first time they met.

"You would've been fine. What you did with Snape's task was brilliant. Oh! I saw Snape earlier in the morning with the other teachers, but it didn't look like he went down there after the Stone. Did you see who was behind it all?" Theodore explained everything to her: how it was Quirrell who was after the Stone; how Harry managed to get the Stone from the mirror; how Voldemort was on the back of Quirrell's head like a parasite. Hermione was especially disgusted by this but carried on listening. He told her everything except on how he it felt like his soul was about to rip to shreds after killing…

"Theo, what's wrong?" Theodore buried the thought and gave her a weak smile. He shook his head and looked down to his feet. Whatever happened down there, stayed down there. He would take it to his grave and beyond. Nobody was going to find out. He looked around to see if Harry was inside the hospital wing as well, but looked at the clock.

"Hermione, aren't you supposed to be in the Hall?" She gave an anxious smile.

"Um, I excused myself from the Hall to come up here. I'm going back so I'm not playing truant or anything!" Theodore gasped sarcastically while Hermione pouted. He joked around some more until he heard Madam Pomfrey make her way into the room. Hermione squealed and dove under Theodore's bed, waiting for the right time until she would dash straight out of the room. Theodore shook his head.

"We really are a bad influence on her." Theodore had spent the rest of the day inside the wing, being informed that he had been there for two days. During the night, he had gotten out of bed and sat next to Harry, who was still unconscious. He quietly told him about what he did to Quirrell and what he felt after it. He told him that he could speak to snakes and that he was the Heir of Slytherin. He didn't know why he did it, but with Harry being unable to hear him and his confession bursting out, he felt that it was the right thing to do. He ate the various sweets from Hermione, Parvati and Lavender (guess she wasn't mad at him) and thought about if Viripin had left. He guessed he would be saddened that he'd lose her but right now, sleep was needed. And for the first time, in a long time, his dream was pleasant and joyful.

The next morning, Theodore was well enough to leave the hospital wing. He gathered his sweet packets and made it to the common room while everyone else was inside the classrooms. At least there wouldn't be people staring at him like he came back from the dead. He reached the Fat Lady and was lucky that the password did not change in the past three days. He walked through the silent room and up the stairs. He dropped everything on his neatly arranged bed and heard a familiar hiss come from under the sheets. He ripped them off and saw his companion curled up, and overjoyed to see Theodore.

" _Master, you're alive! Oh, I'm so happy!"_ Theodore picked her up and allowed her to wrap around him.

"Hey, Viripin! You didn't leave."

" _Of course! I couldn't bear to leave this place. It's my only home."_

"Well, I'm glad you didn't leave. I honestly thought I'd die down there."

" _I was almost caught by the boy called Dean. He noticed that you were gone and looked through your bag. He was lucky that I did not bite him."_

"Good. I don't want somebody dead because I let you go." He placed her down on the bed and allowed her back into the bag, before changing for the Great Hall. As he walked to his seat, as he expected, everyone stared at him. Malfoy even stopped as he looked at the boy before resuming his conversation. He sat next to Seamus and looked down onto the table without saying a word. Two minutes passed before Seamus tapped his arm.

"You alright, Theo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Seamus nodded and carried on talking to Dean. It seemed odd to be sitting with the people in his year. A few days ago they all hated him, now it looked like they didn't mind him at all. Isolation was always Theodore's friend, but his time at Hogwarts broke those ties. No matter how much he hated to admit it, he had made friends here without a doubt. He just wondered whether his friends would know what kind of a monster he was.

"Theo!" Theodore turned around and saw Ron, along with Hermione, run towards him. Theodore was glad that Ron wasn't looking too bad, despite the plaster on his forehead. Other than that, he looked great.

"I thought you were in the hospital wing when I was there!"

"Actually, I woke up after the whole chess thing. Hermione came back to help me and we made it back to the top, somehow. Can't lie, I was glad to see her. I don't think I could've taken Fluffy on my own."

"So where did you guys go?"

"To see Harry," said Hermione. "He's finally awake."

"He is? Let's go see him right now!" Theodore jumped to his feet. Hermione stuck out a hand.

"Madam Pomfrey kicked us out. She won't be too glad if we came back with another person." Theodore sighed and sat back down. Hermione was about to sit next to him, but was cut off by Ron, who wanted to hear the entire thing from Theodore.

"Harry already told you, Ronald!" She said angrily.

"Yes, but Theo was still awake when Harry fainted!" Theodore explained everything, excluding the obvious parts, leaving Ron in awe. Hermione even looked at him like it was her first time hearing it. Theodore had to eventually shut down Ron's persistent questions and they all waited until the end of year feast began.

Green and silver flowed all over the walls of the Great Hall as it celebrated the victory of Slytherin winning the House Cup once more. At the front of the Hall, up near the ceiling was a green banner with the silver Slytherin serpent winding on it. This would've been glorious for Theodore, if he was in the correct house. He and the rest of Gryffindor sulked as the Slytherins were merrily talking amongst each other. It slightly irked Theodore but enraged Ron. He and Seamus were cursing repeatedly while Hermione hissed at them to stop. The Great Hall was full of chatter until everyone stopped talking. Wondering why was that, Theodore turned his head to everyone's general direction. Walking through the doors, was Harry. He looked at everyone else before everyone resumed their loud conversations. He quickly sat between Ron and Hermione and greeted Theodore. The two boys had confronted death in its face and denied it. They came out victorious and unscarred (well, one of them unscarred).

Unknowingly to them, Dumbledore watched them both, as he sighed with gladness that it had gone well. Seeing the two bond together was all that he wanted but not all that was needed. He stroked his beard and consoled a disheartened Minerva, who tapped her goblet furiously.

"As another year passes, we all get a little older and wiser. We've all been through so much in the past year, and I hope that you will keep this resilience till the very end. Because we never know what our own fates hold for us. Now, enough of my babbling! I know that you are all dying to dive into the feast! Let us commence with the House Cup places: In fourth place, Gryffindor with two hundred and ninety three points; in third, Hufflepuff with three hundred and twenty nine points; second place, Ravenclaw with four hundred and one points and Slytherin with four hundred and sixty seven points."

Slytherin broke out in celebration as they clashed their goblets against each other. Ron put his head in his hands as Hermione patted his back. Theodore and Harry shrugged but they were deeply saddened as well. After all, they were the ones responsible for losing Gryffindor's lead in the first place. They could see Snape smirk as the points were declared.

"Thank you, thank you," said Dumbledore. "I'm sure that you are most ecstatic about your victory. But before we continue, there are a few points that I'd like to hand out for recent events. Hmm, let me just… ahh."

Ron flipped his head up as he heard this. Slytherin was suddenly silent and so was everyone else.

"To Mr Ronald Weasley! I award him thirty points for excellent problem thinking skills in the game of chess and his willingness to self-sacrifice for the ensured victory!" Gryffindor bursted into cheers as they excitedly jumped up and down in their seats. They may still be last in the table but at least they weren't far behind. But that wasn't the end. Ron went as red as his hair but smiled happily to himself.

"To Miss Hermione Granger! I award her thirty points for utilising her knowledge in the devil's grasp and her strong hold on doing the smart thing!" Hermione hid her face in her hands. Everyone could see her cheeks turn pink as well, giving the impression that she was boiling or embarrassed, most likely the latter. The cheers died down once more as Dumbledore began his next announcement.

"To Mr Harry Potter! I award him fifty points, for embodying the spirit of Godric Gryffindor in the face of death itself!" Gryffindor screamed loudly as they almost caught up with Slytherin. They were two points above Ravenclaw and if the old man was feeling generous, he'd could easily make them wipe out the House. Harry smiled as everyone clapped for him, throwing away their past resentment. If they didn't win then at least they were second. The students hushed once more.

"Bravery was not only shown by Mr Potter over there, as a boy who stood up not to his enemies, but to his friends, for the greater good. I therefore award Mr Neville Longbottom twenty points.!" Everyone, except for Slytherin, clapped for Neville as he grew pale and red at the same time (because that's possible) at his award. He sat oppositely to Theodore and leaned in to his friend.

"I'm sorry for trying to stop you earlier," he said under the clapping. Theodore leaned in and patted his shoulder.

"Don't be. You did good, Neville! I'm proud!" Neville grinned as he moved backwards and for once, looked proud of himself. The clapping diminished and everyone was quiet. While Gryffindor steamrolled everyone in the table, Slytherin was still forty four points ahead. Ron was still not satisfied but did not say anything. Theodore noticed that he didn't get any points. He shouldn't get a single one, anyways. If Dumbledore had really came down there, then he would've seen what Theodore had done. He would've been utterly disgusted and disgraced that it was he who had enrolled him into Hogwarts. Theodore leaned on his arm and flicked his goblet until it was his turn.

"To Mr Theodore Riddle!" Everyone was silent. Everyone turned to him. He lifted his head and stared straight into Dumbledore's eyes, which oddly eased his nervousness. "I award him twenty five points for his professionalism in completing a complex concoction with his life and others on the line, and twenty five points for proving himself wrong that he did belong in Gryffindor and to rise gloriously!" And that was that. Every single Gryffindor jumped up, including Theodore and Hermione and practically screamed until their throats would rupture. Seamus and Ron slapped Theodore on the back as he could feel his eyes grow a tiny bit wet. Not from the pain on his back, but from actually proving himself wrong. He was a coward before he had gone down the trapdoor but never wavered from his friends. If that didn't prove that he was supposed to be in Gryffindor then nothing else could. Except that he was the Heir of Slytherin. But maybe it was okay to not follow what had already been set out before you.

The green and silver decorations changed into scarlet and gold, and the scarlet banner showed the golden Gryffindor lion, proudly roaring for its respective house's victory. Theodore dove into the feast and ate until his belly was as full as his heart. He felt on top of the world with nobody able to bring him down. He looked down on his right to see his three friends, chowing down happily, and knew that Hogwarts was his true home.

Exam results was forgotten by many and shocked almost everyone when it came around. Theodore was happy, but not surprised, by his results as he got second highest in the year. Hermione had beaten him by only one point in the Charms exam during their practical, but Theodore congratulated her. She almost seemed cocky that she was the highest but retained it by being a good sport. Although they weren't as good Theodore's or Hermione's, Harry and Ron still gained good results, even Neville. His good mark in Herbology managed to save him from his poor result in Potions. Theodore plucked up the nerve to go and ask if Malfoy had received any good marks and to his surprise, Draco told him without a hint of detest in his voice. Theodore was going to find out why he didn't mind him so much, but that could wait until next year. Now it was time to go back to Stuggle's and talk to Louise all summer about everything he had went through. In a completely watered down version, of course.

All the trunks were packed and gone, Viripin was safe and sound in Theodore's bag with a bag of dead mice and McGonagall handed notes about not using magic outside school. He was a bit disappointed at this but didn't mind. While everyone was crying over being away from each other soon, McGonagall had informed Theodore that he was needed by Dumbledore in his office. Walking away from the crowds, Theodore walked up the steps, taking in the silence that was all around him. He made it to the gargoyle and spoke the password. Once he was inside the office, Dumbledore was standing near the bookshelf, looking as happy as ever for the boy.

"It seems that the year has flown by, dear Theodore. Soon, you'll be taking your O.W.L.S and off you go!"

"You called for me?"

"Yes, I did. Please sit." Theodore sat down as did Dumbledore. "I know that this was a… peculiar year for you. I didn't expect for it to end on such an odd note for you or for Harry." Theodore raised an eyebrow.

"Odd? We almost died, Professor. Your employee… died." Theodore choked when he said 'died'. Darkness was flowing back into his heart and mind. He felt his insides tug a little as he rubbed his chest. Dumbledore noticed this.

"We all do things that we deeply regret, Theodore. I myself, have allowed terrible things to happen because of what I believed in. It doesn't go a day when it doesn't haunt me. But if you are willing to accept and to hurt, expect yourself to heal when it is all over." Theodore looked down to the table, then back to Dumbledore.

...

"I… I didn't mean to… something just took hold of me and made me… I'm so sorry," said Theodore as he felt tears stream down his face. He hated himself when he'd cry. "Voldemort was there and… he wanted me to join him… I… does that mean that I'm just as bad as him?" Dumbledore jumped out from his seat and quickly knelt to Theodore's side.

"No! No no no! Do not let him make you believe that, dear boy! You are much stronger than he can ever wish to be! You have something that he does not have. Love. And don't let him EVER take that away… from you." Theodore quickly wiped his tears and then nodded.

"You… you won't tell anyone?" Dumbledore held the boy's hand tightly between his own.

"Not a soul." Theodore gave him a small smile. Dumbledore was many things in this world, but he was by far, one of the greatest men that he had ever seen before. Dumbledore jumped back on his feet like a young man. "Well! You must hurry downstairs! Hagrid may be off with all of the other first years and- Oh my! They're already over the lake!" Theodore ran over to the window and observed the lake. Sure enough, tiny boats sailed across it with miniature people on board.

"How am I supposed to get there? It'll take me forever to go down the stairs and through the- oh no." Dumbledore had a hand outstretched. Theodore knew what was going to happen but he detested the idea. He looked back down to the others as they were halfway over the lake. He turned to Dumbledore who had a smirk on his face. Frowning, Theodore held the old man's wrist and in an instant, the office was empty.

The journey home had been just as fantastic as the first one to school. Theodore, Harry, Ron and Hermione were all in one compartment as they talked and laughed about what could happen next year. They scoffed sweets, traded small gifts for memories over the summer and soon enough, Platform 9¾ of King's Cross Station was in full vision. They left the Hogwarts Express and gathered their things to go through the magical gate. Everyone was on the Muggle side of the station, and the four friends spoke among each other.

"You guys have to come over in the summer. It'll be wicked, the three of you!" Ron said.

"Sure! I'd like a summer away from the Dursley's."

"I'll try to. Although we might go to France." Hermione stated.

"What about you, Theo? Fancy staying over at the ol' Weasley abode?" Theodore wondered what it'd be like spending the summer with his three new friends. It definitely would be better than to stay at Stuggle's for almost two months, but Louise would be all alone as well. It was a tough decision to make.

"I'll think about it. No, Ron. I'm not saying no."

"But you're not saying yes!" They all talked and hugged one last time before going off in their different directions. Ron went off with his grand family, Hermione with her parents and Harry with his supposed aunt, uncle and cousin. They didn't look a thing like him and didn't look quite happy to see him as well. Harry always told him that they weren't the nicest of folk, but intended to have some fun with them when he went back home. Theodore had his fair share of horrible careers as Gretchen was sitting on the bench, pigging herself on donuts before noticing Theodore.

The ride home had been fairly silent, apart from the hisses from Viripin, and it sat comfortably with Theodore and Gretchen. They had nothing to say to each other. If only Gretchen had stuck to that code.

"So, did you learn anything in that freaky school of yours? Or was everyone there a pitiful loner?"

"For your information, I'm not a loner, nor am I pitiful. And yes, I did learn a few things." _'Like how to curse a gorilla hybrid such as yourself.'_ Gretchen scoffed.

"Oh, Theo. Little, little Theo! You haven't caught up with what happened, have you?" He looked at her uncertainly.

"What are you talking about," he asked quietly.

"You'll see." Theodore had gone completely silent. Was she trying to scare him? What happened? He sat still in the seat until he dashed out of the car when the engine had finally stopped. Ignoring Gretchen's yells, he ran through the hallways, inhaling the familiar scent that was gone for so long.

' _Please, no…'_

He ran up the stairs and made his way to Louise's bedroom. He burst in through the door and saw it. He knew it. Wardrobe was empty. The desktop was cleared. Mattress was bare. It was like nobody had lived there at all. He blinked again and again to see if this was just all in his head but it was real. All too real. _'Where are you?'_ He ran back down the stairs and narrowly escaped Gretchen who tried to grab him as he ran past. He halted at the Madam's office and knocked. He entered quickly and got straight to the point.

"Louise is not in her room!" He exclaimed.

"I know that."

"She's… she's supposed to be there, she was supposed to wait for me, where is she?!" Theodore spoke this all too quickly. The Madam's face saddened as she walked over to Theodore. She knelt down to her knees and held his hands. He looked at her with anxiety and sadness. She couldn't find the words.

"Theodore… I'm sorry to tell you this but… Louise was adopted by the Reagul's shortly after your birthday. She wanted to tell you but there was no way to contact you. I mean, your school had no number or telephone… she was so sad to leave without you knowing but she made that choice on her own." Theodore closed his eyes. That would be the second time that he had cried on that day. He silently wept as his head faced the floor. Tears rolled down his face as he didn't say a word. She left him. Just as he could've left her.

"Oh, sweetheart. I… I…" Madam embraced him as his arms fell to his side. He felt… empty. Like he had nothing. Like everything that made him 'him', had vanished. Suddenly, his heartstring had been tugged so hard, the force of the snap made him gasp over the Madam's shoulder. How odd. How very, very odd.

 **Annnnnddd the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone) is done. Or mostly. I'm not going to skip straight past the summer as I feel that it will be vital to what's going to happen later on. Like I said before, this is end of his 'childhood innocence', which was is much earlier than the trio in the original books. Let me know if you think I should be a bit more emotive with the emotional parts, as I feel like I could've done better, idk. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and understood any little references that I sprinkled in. Later.**

 **ShadowWing: I deeply appreciate your words. I'm still relatively new to the site in terms of writing, but at least I'm trying my best. I'm happy that you're liking the story :)**

 **JokerAka: I guess you're right. You can't expect for everyone to love your story. But thanks, really.**


	9. Chapter 9: Summer Days

It became a habit once more, to stare outside his window. The summer afternoon sun radiated inside of the room, trying to cleanse the sorrow that dwelled within the boy, but utterly failed to do so. Nothing could penetrate the barrier that Theodore had enforced around himself for the past week and a half. Ever since he had heard the news, he hasn't been himself. He kept himself to himself, rarely leaving his room except to eat, and ignored anyone who tried to talk to him. He didn't want their pity, their false concerns and forced interest in him. Eventually, they'd ignore him and return to not giving a single thought about him. Too predictable.

The acacia wand twirled between his fingers as he continued to look outside. Magic was forbidden from use during the summer holidays, and Theodore was on the verge of disobeying the instruction. He played a dangerous game with the wand in his hand, as it could easily blow the room in one go. Ollivander said that it was an unusual wand, probably even powerful. Maybe destructive. The nature of it felt… true to him, if that made sense. Conflicting, but hiding terrible power. Yes. It truly belonged to him. After all, he was a twelve-year-old murderer. Quirrell's slaughter at his hands haunted his dreams as he could feel his psyche twist a little, every passing night. Cold sweats and a constricting chest. It was like his soul was cursed from the horrific act, haunting his mind to punish him for what he had done. Theodore had to find some sort of closure for this. He couldn't go back to Hogwarts, ridden with infectious guilt. The impact of that night, coupled with the fact that Louise had left was strenuous, but he had to pull through. If Dumbledore said that he wasn't a blood-thirsty murderer, then it had to be the truth. Theodore had no reason to not trust the old man, after everything he said to him. He just needed to get rid of this damned weight in his stomach.

Theodore hid his wand inside of his suitcase and went to his cupboard to grab the packaged snake food for Viripin, who laid comfortably under his bed. He didn't tell anyone about his newly-acquired pet, seeing as how everyone else would become petrified knowing that there was a snake in the building. Viripin had almost been caught by Lenny Duckworth, who snuck in Theodore's room as a dare to see what he had been hiding from everyone else. Unfortunately for him, Theodore walked in when the intruder had his head stuck in the cupboard. Lenny had never been the same since. Theodore opened the bag of dead mice and spilled them under his bed. He heard the quiet snapping of jaws and the faint gulps come from the elegant snake, but decided to lay down on his bed. He rested the back of his head on the thin pillow and sighed deeply. Suddenly, something slithered on his leg, then onto his left arm. Viripin hissed gently as she placed her head on her master's left shoulder, eager to ask what had troubled the young boy.

" _Master Riddle? You didn't speak a word all day, and you don't leave your room that often. Is there something wrong?"_

"No," replied Theodore, unconvincingly. Viripin thought for a while, before speaking once more.

" _It is your companion, Louise. Isn't it?"_ Theodore rolled over to his right and remained silent. Viripin didn't stop speaking, though. _"It can't be that bad, Master. She can't have gotten that far from here."_

"She lives in Sheffield, Viripin," he mumbled. "That's halfway across the country."

" _Oh. I'm sorry."_

"It's not your fault."

" _But don't you remember your other friends? Ron, Hermione, Harry and Neville? They surely must be around in London somewhere, right?"_ Theodore sat up and weirdly enough, held Viripin and stroked under her jaw.

"Hermione's in France right now, I don't know where either Ron or Neville lives and Harry is with those horrible Muggles. There's nothing that I can do, anyways. I don't even have an owl." He flopped back down on the pillow. "If I did, I'd send letters to all of them, every day. Even Louise."

" _Did you not ask for her house number?"_ Viripin asked. Theodore sighed again.

"Every time I'd ask for it, Madam would say that it was confidential, and that I wasn't allowed to know it. And I thought she was the only one here that cared about me." He hardened his grip around the snake, not noticing that he was choking her slightly.

" _Master… you're… hurting…"_ He instantly released her, feeling regret at what he just did.

"Oh Viripin, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… Are you okay? I'm so sorry, please forgive me!"

" _It's… okay. I'm feeling a bit tired anyways. I'll… talk to you later. Goodbye, Master Riddle."_

"Viripin, wait… I'm sorry…" The snake did not stop as she made her way off the bed and back underneath. Theodore rubbed his forehead vigorously, then left the room. He needed to give her space, as well as gain his own. It was like every time he would talk in Parseltongue, his mind would become more susceptible to anger and agitation. Like the Slytherin inside of him would manifest in the most negative ways possible. Don't get it twisted, the boy was still proud of his heritage. He felt as if it was the one thing that made him unique, apart and above of the crowd. It made him… better. So why didn't he feel that way? No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't the same boy from one year ago. The 'gift' of growing up, perhaps.

He walked down the stairs and through the living room. Most of the children were playing outside, and a hefty amount of nine children, including Louise, had left to enjoy themselves with their new parents. At least it meant less people gawking at him when he'd walk by. The orphanage had improved its interior by adding new sofas, a brand-new television and two extra tables in the back. Theodore was not keen on exploring the refurbished building like it was Hogwarts, so was not aware if any other changes had been made. No matter. He sat at one of the empty new tables at the back, next to a group of three girls and two boys on the opposite one. They all hadn't noticed the silent boy sit down, except for one of them. Elise Thullen, thirteen-year-old girl who was one of the many girls that crushed on Theodore. Like all the others, she hadn't spoken a word to him throughout her time in the orphanage, which was comparingly similar to Theodore's. The girl had been smitten with the isolated boy since she was five, but held off at the sudden friendship between him and Louise. The pair didn't look like they wanted to become a trio at all. Elise had short blonde hair that bounced every time she'd walk. Her nose was as small as a button and she sported bright hazel eyes, not dissimilar from Theodore's. Her general appearance made her look younger than her actual age, prompting people to think that she was ten. Most people would consider her 'cute', in the context that she was like a baby. Elise didn't take kindly towards this and would badmouth anyone who'd be brave enough to speak in her face. For such a small girl, Elise was bigger than life itself and everybody knew that. Even Theodore.

The boy tapped his fingernail repeatedly against the pristine wood. He couldn't endure another five weeks doing the same thing over and over. He'd go insane. Harry knew where he lived, so why hasn't he sent a letter? Weren't they supposed to be 'brothers in arms', who escaped death on the very edge? What ever happened to that? Theodore facepalmed as he realised that Harry would've still been with the Muggles that he despised so much. Harry told him that they hated magic and anything to do with it, so it made sense that he couldn't use Hedwig. Theodore had almost forgotten about the connection between his mother and Harry. Surely, it couldn't be a coincidence that they were related. They were both orphaned boys, half-bloods and were unaware about the wizarding world until they were eleven. Theodore could find all of that before school would start, even at that very moment. If people would leave him alone, that is. He side-eyed the girl that invaded his table while halting the table-tapping.

"Theo? I mean, Theodore?" The boy turned his head and faced her directly. He raised his eyebrows to show that he was semi-interested in what the girl had to say. "Um, can I sit here?"

"I want to be alone," he said bluntly.

"Oh. Well I just thought that you wanted somebody to talk to, you know? I haven't seen you come out of your room that often."

"I like it in my room."

"Doesn't mean you have to stay there all the time." Hazel to hazel, the both of them stared at each other. This girl had no right to tell him what to do. He brushed his hair away from his eyes and broke eye contact. Elise sat down and leaned in to quieten her voice. "You don't have to shut everyone out. We're all the same, you and me included-"

"We are NOT the same." Theodore stated as he cut her off.

"Really? How?" Theodore stood up and was about to walk off, but was blocked by Elise. This girl was probably more persistent than Louise and Hermione, combined. "I just want to know what's wrong, that's all. Why won't you let me?" Theodore closed in, almost connecting the tip of their noses together. Elise's skin tightened at the sudden closeness between them. Her friends looked over to the two as a worrisome atmosphere brewed in the air. Theodore was not the type of person that they'd associate with.

"Okay. You want to know what's the matter with me, I get it. But tell me one thing. Do you care? Do you actually care for somebody who you never talked to? Please, tell me." Elise backed away. Her hurt expression did not faze Theodore one bit as he walked off. She sat back with her friends and sulked on the table.

"Why were you even speaking to the freak, Elise?" Richard Glaise, a dumpy boy of Asian origin, said.

"Don't call him a freak." Elise snapped.

"What, do you fancy him? Oh my gosh, you do," said Jason Watson. He was an average looking boy with thinning hair, despite his age, and heavy-rimmed glasses.

"I don't fancy him! I was just trying to be nice, that's all."

"Yeah, well when it's with him, nothing is ever nice. Did you see what he did to Simeon? A thug like him couldn't become a sissy just like that in one night. He did something to him, I know it."

"And where's your proof?"

Jason scoffed. Elise turned to where Theodore had walked out. Maybe he was right about her.

"Can't I just call her? For… for two minutes, I swear!"

"I told you once already. I can't give you the Reagul's number for reasons that I won't share. Now stop pestering me and go to sleep!" Madam Geoffrey had been battling Theodore for days as he persisted to try and break her.

"Why?! Why can't I call her?!"

"Don't you raise your voice with me!" Madam screeched. Theodore was silenced. "Please, just… go to bed. At once." Theodore slowly walked to the door and kept his head down. He reached for the handle and gripped it tightly.

"I hate this place," he muttered under his breath. Madam had heard what the boy had to say. Theodore closed the door behind him and walked to his room, ignoring the peering heads from the other children. They didn't dare to ask him what had occurred downstairs as they could feel the anger radiate from Theodore as he walked by, swiftly. He closed the door behind him and hopped into his bed, disregarding the fact that Viripin had hissed to him goodnight. He fell to sleep, not caring if the nightmares would poison his mind and soul, not caring if he could go insane. Nobody cared… nobody…

Theodore rose from his bed and planted his feet firmly on the ground. He checked the pocket watch on the desk. 03:07. Twenty-two minutes late, but the time was satisfactory. He quietly got changed in his casual clothing and dragged his suitcase from underneath the bed. Viripin had coiled herself inside Theodore's cupboard, as it was too cold to sleep beneath the bed. Theodore unzipped and brandished his wand before pocketing it. The suitcase was pushed back under the bed, and his schoolbag was hung on the edge of his bed. Before he grabbed the bag and opened the door, he ripped open several snake-food packages under his bed. He couldn't let Viripin go hungry when he was gone. He exited his room and tiptoed down the stairs, with such care and precision. A few creaks here and there, but none were loud enough to break the people from their slumber. Theodore reached the entrance hall and aimed for the main door, only to hear somebody creep up from behind him.

"Don't." He turned around to see Elise in a baby-blue nightgown. She looked at him with worrying eyes, but Theodore didn't care. He turned back around and twisted the door handle. Locked. He turned once more to go to the Madam's office, but Elise wouldn't budge.

"Go back to sleep, Elise."

"No. You shouldn't be out here, Madam would get cross."

"I don't care!" Theodore hissed.

"But I do! You go around acting like nobody cares about you, but they do. You're just to blind to see it!"

"I know people care about me. It's just that none of them are in this building."

"That's a lie," snapped Elise. Theodore narrowed his eyes, then raised an eyebrow. "Look, please go back to bed. I don't want you to get into trouble." The two children stared at each other in silence. Hazel into hazel. Theodore shook his head and walked over to the Madam's office door. Elise watched him from the outside. Theodore left the office thirty seconds later with a single key, attached to a red piece of string, in his hands. He approached the door and fitted the key inside the lock. As he twisted the key, he felt Elise's small hand hold onto his left arm. She didn't try to pull him back.

"Let go." Theodore said, quietly. Elise held on for a few more, then released. Theodore opened the door and just like that, the young wizard was free from Stuggle's. The cold wind brushed against his face as he walked down the front yard. A rush of excitement flowed through him. He actually walked out, in the middle of the night. By himself. It felt just like Hogwarts, leaving the common room at sleeping hours, roaming the castle to battle three-headed dogs and play life-sized chess. Maybe he enjoyed the rule-breaking a little more than he had let on.

He walked through the light-absent pavements, careful to stop underneath a lamppost to see where he was going. _"Where am I going? Maybe I should've thought things through. Ahh, you idiot!"_ There was no way that he could go back to Stuggle's. Elise would've probably told the Madam and Gretchen that he had ran away, stealing the key from the office. The only place that he could possibly think of that was nearby was the Leaky Cauldron, and he had no idea where it could be.

"Maybe if I got a bus to the nearest station, I could find the Cauldron," said Theodore out loud. He walked quickly along the pavements as he left the street, and walked across the corner until he found the main road. Luckily for him, the street was well lit up with multiple cars and vehicles racing past with their blinding headlights. Theodore rarely left the orphanage, so lost wasn't even the word to describe him. He spun around like a madman, trying to see if there was a bus stop nearby, to no luck. A homeless old woman with ragged clothes and a toothless smile walked up to the boy in a creepy manner.

"You're a 'andsome boy! Why 'on't you give me a kiss, eh?" Theodore looked disgusted and backed away from her until he slammed into somebody else behind him. An obese man, with tattered robes and a pointy black hat, was weeping until he noticed the small boy that bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't see you there." Theodore said.

"Oh… it's okay. I… I'm fine, don't worry about it. I mean, my wife had just left me for Barristan Tibbleworth, just because he's up there in the Ministry of Magic! I may be a janitor but… but…" The man burst into tears once again as Theodore stared at him. The creepy hag, an emotional fat man who wore robes… Theodore was with his kind, alright. But what were they doing here? The man carried on crying after Theodore had poked him. He grumbled quietly as he turned to the old woman.

"Hey, lady. Why are you waiting here? Do you know how I can get to the Leaky Cauldron? And stop smiling at me like that, I'm twelve-years-old!"

"I'm waiting for the Knight's Bus, of course! The quickest way to the Leaky Cauldron! I would apparate, but I didn't get my licence…"

"What's the Knight's Bus?" The old woman looked shocked.

"For such a good-looking boy, you sure don't know much. Alright, I'll stop. The Knight's Bus is… oh look, it's here!" Theodore turned around and marvelled at the sight. What was right in front of him was a bus. A purple bus. A purple bus with not one, not two, but three decks. If Theodore had looked up any further, he'd fall backwards. The obese wizard, following the hag and three others, lined up on the bus to check in with the man at the door.

"You jus' gonna stand der or are yer gonna get on, kid?" The scruffy conductor shouted. Theodore could see that this man couldn't take care of himself as his purple uniform had multiple stains and tears along it.

"Where does this bus go," asked Theodore eagerly as he rushed onto the bus. The man stuck out his hand to stop the boy in his tracks.

"'Old on, kid. You gotta pay for the ride. Eleven Sickles, if you will."

"I… don't have any money."

"Well that's unfortunate. Guess you better take the Muggle buses instead!" The man cackled as he turned back into the bus. Theodore stuck a leg between the closing doors, which proved to be a bad idea. "Now look what you did! You hurt yerself and you can't afford a simple bus fare. Eleven Sickles ain't that much!" Theodore bent over in pain to rub his sore leg until his pocket watch fell to the ground.

"Shit! Please don't be broken!"

"That's a nice lookin' watch you got there. 'Ow about you hand it over as compensation for your troubles, eh?" Theodore snatched it from the ground and stuffed it in his pocket.

"What, no way! I'm not giving this to you, it's mine!"

"Well then, adios kid. Nice knowing you." He tipped his hat and walked back into the bus. Theodore glared at the man through the windows. He was probably the poorest wizard alive at the moment, unable to buy a wizarding or a Muggle bus fare. He was pathetic. He might as well return to Stuggle's, seeing as how he failed miserably. Theodore sighed and walked off, till he stopped at the shout of the conductor.

"Oi, kid! Come 'ere!" Theodore walked back. "You're in luck. That old hag paid for yer ticket. Well come on, then! 'Aven't got all day!" Theodore jumped onto the bus and looked inside. There were no seats, only beds that weren't strapped on the floor properly. As Theodore stared to the ceiling, which looked like it could go on forever, the conductor shoved the boy onto a bed next to the old woman. She wrapped herself under the sheets, while smiling at Theodore. The boy was heavily disgusted but had to choke it down. She did pay for him after all.

"Um, thanks. You didn't have to pay for me." The woman waved a hand and snuggled in her bed.

"Oi kid, what's yer name?"

"It's… Theodore." He said reluctantly.

"Theodore what?"

"Theodore… Potter?" The conductor widened his eyes.

"You mean like Harry Potter," he whispered. Theodore nodded his head. The conductor slapped his knee. "Well then! I'm honoured to have a relative of the Boy Who Lived, to be on my bus. Of course, it be even better if he were here… Say, 'ow are you related exactly?"

"We're cousins." Theodore lied. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

"Oh, so you must be Valerie's child." Theodore whipped his head to the old woman. She knew his mother? Of course, she did! Names in the wizarding world were distinguished! You couldn't have the same name as somebody else and not be related.

"How do you know her?! Was she your-"

"TAKE IT AWAY, ERN'!" Theodore was instantly thrown back at the sudden burst of speed from the bus. He held onto the bed railings for dear life as he looked outside the window to see blurs of white, red and yellow shoot by. Theodore narrowed his eyes to try and focus but was sent back onto the bed. As he regained balance, the conductor stuck out a hand to display a toothy grin.

"Stan Shunpike, at yer service! Please to meet you, Theo!" Theodore used his free hand to shake Stan's hand before clinging back onto the bed. "So, where do you wanna go? London, Surrey, anywhere! Cept for underwater. Can't go there, son!"

"Leaky Cauldron." Theodore replied. Stan nodded and barked orders to the front driver. As he left, the old woman spoke up, with a cup of hot chocolate in her gloved, grubby hands.

"So, you still want to know about your mumsy? I knew her quite well. Terribly beautiful girl. Long hair, full lips and an aura that could entrap any man! Even some girls."

"What was she like," asked Theodore. The woman took a sip. A wizard from the higher deck plummeted straight onto one of the three beds, but carried on snoring.

"She was cunning and had a knack for outperforming her younger brother, James. She was two years older than him and always seemed to keep him in her shadow. Poor boy."

"You mean James Potter? Harry's dad?" The woman nodded and took another, longer sip.

"Honestly, if it weren't for their looks, I wouldn't know if they were related. Even when they were at Hogwarts, they were divided. Valerie was in Slytherin and James was in Gryffindor. Quite a shock came to their parents!" The bus took a violent turn around the corner and sped up even faster.

"Wait, so how did you know them? You don't really look like you went to school with them…"

"I was their neighbour. Little Jam and Little Val, I'd call them. Such adorable children… makes me cry about… about what happened to them." Theodore moved closer to her, ignoring the pungent smell coming from her clothes.

"What happened to Valerie," he asked in a whisper. "Please, I need to know!"

"Oh god, you don't know… Valerie… she turned… left everyone for… He Who Must Not Be Named." Theodore was frozen. It couldn't be. It couldn't be at all!

"My mother was… a Death Eater?" The bus came to an immediate stop as Theodore was sent flying to the front. Stan snapped his fingers, which made Theodore halt in mid-air. Stan snapped them once more and Theodore fell to the ground, quite painfully. He rubbed his hands while he glared at Stan with contempt.

"Mr Potter, the Leaky Cauldron." Theodore looked outside the window to see a barely lit up sign read, 'Leaky Cauldron', on the building opposite the bus. He thanked Stan and made his way to the door when the old woman called for him.

"Young man, you forgot your bag!" Theodore hit his head and quickly went to grab his bag. As soon as he got it, the old woman held his forearm and spoke silently to him. "Valerie Potter was a good woman. No matter what other people say, she was a good woman. Never forget that." Theodore stared at her for a few seconds, then left the bus without saying a word. The Knight Bus boomed behind him and disappeared into the night, without a single trace of it being there. He turned around to the Leaky Cauldron and pushed into the front doors.

The familiar smell that had been present last year smacked his face as his mouth began to water. He looked over to the clock, which said 05:49, and walked further in. There were a lot less wizards and witches downstairs than the last time he came in, realising that they were mostly all asleep. As he walked along the bar, the innkeeper that he saw last time was waving his wand in the back kitchens to clear plates until he was aware of Theodore's presence.

"Oh, dear boy, what are doing up at these hours? You should be asleep and- wait. I know you… you came in here with Albus last year!" Theodore threw his bag on the counter and sat on the stools. Tom was taken back by the boy's actions.

"Can I get room?"

"Uh, Room 13 should be available but tell me, why have you come here at the dead of the night?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well you better head up there. No boy should be awake at six o'clock in the morning. Now hurry!" Theodore's stomach rumbled. The boy gave a look to the innkeeper, persuading him to make him a late-night meal. Theodore ravaged at his food, before going upstairs to go sleep. His sluggish body hit the bed before he fell into a slumber. He couldn't remember the dream that he had, only that he saw green eyes, messy hair and smile which kept him at ease.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Theodore was scribbling on a piece of parchment while a grey owl hooted next to him, flicking its head in all directions. On his left were three other letters, one to Harry, one to Ron and one to Hermione. He was halfway through writing one for Louise as he was stuck on what to say. Calling her out for not telling him that she chose to be adopted was the absolute wrong move, and was better to be happy for her instead. Theodore was very happy for her, as she didn't have to be stuck in Stuggle's for the rest of her childhood. He just wished that they left at the same time. He wrote some more until he finished, and slipped the parchment in an envelope. Tom had let him use one of his owls for free, seeing as how the boy hadn't had a Knut to spend.

"Okay, give this one to Ron Weasley, this one to Hermione Granger, this one to Harry Potter and this one to Louise Free. Or Reagul, I don't know… make sure that you're not seen by anyone except to the people that I'm writing to. It'll be okay for Ron, maybe Hermione but not for Louise and Harry. Now go." The owl gave a little nod and held the letters in its little pouch. It flew out of window and out of sight. Theodore walked out of his room and down the stairs. The pub was full of people again, shouting and singing while clashing their cups. Theodore sat near the windows and observed everyone around him. This is where he belonged. With wizards and witches. Not with the Muggles. A fairy flew past his face as a dwarf hobbled past him. He blushed slightly as a girl with pink hair winked at him. Theodore was fully aware that he had caught the attention of many girls that he had crossed: Hermione, Elise, Lavender, Parvati, various other girls from Stuggle's and Hogwarts alike. He wondered if Louise felt the same as well, but he couldn't remember a single time that she had ever acted 'lovey-dovey' around him. Maybe he was just oblivious to her.

"Theodore? Hello!" The old woman from the bus waved to him from across the room. Theodore sighed and walked over to kill time with her. She may be a creep, but she wouldn't try anything on a beloved neighbour's child. Theodore plopped on the seat opposite the old woman and balanced his head against his arm. "Would you like anything? Hot chocolate and pancakes? They're very good here."

"No thanks. By the way, I didn't see you get off when I did."

"Don't worry about that, dear boy. I'm sure that there are other things that you would like to find out." Theodore leaned in to ask a question but was interrupted by a grey-haired wizard. He sat right next to Theodore and had a wide grin on his face.

"I thought that you'd come early! How are you, mum?"

"Mum?" Theodore looked confused. What kind of man lets his mother walk around like that?

"Yup. And who might you be, young man?" Theodore opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the old woman.

"This is Theodore. Theodore Riddle, son of Valerie Potter."

"I didn't tell you my surname…"

"I knew it! I could see her planted on your face! Sure, you don't have her lips or cheeks but that nose, and those eyes definitely belong to her!"

"I'm sorry, who are you two? I know that you lived next to them, but I haven't got a clue about who you are." The wizard proudly puffed his chest.

"I am Erveris Padalin. And this is my mother, Terly. We know all about your mum and uncle!"

"So, I heard," muttered Theodore under his breath. "If you really knew them, then you should've kept a picture of them, right? You act like you guys were family or something." Erveris stuck out his tongue as he tried to remember something important. He slapped various parts of his body while spinning around so violently, he crashed into a passing goblin. Terly facepalmed and snapped her thin fingers. A thick book slammed onto the table, shaking the goblets that had been left behind by the other wizards.

"Go ahead, son. Take a look." Theodore nervously opened the book and flicked through the first pages. Inside, were multiple moving photographs of two children, mainly playing. The girl and the boy almost looked like twins yet seemed further apart from their facial expressions. The boy, who looked strikingly similar to Harry, had a cheeky grin with an aura of mischievous nature hanging around him. This boy had to be James Potter. The girl, however, had also sported a smile on her face, but instead had something secretive behind it. Her eyes made her look vicious underneath like a preying snake with beautiful scales. Valerie Potter. Theodore stared at her closer to see if there was any semblance between them. The nose and eyes were spot on, and the sheen of her hair matched his own. She even raised her eyebrow the same way he did after little James jabbed her with an elbow. He flicked forward to see her grow into a woman, looking even more stunning than the last image. He'd never thought that he could see his mother in moving picture, let alone a still one. In one of those rare instances, Theodore had allowed a single tear to fall onto the book without wiping it away.

"Oh, Theo. I feel… She was a good woman. Probably one of the greatest that I've ever known. I loath the way the media had depicted her as a deranged woman. She was nothing like that. Nothing like that at all."

"Did you know my father, Tom Riddle?" Theodore looked over to Erveris, who shook his head. Surely one of them should've seen him before. "Well, thank you for showing this to me. I really needed that."

"You can keep it if you want. A gift from me. Just don't lose it, okay?" Theodore nodded and closed the book. Theodore, Erveris and Terly talked about the past, how Valerie and James almost brought a swarm of giant killer bees to the neighbourhood. The two never heard the end of it. Theodore was giggling like a little child, something that he did not mind at that very moment. The more he talked to them, the more they felt like family. Despite the awkward introduction, Terly was a sweet old woman, who had lost her wealth when her second husband stole her money, as well as her house. The two roamed across Britain like tourists, not letting their tragic past catch up with their hopeful future. Theodore was secretly moved by this. They talked about how they would finally settle down in a grand home, surrounded by their big family without a care in the world.

"…and believe me, it better have a giant squid! Say, Theodore. I almost forgot to ask you. Weren't you inside that Muggle orphanage?" Erveris asked.

"Yes." Theodore replied emotionlessly. He didn't really want to think about that. He was enjoying himself here.

"Then why are you at the Leaky Cauldron? Is that not your home?"

…

"Don't you want to go back?"

"I'll go back… just not now." Theodore had just thought about Viripin, waking up without Theodore in the room. His stomach twisted. How could he abandon her like that? "Besides, it's not like anybody's going to miss me over there." The boy twirled his finger against the table. Why did they have to spoil the mood like that? Terly and Erveris carried on talking with each other, leaving Theodore alone to flip through the book again. Maybe he had to go back to Stuggle's. _'No, that's stupid. Madam would go mad when she'll see me come back. Might as well stay here."_

The next five days at the Leaky Cauldron had been the best days of the summer holiday so far. Tom had been particularly nice to Theodore, by allowing him to stay in the building, as long as he helped to clean up after everyone had left. A fair deal. Theodore had received a letter from Ron and Hermione, but was still waiting on one from Harry and Louise. He expected the two to not even reply, given who they lived with. At least it didn't go to waste. Hermione was having the time of her life in France while Ron was telling Theodore about how Percy had flipped out due to the twins insistent pranking. Percy did need a reality check every now and then.

As Theodore finished reading each letter, he tucked them inside his bag and left his room. He had made a few acquaintances with his neighbours, seeing as how most of them were away from home. Theodore walked down the stairs and sat on the table that was vacant. The best mornings were those alone. He had borrowed _'_ _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2',_ from a resident that was kind enough to let him borrow the book. He read several useful spells that he would probably use in the near future. The Wand-Lighting Charm, the Disarming Charm and the Memory Charm all caught his eyes, instantly. During the first year, he 'accidently' stumbled upon a second-years copy, and had a quick flick-through of the book. That's how he learned the Severing Charm to use against…

He shook his head. Theodore shut the book and returned it to its owner. It was best to not think about Quirrell all summer, as it would only spoil it even more. As he went back up to his room, Tom's owl was outside of the window pane, pecking its beak again and again. Theodore quickly opened the window and allowed the owl to hop through. A pink envelope stuck out from the pouch, indicating that only one of the remaining two had replied to his letter. He secretly hoped that it was Louise, as he hadn't spoken to her for a very long time. Sure, Harry was his friend as well, but they were going to see each other in two months. He and Louise could take years until they'd meet again. The owl reached inside the pouch and handed the letter to boy, before flying to the bird-stand in the corner. Theodore sat on his bed and slowly ripped the envelope, to read the letter inside.

 _Dear Theo,_

 _You don't know how happy I am that you sent me a letter. Before I left Stuggle's, Madam said that you weren't allowed to call me because of stupid adult reasons. I thought that you'd never be able to talk to me again. I'm so glad that I was wrong!_

 _Sheffield is a really nice place, you know. We live near a lake that has all the birds that you could find in the world. The house is ginormous and there are maids and butlers who follow me around almost all day. It can get a bit annoying sometimes, but what can I say? I was made for the finer things in the life. My new school is quite big as well, with loads of different people from around the world. I made some friends, but none of them are as fun to be around than you. Imagine I had to convince them for a week, to skip class for one hour. Twisted knickers, am I right?_

 _I'm really, really, really sorry that I didn't tell you, Theo. I swear, if I could, I would have done so. It was going to happen sooner or later. I know that you knew that. But this doesn't mean that we're not seeing each other again, no way! You can come visit me sometime! I could ask Mr Reagul (it's a bit weird to call him Dad) to book you a ticket so that you could spend the summer with us. It'll be wicked!_

 _I seriously miss talking to you face to face. I think I'm starting to forget your voice and face sometimes. I don't know if it's the same for you, but I put a photo of myself inside the envelope, so that you wouldn't forget. Be a good lad and send one back? It would really help._

 _From your No.1 friend, the Amazing, Louise Amalda Free (not Reagul). XXX_

Theodore emptied the envelope and looked at the photograph inside. Louise was sitting on brick wall surrounded by various flowers. Her floral dress fitted the setting perfectly, and a baby-blue sun hat with a red feather, was fitted on her head. Louise had looked three years older in the picture as Theodore could see that she was wearing a small amount of make-up, and wore her hair in a French braid. Her smile tore through him as he couldn't help but feel something bubble inside of him. Louise had never looked like this before. Not in front of Theodore. Here she looked… amazing. He couldn't help but notice her emerald eyes brighten the entire image. Theodore wondered what she would think of him when he'd send his photo back. The only thing that changed about him was the cut on his cheek.

He gazed at the photo some more until he fitted it inside the photobook in his bag. Maybe someday, he'd charm it to make it move like the others. The letter was kept in the bag and zipped up securely. He was feeling too happy. He practically skipped down the steps and whistled. The other wizards and witches peered and smiled at the boy's happiness, but he didn't mind. He sat down on a table next to a long-bearded man, ignoring the obvious robes that were worn by him. Theodore carried on whistling until he stopped. The flowing silver beard stretched along the table. The purple robes and the matching pointy hat. Theodore knew who this was and tried to sneak away. He slowly turned his body to his right and rose to his feet to walk away quickly.

"I was wondering when you would come out, Theodore. Please, sit with me." Theodore hung his head low and sat down next to the old professor. Dumbledore still looked as spry as ever, his blue eyes full of excitement. The boy didn't look up at the old man, and focused his attention to the table.

"I haven't done any magic, so you can go now."

"Actually, I'm here for something else. Of course, I'm still here for you."

"What did I do wrong?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at Stuggle's, dear boy?" Theodore lifted his head to show to Dumbledore what he thought about the place.

"No. I'm supposed to be here with wizards and witches. Not with Muggles. There's no reason for me to go back there." Dumbledore sighed. _'Now what nonsense is he going to spew out this time?'_

"You know about your mother, right? That she was-"

"James Potter's older sister, yes. I know."

"And that would make you Harry's only blood relative on his father's side." Theodore shrugged.

"So, what? It's not that big of a deal. We're just cousins, that's all." Dumbledore lowered his voice.

"But do you know the sacrifices that your mothers made, to save the both of you?"

"What sacrifices…what?"

"Valerie Potter, your mother, gave her life so that you would be free from her burdens. She realised that it was too late to save herself, so she did everything in her power to save you. She left you at that orphanage, knowing that you would be safe." Dumbledore explained.

"Safe from what?" Dumbledore said nothing. "Alright, don't tell me. I don't care anyways."

"Yes, you do. You act like you don't, but you do." Dumbledore stood up and walked towards the back door, after saying one last thing to the young boy. "If you deny your first home, then no other home is worth living at. Remember that, dear boy." Theodore cycled the words in his head, trying to make sense of the cryptic saying of the old man, instead of dismissing it.

"No other home is worth living at… huh," muttered the young wizard. Those words stuck with him for the entire day, from when he wrote the letter back to his friends (excluding Harry), to when he slept that very night.

' _No other home is worth living at…'_

Louise was gently tapping against the window, trying to catch any owl in sight that flew in her direction. It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and ever since she had received the letter from Theodore, Louise was restless for the entire week. She couldn't sleep at all. It had been so long since she had heard from him, and was overjoyed to see the owl with letter in the pouch. She missed the oddity that was absent in Sheffield. It was still a nice place but without Theodore, the place lacked the energy that made London… home. She'd still pick this place over Stuggle's any day.

Louise was wearing a grey nightdress and a pink dressing gown on top. Her large room wasn't cold, but she loved the fluffy sensation of the gown on her skin. It made her feel fuzzy in a weird, wonderful way. Her bedroom was three times the size of her old one, with the bed being wide enough to sleep in all positions, and her cupboard being large enough to fit the plethora of clothing that she possessed. She tapped her feet against the desk, shaking the pile of books and papers that were stacked upon it. Her school had upped the homework and studying but it was too easy for her. She waited for five more minutes, still stubborn on waiting for the owl.

"I know that you're coming, just hurry up will you!" Nothing. Louise wasn't going to give up that easily. She pressed her face against the glass, hoping to see if the owl would swoop in from the corner and to her surprise, it did. The same grey owl landed outside the window and pecked its beak, just like Hedwig. Louise lifted the window and took the letter from inside the pouch, after stroking the owl's head. She rummaged in her pocket and emptied out some seeds for the owl to eat, seeing as how long it took to fly from London to Sheffield. It ate them all quickly and flew back out in the night. Louise shut the window and clambered down to her bed to read the letter that she was waiting for. She tore it open and immediately read through the neat handwriting, albeit slowly.

 _Dear Louise,_

 _I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself over there, even though you haven't got me around. It must be fun to not have Gretchen burst into your room and scream in your ear. I'd happily switch places with you._

 _And it's okay, you didn't do anything wrong. I should've been sending more letters instead, so it was my fault. Besides, you'd be an absolute idiot to not leave that place. I would've done it in a heartbeat (and don't act like you wouldn't). At least you're out of there._

 _The last few months at Hogwarts got pretty hectic! I can't exactly say what happened but maybe someday I will. Really just depends. I also made new friends, although they're the exact opposite of yours. They broke school rules like it was nothing! You'd definitely fit in there._

 _Going over there for summer sounds great. I can't wait to show you what I found last week. Hint: it has to do with my mum. My quill_ _is running out, so I have to stop here. Can't wait to see you again._

 _From your best friend, Theodore._

 _P.S. I put a picture inside of the envelope, like you asked. Still not going to forget you._

She wiped a tear and read through the whole thing again. Louise could almost hear him speak through the letter, sarcasms and all. She traced her finger against each letter as she read over it one last time. Unbeknownst to Theodore, during the months that she had been away from London, Louise had allowed some of her attachments to flourish for the boy, upon realising that they were far apart from each other. He had no idea that his best friend was starting to fall for him, rather slowly. Every passing day made her miss the young wizard even more, wishing that she'd see him for even a minute. That was all that she needed. A minute.

She took out the fresh photograph and gazed at it, the same way Theodore had done to hers. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the handsome boy awkwardly trying to fix his hair while attempting to create a natural smile. His hair was slightly longer, and he looked quite older, considering the last time she saw him was at Christmas. All of this would've been perfect. Perfect and absolutely normal, if the boy in the picture was not moving.

 **So this was a weird chapter to write, probably because I was in three different mindsets when I wrote this. I feel like skipping over the summer feels rushed and that I should ease the story into the second year so that it sort of fleshes out. That's why it's going to be a three-parter. Theo is going to find out more about himself in this summer as his 'shift', begins this year. I can't wait to write about Chamber of Secrets as it is my favourite book in the entire series, probably because of how creepy and mysterious it was. I'll try my best to emulate that later on. Later.**

 **Side note: Did you guys get the reference when it said about the 'snake in the building'? I don't care, I feel like a genius for putting that in.**

 **Dispyy: Learn more magic, see more magic, all of it (well not all of it, seeing as I don't want him to be overpowered when he's just twelve.) I'm glad that you enjoyed that chapter :)**


	10. Chapter 10: Summer Days Pt2

"He's around 5 and a half feet tall, um… he has dark brown hair that comes to his ears and he has… hazel eyes! Yes, hazel!"

"There are lot of boys that fit that description in London, Madam Geoffrey. Do you have a picture so that we can have a better idea about who we're looking for?"

"Uh… here. That's him when he was seven years old. He may look a bit older now but you could still recognise him."

"And you said that his name was Silas?"

"Theodore. Silas is his middle name."

"Alright. I'll start up a search party as soon as I get this picture to my superiors."

"Thank you, thank you!"

The heavy rain showered against the windows of the local police station, as the night was just as glum as the recent weeks. Two weeks, the boy went missing. Two weeks went by when little Elise came into her office to tell her that Theodore had ran away. Two weeks, which were easily the most painful moments of her life. Madam was quivering in her seat near the entrance, her eyes reddened by constant tears that she wept during the previous nights. Beside her was Elise, who also looked deeply saddened. The little girl was the last person to see the boy before he had disappeared, so was called in as a witness. Madam didn't want any of the children to be involved with the current matters, but it was necessary.

They had waited in the station for nearly three hours, shivering at the deathly cold that flew in through the futile windows. Illness was around the corner but they were stubborn on finding the 'lost' boy. To them, he was just led by his anger to choose a bad decision. Elise coughed into her red hands, and trapped the heat from her breath as she rubbed them together.

"Huddle up closer, dear. We haven't got long left." Madam said while covering Elise under her right arm.

"Do you know what's the time?" Elise's eyes were droopy and uneven. She could've slept inside the station without a second's notice.

"It's almost half past eleven. They'll finish up nice and quick, then we can go home, alright?" Elise yawned.

"Do you think that he's going to be okay?"

"Theodore's a smart boy. He'll be able to take of himself, even if he's acting reckless. I just hope that he found a place somewhere."

"He didn't look okay when I last saw him. He looked happy that he was leaving. Do you think it's because of Louise?" Madam nodded slowly, then sighed. All of it had to be because of Louise. She had seen this twice before at her time in Stuggle's. Two children who meant the world to each other, are separated. The one left behind leaves to find the other one, only to never turn up anywhere, ever. Madam couldn't go through that again. Those demons had never left her after those days.

Thirty more minutes passed and Elise was knocked out, snoring quietly on Madam's lap. Madam was feeling worn out as well but had to hold on. Any minute now, someone would tell her that the search would be on and that they could finally go sleep. Any minute now…

"Excuse me? Madam?" A thin police officer with a bushy moustache lightly shook the woman and child. "They finalised and approved the search. The parties will be active by six o'clock, tomorrow morning. You're free to go home, now." Madam shook the officer's hand and thanked him repeatedly before carrying the sleeping Elise to Gretchen's car. Gretchen looked particularly docile and robotic in the driver's seat, being unresponsive to the doors opening. After laying Elise along the back seats, Madam strapped herself in the passengers seat and instructed the driver.

"What did they say," asked Gretchen quietly.

"They're going to look for him in the morning. The bastards can't even start right now. It's an abomination, if you ask me."

"The boy doesn't know what he's doing. London is a dangerous place to be a child and alone. Wherever he is…"

"…yes." Madam looked out of her window, shedding a tear at the thought of Theodore encountering the worst of what London had to offer…

Theodore was happily feasting on a stack of freshly made pancakes with his favourite syrup, a plate of crispy bacon with scrambled eggs and three buttered toast. The boy was especially hungry after the tiring night of sweeping the Cauldron. The previous day featured a man called Gribblegork's, birthday, a wizard with furious-looking eyebrows and hair. Everyone had downed themselves in beer and happiness, except for Theodore, and left quite a mess with cups and kegs all over the floor. Tom promised Theodore an extravaganza breakfast the next morning, and the man held up his end of the deal.

The young Heir of Slytherin had spent the past few hours, explaining most of his school life to the Padalins, engaging the two with interesting stories about how he snuck through the hallways at night, and how he'd be stuck with Snape throughout most of the year. Erveris knew the infamous Potions professor, as Snape was in the year below him when he was at Hogwarts. According to him, he and Harry's mother were inseparable, always together until he called her something so vile that Erveris stopped in his sentence.

"Was it 'Mudblood'?"

"Theodore! Since when did you know that word?!"

"I'm not a child, I do know things."

"You don't ever use that word, my boy," exclaimed Terry as she stirred her cup of hot chocolate with a self-moving spoon. "Only the most horrid of people would dare to say that!"

"I won't."

"Promise?" Theodore rolled his eyes and gave her a little smirk.

"I promise, Ms Padalin." Here he was, making promises with old ladies when he should be home with Viripin.

"Never really liked Severus. Was always part of the suspicious lot, you know? You Know Who fanatics and all. A day wouldn't go by when he and your uncle would clash in the hallways, always hexing each other. Valerie wasn't proud of either of them, which is probably why she and Lily had a mutual respect for each other."

"Have you ever spoken to Mum before?" The word 'Mum' felt weird in his mouth but he liked it. Made him feel as if she was alive and well. Theodore suddenly looked closer to Erveris, who's face turned completely red. Theodore turned to Terly, who chuckled as she looked in opposite direction. "You didn't… you did?!"

"I never did… anything! In fact, your mum thought that I was a waste of time! S-she'd reject me in the hallways and would cast me into the Black Lake if I ever got close! She was a vicious girl, but that's what I liked about her. How could you resist her when she had all of that in-"

"Please! Just… stop talking. Please." Theodore couldn't imagine Erveris following his mother around like a lovesick puppy, constantly barraging her with annoyance and insistent talking. Actually he sort of could imagine that. Matter of fact, he had the same problems that his mother countered all those years ago. Lavender and Parvati were two stubborn girls.

"I did tell you to listen to what I had to say about winning her heart, Erveris. You didn't know how to talk to women then, and you most certainly don't know how to talk to them now. Perhaps you should take tips from Theodore over here."

"Mum!" Terly shrugged and took a large gulp from her mug. "Anyways, what do you have planned for today? Are you going to read some more or are you going back to the orphanage?"

"I'm not going back! At least, not right now. There's still more stuff to do here."

"Like what?"

"I don't know like," the boy said as he turned to the backdoor, "going to Diagon Alley. It's halfway through the summer and I'm going to need new stuff." The Padalins gave each other anxious stares. Terly sighed and pushed her mug across the table.

"Theodore, school is a long way away. You don't have to go school shopping in a while. Tell me why you don't want to go back to the orphanage." Terly asked gently. Theodore stared at the empty plates, that had pools of syrup and fat forming in the middle. First Elise, then Dumbledore and now them? Why did everyone want him back at Stuggle's? What is the point of having an entirely separate world, if you still leave magic children behind? It was unfair and idiotic.

"Theo, talk to us. We're sort of like your family if you think about it," said Erveris. "It's okay to talk about it, we'll listen." Theodore's eyes were still trained on the plates. His skin was sweltering as he couldn't pinpoint what he was feeling at that moment. Anger, sadness, confusion? Maybe all three? He didn't want to know.

"No, you're alright. I think I'll go to my room. I need to clean it anyways." Theodore piled his plates upon each other and walked over to the kitchens to drop them in the sink. Various other wizards and witches took notice of the boy and greeted him as he walked by. He'd nod his head politely but didn't stop for conversation. Not like there was anything to talk about. He walked up to Room 13 and closed the door behind him. His room was spotless. He walked to the chair near the window and plopped himself on it rather clumsily. There was no need for graceful theatrics.

Theodore looked down to the street below, recognising a few children from his year going in and out of the various stores. A lot of them scurried into Flourish and Blott's, the place where Hogwarts' textbooks were bought. Naturally, having no money meant that Theodore would have to rely on the school funding again, which was embarrassing due to the independency he wanted to display to others. Dumbledore was the only person he knew that would come for him and Theodore didn't even know if the old man wanted to. He seemed persistent that he'd return to the orphanage. Theodore's eyes trailed up Diagon Alley with boredom, not noticing Sawer, Tom's owl, flapping above the window while butting his head.

"Sorry Sawer. Just zoned out there. You got another letter?" The owl peeked into his pouch and brought out two differently coloured envelopes, one dark-blue and sleek with the other possessing a dirty-cream colour with ripped corners.

"You didn't drop this in a river, did you?" Sawer shook his head and perched himself on Theodore's left shoulder. He wasn't that big and his defined talons didn't seem to cut into his flesh. Theodore decided to open the crude-looking envelope first because he was well aware that it couldn't have been any of his friends. The flimsy material tore easily as Theodore took out the letter inside. It had around the same quality as the envelope, and did not look any prettier with the green stain on the corner.

 _Dear Theodor,_

 _Don't send letters to_ _Dob_ _me, as famile are being_ _susp_ _very mean. I'll see you, later._

 _From_ _Dob_ _Harry._

This was not Harry. This was definitely not Harry. The handwriting was flying all over the paper, there were basic spelling mistakes, including his name at the beginning, and the impersonator had crossed their name out twice. Harry's handwriting was a hundred times better than this. Whoever was trying to trick him was an absolute failure. Didn't they have better things to do than to waste their existence on pranks? Terrible ones too.

Theodore scrunched the letter and chucked in the bin beside the desk. He sliced the other envelope open and took the letter from inside. He even smelt a hint of strawberries and apples waft from inside. Either somebody was trying to catch his attention or they really liked spraying their letters. The letter said:

 _Mr Riddle,_

 _Due to some complications, Professor Dumbledore will not be able to escort you through Diagon Alley during the summer. He wished that I myself, would take his place at accompanying you on the 25_ _th_ _of August. He did not disclose the matter with anyone but did wish you good luck. And he told me to pass onto you to "do the right thing". I hope that it makes sense for you. I will see you on that day, Mr Riddle. Do not be late._

 _Professor McGonagall._

"Theodore, are you there?" Theodore hid the note in his pocket as Sawer flapped about before settling down.

"Yeah! Um, you can come in!" Tom entered the room with a red face, like he ran a five mile marathon in a minute.

"I need to borrow Sawer really quickly… Ministry business."

"Go ahead."

"Thanks. Here, Sawer!" The owl flew to his owner and landed on Tom's arm, making him wince at pain of the claws slicing into him. Theodore was alone, looking at the paper from McGonagall. The 25th was four days away from now. He didn't realise how long he had been at the Leak Cauldron for. It seemed like it was yesterday when he left the front door of Stuggle's. At the time, it was a spur of the moment type of thing, but now he almost regretted it. Viripin was the only thing that he missed over there but other than that, he couldn't care less.

As he returned to eyeing the wizards and witches below, he noticed three witches and a small creature hobble into a junction nearer to the Cauldron. The witches looked like Terly, ragged and mucky only they didn't make it look pleasant in the slightest. Thin white hair, visibly rotted teeth and ripped clothing that exposed their dry, bumpy skin. They looked exactly like the Muggle interpretation of what a witch would look like, and they looked repulsive. The smaller creature in front quickly disappeared through the diverting alleyway, not giving Theodore a chance to see it in full detail. He did, however notice pointed ears and a protruding nose, nothing else. All four of them heading into a part of Diagon Alley that Theodore was not aware of.

' _Maybe if I just took a look at what's over there, I could really make this an interesting summer.'_ Theodore left his room with his wand in his back pocket, and walked down the steps slowly. He didn't want to burst onto the main floor and have everyone look at him. As he reached the bottom, he panned over the pub to see if Erveris and Terly were still there. Terly could not be seen but Erveris was at the front counter, chugging down pints of butterbeer with three other wizards and a witch, in a completion of sorts. The boy slipped away to the back door and went through without gaining a single glance to his being. The small courtyard looked a bit cleaner than the last time he saw it but the broken sign hadn't moved an inch. Theodore walked over to the towering wall and reached for his wand. He imitated the pattern that Dumbledore had done last year against the hole in the wall and sure enough, the bricks moved and shifted until a pathway formed in front of him.

Diagon Alley was still as bright as ever, smiles of the old and young beaming through the windows as they revelled in their glorious setting. A witch had enchanted a paper aeroplane to whizz around above her head as a little girl screamed in delight at the magical act. Theodore walked a little forward as a family of four politely asked to move pass. Now that he was down here, the mysterious alleyway had to be somewhere nearby. He darted his head side to side to look for any archway that obviously led to somewhere else. Nothing, nothing… nothing again. _'Where the hell is it, for God's sake! It was right here!'_

"Lost, dear boy? Madam Milkin's is right down there if you need some robes," said an elderly wizard.

"I don't need robes."

"No? Then what are you looking for?"

"Don't worry," said Theodore as he rudely turned his back and started to look again. He looked to the left, to the right and back again until he noticed what he had been looking for. He had to admit, it wasn't easy to spot due to being well hidden along the high walls that enclosed the entire road. The archway was lowered and thin with an aged sign reading, 'Knockturn Alley'. Theodore peered inside as an uncomfortable sensation grew in his stomach. Black, grey and just more black. It was like a storm of soot blew straight into the alley, coating every inch with its black mass. He was beginning to have second thoughts when the same wizard tapped his shoulder.

"What now?!"

"Knockturn Alley isn't a place for little boys like you," whispered the old man with fear in his voice. "You shouldn't go in there!"

"I'll do as I please, thank you very much. Now stop bothering me."

"Young man…" Theodore walked straight through the archway, ignoring what the wizard had to say. He quickly paced along the tight and distorted corners while the wizard's pleas were drowned by the distance between the two. The more Theodore moved deeper in the Alley, the more he wished that he listened to what the man had to say. No use wishing now. The lack of sunlight from the shielding stores and buildings made it quite difficult to manoeuvre as Theodore had tripped up a few times. Cloaked wizards and witches looked over their shoulders at the rare sight of a young boy alone in the repulsive alley.

"Where you off to, little boy?" A hulking man in a bundle of black robes asked.

"Nowhere… and I'm not a little boy."

"You sure look like one. Did mummy forget to hold your hand?" He guffawed as several others suddenly came out from the shadows, joining the man in the maniacal laughter.

"Look at the kid, he's terrified!"

"Handsome one as well!"

"Who's your old man, huh? One of them famous models?"

"N-no…" Theodore slowly backed away as everyone started to close in on him. The cackling and jeering seemed to get louder and louder as they entrapped the small boy. Theodore's heart was racing on its on accord as Theodore darted his eyes to try and find a little opening for an escape. It seemed as if they were multiplying with each person splitting in half again and again and again…

"Stay back! I said…"

"Stay… back?" A witch said right in his ear. She had the most grotesque face ever, with boils that had pus almost ready to erupt, disproportioned teeth that were more yellow than a butterbeer, and eyes which had no colour, almost as if she was blind. Theodore's fear reached its far end as he ran backwards. He had to get away at any cost, even if it meant-

Something dense slammed against his back then seemed to push back against the boy's weight, sending Theodore tumbling on the ground. He slid across the dusty floor as he groaned in pain and embarrassment. No way was he going to tell anyone what happened there. He suddenly remembered what had just happened and sprung to his feet to slam the open door shut. The door met him with some resistance as it refused to close but after a while, it became still. Theodore looked through the translucent glassing of the door to see a black figure of human staring at him eye to eye before vanishing. He could hear a chuckle followed by a wheezing cough then just silence.

Theodore slowly rotated to see just where the hell he was as he didn't see no door when he had been cornered by a psychotic mob. It seemed to be a shop of some sorts, only it wasn't the normal sort at all. Instead of mannequins there were hung skeletons of different species. Instead of multiple shelves full of books there were jars mounted on the walls containing eyes, livers, toes, heads, tongues, dismembered animals and other nerving contents. It was similar to the Potions cupboard in Hogwarts, only a lot less cleaner. He weaved through the ominous store, glancing at the many odd things that looked semi-intriguing to him, if not disgusting. On the far end of the store was the dusty bookshelf, housing multiple thick novels which looked unreadable by the spine due to the amount of dust coating. Theodore made his way there slowly as the floorboards constantly creaked which could give his presence away to anybody there. If there was anybody there. The shop seemed like a spacious tomb.

Theodore picked the 'cleanest' one from the bottom and slammed it on a rickety table that almost gave way. He froze for half a minute to make sure that nobody was about to burst in and curse him with a bucketload of hexes. He sighed at the absence of sound and proceeded to continue his 'investigation'. The front title of the book became clearer after Theodore blew the dust straight off.

"How- *cough*-old is this- *cough cough*- book? ' _Secrets of the Darkest Art: Extended Original Edition'_ by Owle Bullock. Darkest Art? What…?" Theodore turned a page over. Although a bit faded and crumpled, the contents of the book looked readable and in decent condition. As he flipped past the introduction and prologue of the book, Theodore's mind was slowly becoming warped and sucked in to what the book was displaying to the boy.

"How to feed off another… how to breed, control and transform others into Dementors… the origins of the Unforgivable Curses… Inferi… Basilisks… how to remove and consume a soul… the ritual to create a Horcrux. What's a Hor-"

"OI!"

Theodore slammed the book shut and hid it behind him. A man with oily, thin hair crept out of nowhere with such aggressiveness. He pushed several objects off the tables in an unnecessary manner to reach the shocked boy. The man was quite short though his back was a bit hunched, and came up to Theodore's nose. He could smell the putridness of rotten fish and feet drift from the man's mouth but remained silent.

"What are you doing here?! Get out at once!" The man screamed. Theodore sucked in the urge push his face away and replied in a neutral tone.

"I was forced in. I didn't see the shop from behind…"

"Doesn't matter! No kids in my shop! Get out!"

"How do you know that I'm not buying anything?"

…

"Are you?"

"…no."

"Then leave! Before I remove every bone in your body till you're a pool of fleshy slime!" The shopkeeper grabbed the boy by his shirt and proceeded to drag him to the door. Theodore was surprised by how strong he was but was putting up a good fight.

"Wait… I'm just looking… around! Can't… I do that?" Theodore said as he was pulling back with all his might. The man was using both his arms and was turning pink in the face.

"N-no! If you ain't got… any… Galleons… or even a Knut… then you… go!" The two tugged some more until the shopkeeper kicked Theodore's knee to make him kneel on the ground. Still clutching on the book behind him, Theodore was being dragged by a small man with an angry temperament determined to throw the boy out. Theodore was pushed straight out of the front door, the man cursing unknown gibberish while he slammed it shut. Theodore picked himself up and brushed the soot off his trousers and shirt, which looked like it made a powerful stain all over. He looked up at the sign of the shop which read, 'Borgin and Burke's', in faded gold letters, sort of like Ollivanders.

"Hahahaha! Borgin gave you a right scare now, did he? Hahahaha!" The same wizard from before raucously laughing.

"Oh, shut up!"

"You talking to me?! You better pick up your book and run because I don't care if you're a little boy! No little shit is going to talk to me like that!" Theodore looked down to the ground at the book. It was closed and covered with a bit a black marking. Theodore looked back up at the wizard who had his wand above his head. Just when he was about to curse the boy…

"Expelliarmus!"

The wizard's wand flew out of his hand as the two of them were perplexed by who casted the charm. Erveris jogged down the thin pathway as he pointed his wand to the cloaked wizard. The man didn't have an ounce of fear in his eyes but didn't dare to move.

"Theodore, get back to the Leaky Cauldron. Now."

"But I-"

"To the Cauldron, Theodore!" Theodore picked the book up and ran all the way to the entrance of the alleyway. He dashed into the backdoor of the inn and ran all the way to his room. As he shut the door behind him, he threw the book on his bed and stared at it. He actually stole something. From a wizarding shop. What if Borgin found out and cursed him to really become boneless? Plus, what was inside the book was some of the most vilest things that he had ever heard of. Cannibalism to gain more life, rituals which involved the sacrifice of Muggleborns in the most excruciating method possible. Theodore couldn't be seen with that book. He had to hide it. No. Burn it, more likely. That was the only option. Now where would he do it exactly? Three knocks echoed in his room.

"Theodore? You in there?"

"Shit! Shit, oh shit!" Theodore grabbed the book and stuffed it in his bag. The zip had become stuck due to his carelessness and after that, the contents of the bag spilled all over on the floor. "Ohhh… dammit! Shit!" He never cursed that many times in a row before.

"Theodore? Theo? Are you there?" Erveris asked while still knocking.

"Yeah! Hold on, I'm just cleaning… something." Theodore was desperately trying to fit the thick book in the desk drawer. All his letters were stacked on the desk while the book finally slid inside. Theodore wiped his brow in satisfaction.

"Can I come in now?"

"Sure." Erveris walked in the room with a serious expression. He didn't look like his usual self.

"What were you doing in Knockturn Alley?"

"I was just looking around."

"You know how dangerous it is in there."

"Actually I don't because I never seen nor heard of it till today."

"This is no time to be getting smart, Theo."

"I'm not getting smart." Theodore looked at Erveris with the intent of not backing down. Maybe if he was difficult with him, he'd leave him alone. Erveris stared back before sighing and holding the bridge of his nose.

"Just don't go back there again, okay? You were lucky that I was there before things got bad." Erveris walked out of the room and closed the door gently behind him. The boy wiped his brow again and went over to the desk to put everything back in his bag. The letters were scrunched up but none were ripped. The dark book took a lot of energy from Theodore to remove from the desk but was free in the end.

"I can't believe anyone would make such a book," commented Theodore out loud as he strolled to his bed. He sat down with the book on his lap and traced the front page with his finger.

 _Open it…_

Oh why did he have to give in? He slowly flicked to the first page about the creation of Inferi, now taken hostage by the book's command.

"Hmm…"

"Louise! Aren't you coming down for dinner?"

"Coming, Mrs Reagul!" Louise carefully placed the moving photograph under her pillow and left her room. The young girl had studied the picture for almost a week now, mesmerised by how it simply worked. Her best friend was moving inside of the picture, tussling his hair and smiling like it was a video. It made no sense to her. She could be going mad. Maybe the sudden change of home from London caused her to develop a form of a brain disease? What would you expect, the picture was moving!

Louise skipped down the spiral stairway and into the dining room. After making a quick detour to the back room to wash her hands, Louise sat in her usual seat along the average sized dining table. The room itself was quite large indeed, displaying several antiques across the walls and some decorated on the furniture. The ceiling had twirling gold trails that met in the centre to spin like a tornado or whirlwind. It descended to support a glass chandelier which even reflected onto the darkest corners of the room. It was like a palace, only a bit more homely.

"Hello dear! Are you okay?" Mrs Reagul asked. She was a pretty woman in her mid thirties, with greying hair on her sides but she managed to make it work. She was wearing a red dress and had three pearl bracelets on her right wrist. The lady was the type to be very fashionable.

"Yes, Mrs Reagul. I'm fine."

"You were up in your room for an awful long time." Mr Reagul was a fit-looking man with age and experience worn upon his face. He was always freshly shaven with a neat haircut almost 24/7. Like his wife, he too was a man of fashion, keeping up with the most expensive suits. Despite his aristocratic appearance, Mr Reagul was a humble man who didn't let his wealth guide his morals.

"Oh, yeah. I was just, uh, reading a letter from my friend. I really miss him." Louise said as four maids walked in with silver trays.

"Theodore was it?" Louise nodded as she tucked into her meal. She had gotten quite hooked onto the French meals that were served regularly, always requesting them at least once a week. "Where did you say he went to?"

"Um, Hogwarts. Yeah, I know, really weird name. Apparently it's in Scotland somewhere."

"Hogwarts," said Mrs Reagul, as she finished chewing on a forkful of rice. "I think I heard of that school. A friend of mine attended the school when she was… eleven, I think?" Louise stopped eating. She also knew somebody who went to Hogwarts? How bizarre was it that they'd end up meeting each other.

"The veal not good enough for you?" Mr Reagul asked.

"No it's fine… um…" The Reagul's looked worried as the girl seemed confused. Louise was a girl on a different frequency than their own, being both brilliant yet outspoken and free unlike the other children in the neighbourhood. That was the thing that drew them to her. It had been such a change of pace since they've taken her in and ever since then, it was a thrill to keep up with her.

"Is everything okay, dear?"

…

"Was there anything… odd about her? Like there was something that didn't seem quite right when you were around her." Mrs Reagul thought long and hard as she tried to remember the girl.

"I would say that she was the 'rare one of the bunch'. She had an aura which seemed… magical. I couldn't put a finger on it."

"Magic… right… can I be excused, please?" The couple looked at each other anxiously.

"Yes dear, anything you want," said Mr Reagul as he nervously scratched his chin. Louise thanked them and left to go back upstairs. She closed the door firmly behind her and plucked the photograph from underneath the pillow.

' _How are you doing this, Theodore? What the hell are you learning at Hogwarts?'_

 _A few hours later…_

The clock on her bedside table ticked ten o'clock as Louise readied herself for bed. She'd usually stay up waiting for everyone to go to bed so that she could wander through the house and explore without people following her, or would wait for an owl to flap at her window. A direct view of the moon would radiate into her eyes as she'd daze peacefully, slowly falling to sleep.

As she tied her messy hair into a bun, a knock on the door followed. Louise allowed the person to enter and Mrs Reagul walked in with a scarlet nightgown. Her make up was discarded and her hair was in bun like Louise's, only tighter. She sat herself on the edge of Louise's bed and gave her a small smile.

"I hope you're settling in well. I can't really say that I know what it feels like to be… moved away from everything you know. But I just want you to know that it's okay to talk if you're unsure about anything. We'll always be here, okay?" Louise nodded her head and returned the smile. Mrs Reagul lightly pinched her cheek and walked out of the room. Louise blamed her resistance to generosity on Theodore. If there was one thing that she didn't miss about him, and she missed him A LOT, was that he was a bit of a brat. Okay, he was a full on brat but that's what made him Theodore. He was bratty and rude but caring, funny, charming, good-looking, even gorg-

"Whoa… whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's just get some rest, Lou. You've got Theo too much on the brain!" Louise rubbed her temples then lifted the covers over her, staring at the moon that regularly shone onto her face, lulling her into a slumber so soothing.

' _A Horcrux is one of the most complex and purest of the arts that are written in this book. The use of this magic has been frowned upon ever since it had been discovered and created by Herpo the Foul, who was the first wizard to hatch the terrible King of Serpents, the Basilisk. This should only be attempted by those willing to cheat death, for the creation of a Horcrux rips the soul, all for the denial of death itself._

 _To rip ones soul, you must commit one of the most evil acts possible, the killing of another. Murder taints and tears the soul, making it easier to remove from oneself._

 _The body of the murdered then must be-'_

Theodore smacked his head repeatedly to rid of the image that he saw in the demonic book. The entire book was absolutely vile and contorted the purity of magic that the boy originally thought of. He was interested in the Dark Arts but he wasn't THAT interested. When he grudgingly made it to the Horcrux section, Theodore's tolerance had forbade him to look any further. Ever since then, the stolen book had resided in his schoolbag, never coming out until he'd destroy it.

The time was late, 11:00 PM at least, as Theodore got out of bed. His restlessness was returning so he had to purge it from his body before it would infect him like the nights at Hogwarts. He left his room and walked down the stairs, yawning loudly despite the other residents being close by. Nobody seemed bothered about this anyway. The steps creaked slightly as he applied uneven pressure on each foot, swaying side to side. Theodore's eyes was drooping ever so slightly, till he heard an amalgamation of familiar and unfamiliar voices. He ducked down and peered through the banisters to see what was the commotion about.

"…I know ma'am but I-"

"Just tell me where he is! You said he came here so why aren't you telling me where he went?!" Was that Madam? It was Madam! And somebody was under her arm… Elise?! This was just great! They couldn't leave him alone for one second? Theodore fully tuned in on what they had to say.

"We're just here for some answers, sir. If you admit to seeing the boy then you agree to being a witness to this investigation." Theodore looked at a burly policeman clad in blue and black. He had a thick moustache that hid his mouth, kind of like Harry's uncle.

"Look. I already told you. Theodore came in here but left a week afterwards. He didn't say where he was going." Tom said. Madam's face became full of rage in an instant.

"You let a little boy come in here with nothing, and you let him leave without calling the proper authorities?! How daft can you be!?"

"Yet you're the one who carelessly allowed him to leave the orphanage without any proper supervision." A crack filled the ground level as Theodore winced at the sight of Madam slapping Tom straight across his face. The policeman separated the two as Elise looked terrified.

"How… dare you. Theodore did not leave because of me!"

"That's quite the opposite of what he told me," said Tom as he rubbed his reddish skin. Madam stiffened up as she held a frightened Elise by her side. Her eyes reddened while she swallowed painfully. Unbeknownst to her, Theodore looked upon her with growing guilt. The pain of shame squeezed his heart at the sight of her now tearing up silently. She looked like she hadn't slept for days.

"I cannot… afford to lose him. I made a promise… to his mother that I would take care of him like my own. I can't lose him, I just…" Madam brought her hands to her face as the tears became loud. Theodore watched her in distress, planted on the spot without a clue on what to do. If he revealed himself right there, Madam would probably go beyond mad, but if he stayed…

Theodore slowly backed up the stairs. He didn't want to see any more, he couldn't. He didn't mean to hurt anyone truly. He was just so… _'Idiot! Fucking idiot!'_ Theodore ran into his room and slammed the door behind him. A few murmurs from next door but nothing loud. He went underneath the bedsheets but sat up on the bed, leaving the sheets to cover only his legs. The boy contemplated within the dark room that slowly started to feel strange around him. He didn't feel at home anymore. _'So I wasn't just dropped off… Madam saw my mother before she left, and she didn't even tell me… No Theo, you're in the wrong. You shouldn't have ran away like that. You… I hurt her because… because-'_

"Because of what, Theodore?" Theodore shuddered and jumped. That voice… it came from somewhere but it couldn't be, he was the only one in the room. The window allowed a cold gust of nightly air to flow onto the boy's face, blowing his hair behind his ears. He crept out of his bed and walked over to the window to see if the voice had been a person spying on him. The partially lit road of Diagon Alley was empty, the shops on the sides dead and quiet. The lamps hanging off the stores swung in a circular motion while helping the boy see what, or who, had their eyes on him. It was faint, very faint but Theodore could see a wide figure swiftly move along the alley before turning to the left where Knockturn Alley would be.

"Deep breath, Theodore. Deep breath," said the boy as he walked backwards slowly, after closing the window. "That… thing wasn't spying on you. I-it was just an animal or one of those wretched witches from Knockturn Alley. E-everything will be okay." He met the bed and climbed into it when for another time, somebody knocked on the door. Theodore however, decided not to answer as Tom could've probably told Madam which room he was in. Therefore he felt quite glad that it was just the innkeeper himself.

"Theodore, I need you to come out."

…

"Theodore, please."

"I'm not leaving." Theodore said in a slightly raspy voice.

"Theodore… Dumbledore is here." Theodore groaned internally. Now he was here too? He was starting to feel sick. "There are Muggles here, for you. They said that you ran away from your orphanage. Why didn't you tell me, my boy?"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it… Did you tell them that I'm here?"

"No. I think that you'd better make your presence known instead," said Tom quietly behind the door. Should he go down there? Madam was distraught and by the looks of it, so was Elise. He hated that he felt regret for talking down on her a few weeks ago. It was the feeling of being left behind by Louise, the constant denial of being able to talk to her again and Quirrell. All of it felt like a stab into his soul, tearing it like he was making a Hor-

"Theodore, are you going- Albus! Yes, you may!"

"Thank you. Theodore, it's-'

"I know it's you, Professor. You can come in if you want." Dumbledore opened the door and walked in with such grace for an old man. He was wearing grey Muggle clothing, with his beard tied by a single band. He sat on the chair near the desk and looked at the boy, who refused to look back.

…

"Did you understand by what I meant, for when I said those things to you?"

"Yes. I think so. You meant that your first home is your only home, right?"

"Actually, I meant something quite different. Our first home is the second safest place that we all feel. It's the one place where we cannot be harmed by those who choose to target and destroy us. Your mother produced something so strong that you were hidden at Stuggle's for your entire life, protecting you from everything she tried to save you from. That is your home, Theodore. Your first home. And if you deny that home, then you deny what your mother had placed for you when she died. No other place can deflect the terrors that the world has created for you, not even Hogwarts. That little room, with the cupboard and the bedside table, has been your shelter, Theodore. Please, do not let Valerie's sacrifice be for nothing, my boy. Please." Silent tears. The boy wiped them off quickly. He had cried too many times in front of the old man. He didn't want to give off the impression that he was a sensitive weakling.

"So I go back now, right? I have to stay there until whatever it is that's watching me, is destroyed… I can't leave?" Dumbledore sighed as he looked down to his pointed shoes. "Who would possibly go after me? Voldemort?!" Dumbledore was silent. Dear god, no. God no! He really was after him? Theodore just wanted to go sleep and forget everything. Had the Dark Lord been pursuing the child before last year? Is that why he wanted Theodore to join him?

"I haven't told Madam Geoffrey that you are here. The choice is up to you. Just make it the right one." Dumbledore said. He stood up from his seat and looked outside the window. "I must say, an improvement from your last room," he whispered to himself quietly. He walked to the door, and then stopped for a moment. Theodore was confused about why he was frozen for a minute.

"Professor…?"

"Ah, I just remembered!" The old man reached into his pocket and held something shimmery in a gentle manner. Theodore heard a few hisses as he realised who Dumbledore had brought along. "This wonderful snake was sleeping in your bed the day after you left. She seemed terribly lonely and sad so I took her with me as a temporary companion. I hope you don't mind." Viripin jerked her head forward, towards Theodore as she happily snuggled her head underneath the boy's chin, who was just as happy. "Try not to leave her behind again. Our animal associates share a bond with us that cannot be broken, no matter how much one feels 'worthless'."

"Thank you, Professor! Really!" Dumbledore nodded as he smiled. He almost closed the door behind him until Theodore called out for him.

"Yes, my boy?"

"The first place. What is it? The first place where you can be safe. Where?" Dumbledore looked like he had an answer but instead, opted to tap his crooked nose, and left without a word.

The number became two as it was just the boy and his snake. "Viripin? Do you hate me for what I did to you?"

" _I was scared, master. I thought that you were going to leave me."_

"But I did leave you," muttered the guilty boy.

" _But we're here, together. Whatever you did, I'm sure that there was a good reason for it."_

"No, there was no good reason. I was just being stupid. I thought that I was better off in the wizarding world with everybody else but it turns out, I'm supposed to stay at Stuggle's."

" _Well, at least you'll be there with me, Master Riddle."_ The snake winded around the boy and lounged her head on his shoulder. She had grown a bit bigger than the last time he saw her. Maybe Dumbledore had 'fattened' her up when she was with him.

"Thanks, Viripin. And you don't have to keep on calling me Master all the time. Theodore's fine."

" _Really? But why?"_

"Because you're not my pet. You're my friend." Viripin squeezed the boy gently. The two talked and talked about the recent weeks, about how Viripin had roamed all around Hogwarts without the fear of being captured or cooped up in a cage. She particularly enjoyed the dungeons but was terrified to even pass the Potion room's door. It felt just like the days when he and Louise would talk for hours about themselves. At a time like this, nostalgia felt like a cure inside his body.

" _You and Louise still talk?"_

"Yep. We send each other letters almost everyday, although I forgot to send one today. I'm sure she won't mind."

" _Mmhmm, I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all."_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

" _Nothing. It's just nice to see two young people letting their love blossom through letters."_

"What?!"

It turns out that becoming equals with Viripin meant that he had to deal with her sharp tongue (half the pun intended) and snarky quips that she'd lay out from times. Theodore didn't really mind it at all, but was insistent that he was not head over heels for Louise. The two lightly bickered back and forth until the time for sleep washed over them. The snake coiled herself on top of the bedsheets as Theodore was underneath. He still knew that he had to make a decision on whether to go back to Stuggle's or not, but for now, the soft embrace of sleep welcomed him, silencing the boy to peaceful snores.

Flashback… *yeah, I'm doing one of those*

 _The baby boy gurgled in her arms as she poked him playfully in the stomach. Her child was a blessing among bad choices. Everything about him was perfect, even to his little nose. She walked along the barren dark streets of London, hooded up carefully to make sure no attention was drawn to her. Other than the baby boy in her arms, the young woman was an angel in her own right. Straight raven-black hair, full pink lips with a little gleam to them, hazel eyes that would trap anyone with a single glare and a perfectly constructed nose. Her symmetrical features was a rarity yet an expectance from her family. She may have had loose robes around her but they hid a womanly figure that was only suitable for a face like hers. She was truly magnificent, and she knew that. But there was no time for vanity at that moment._

" _Here we are, Theo. The Muggle orphanage. Hmph. Doesn't look much." The woman stopped at the front of the odd looking building. The paint looked off and the proportions seemed uneven. She'd have to overlook this. All was for her baby boy, the one thing that tethered her to the earth. She couldn't leave him with her brother. They stopped talking a long time ago and she was sure that the Dark Lord would find him soon, along with his son. The woman came to the front door as baby Theo cooed and murmured in her arms. She took out a sleek grey wand and swished it in one motion. Out of nowhere, a basket manifested in midair, gently rotating in the air. She used her wand to cut a piece of her worn out robe to make a blanket for her child. When she'd leave, the child would still be able to feel her presence, no? As the blanket fell into the basket, the mother placed her son inside, as his eyes were shut and unmoving. Theo whistled through his nose as he was being slowly wrapped by a warm blanket. He smiled slightly as he could still smell his mother's scent surround him. The woman then clasped the basket in her hands and lowered the boy on the doormat. She gazed at her boy, her only baby boy. It killed her to do this but it would utterly destroy her if she left him with 'him'. He'd be a puppet, a monster just like 'him'._

" _My darling… I love you so much. I love you so, so much. I'm sorry for what I have to do, to leave you here. But it's all for you, my baby boy. All for you. I want you to be strong. Be strong for yourself. I wished… I wished that it'd never come to this. I love you my boy. Please do not hate me for what I've done."_

 _Valerie kissed the boy on his nose then twice on his forehead before forcing herself to walk away. Before she parted with Theo, she had placed a little note between the blanket seams to prevent it from blowing away. She'd hate for him to grow up without the name she gave him. Of course, she gave him his father's last name, in a final attempt of spite. Valerie was a petty woman at times._

 _As she trudged backwards, she lowered her hood to mask herself even more, making sure that her face was not seen by any Muggle. She didn't want to hurt anybody at the moment. The urges to run back and take the child was killed as each second passed by. No. Now she needed to warn James. That the Dark Lord was coming for his son. That his son, Harry, was going to be…_

" _Oh, Vaaaalll! Why are you out here in the dark of the night? You could get into a lot. Of. Trouble." Valerie felt cold. She slowly turned around to the second voice that she had been dreading to hear. As she sat her eyes on the familiar being, she gripped her wand tightly as she narrowed her eyes. Of course he'd send her. That literal bastard couldn't come here himself? "What's the matter? You don't look happy to see your 'best friend'. Why's that?"_

" _Bella…"_

 **Again, this felt like a weird chapter to write. Idk tbh. But at least the flashback got you engaged right? I'm hoping that you got engaged because I was feeling pumped doing the last bit. Also, I've read everything that I have written so far and it turns out that there are a lot of grammatical errors. I honestly feel stupid but I guess it's common among other writers. Summer Day's is not over though so get ready for the final part! Later.**

 **BloodRaven46: I hope that this chapter answered your question. Theodore is going to 'be ahead' in terms of discovering his past and the entire situation compared to Harry, which will then twist the original story to my liking. And hell yes, Luna is going to make a cameo. In fact, I was having some ideas about making her a major character in the next year but not as big as her role in the later books. (God I'm actually exited for this one!)**


	11. Chapter 11: Summer Days Pt3

"Okay… I'm done. Here."

" _Thank you, Master- I mean Theodore!"_

"No problem."

The 25th of August had arrived as the young Heir of Slytherin fixed a small plate of dead mice for his snake companion at the early morn. The sky was moderately grey with the sun rays penetrating through the thick clouds. Today was the day that he'd get his school things with Professor McGonagall and hopefully, would see his friends again. He was most eager to see Harry as he hadn't spoken to him all summer. Louise had kept her usual consistency as did Ron, but Hermione did take her time to reply. Paris was in another country after all.

" _Theodore, are you okay,"_ asked the Maibian Adder as she gulped a hairless mouse.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

" _You were talking in your sleep. A bit in English, a bit in Parseltongue. Kept going on about Stuggle's and something else."_

"What was it?" Viripin flicked out her tongue as she thought for a short while. She then shook her head and resumed to eating her breakfast. Theodore wasn't going to hound her into telling what she had heard from him but he was curious, to say the least. Never in his life was he told that he spoke in Parseltongue when he was asleep. Then again, nobody was ever around when he slept.

"Probably just my stupid conscience telling me to go back to Stuggle's." Theodore said as he scratched his hair. Two days ago, Tom had cut his hair neatly, allowing his handsome features to shine.

" _Will you go back?"_

"I… guess so. It'd be pretty stupid to not go back anyways. If Dumbledore was telling the truth, then I have no choice, really. I just didn't know that my mother used the place as a shelter for me… makes me wonder sometimes, you know?"

" _I for one, am glad that we can go back. I missed the cupboard in your room. So nice and warm. And a nice family of moths to snack on!"_

"There are moths in my cupboard?!" Theodore asked in a disgusted tone.

" _Well, it's not like you take the upmost care of it."_

"Viripin…"

" _I'm just joking. Besides, you'd obviously be distracted if Louise was on your mind every single day."_

"Viripin!"

The snake hissed gently and coiled around the boy's right leg. Snarky wasn't even the word to describe Viripin. Theodore took the empty plate when she was finished and allowed her to tag along downstairs. She draped herself around his shoulders while keeping her head rested on Theodore's. There wouldn't be that many wizards and witches willing to get wasted in the morning so Viripin wouldn't attract that much attention. Theodore walked through the empty pub and into the kitchens where he quickly scrubbed the plate and left it on a rack to dry off. It was still a bit of a risk to do magic despite the fact that he was around other magical people. And it didn't help that McGonagall would be accompanying him as well.

"Theo, is that you?" A voice from the door called out.

"Viripin, hide! Quickly- uh, yes Tom! It is I!" Theodore said awkwardly as he tried to stuff the snake inside an empty barrel. He had to ignore her angry hisses for the innkeeper seemed apprehensive as to why the boy looked so unnaturally happy.

"Theodore… are you okay?"

"Ahem, yes Tom. Feeling absolutely perfect," said the boy as he gave a stiff thumbs up. Tom had suspicion flooded in his eyes but he didn't say a word to him. He probably was feeling pressured after whatever Dumbledore had told him that night ago. Tom shrugged, and casually walked out of the room, whistling the melody of 'Happy Birthday' in a jolly tune. Theodore waited until he left and opened the barrel slowly. His caution to danger was correct as he flicked his hand back just in time to avoid Viripin's jaws.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

" _Why would you stuff inside the barrel?! You could've hidden me underneath the sink over there!"_

"You don't take all the time in the world when I tell you to hide! Nobody knows that you're here, or did you forget that?" Viripin flicked her tongue violently and then sulked as she trailed along the floor. Theodore picked her up from her belly and surprisingly, she did not attempt to resist. At the very back of the kitchens was a barrel room where all the butter beers and Firewhiskey were held. The room would be warm enough for her to rest and Tom rarely came in there anyways.

" _What if I get hungry again?"_ Theodore looked around the dusty cellar and noticed multiple spiderwebs, the size of plush pillows.

"There are probably a lot of fat spiders in the corners somewhere. Hey, stop acting like a child. You love spiders."

" _Yeah, I do. But if I get bored?"_

"Sleep. I'll be back soon. I'll get you a… bunch of bats or something. Just stay here, okay?" Viripin nodded and lightly nudged his hand as he left her on top of a car-sized barrel. Theodore gave her a quick pet and left the room. He could feel the fumes from the Firewhiskey seep into his brain.

Theodore returned to the pub and saw the familiar faces that would regularly return almost everyday. He gave a little wave to a group of wizards and witches that chorally shouted, 'Morn, Theodore' as he walked past. He guessed living in the Cauldron for so long would naturally draw attention to oneself. Of course, he didn't mind. He'd know for a fact that if it were Harry in his shoes, the boy would've been harassed every passing day. Thank god that Theodore wasn't the one to bear the lightning scar on his forehead.

The Leaky Cauldron's clock read 12 o'clock on the dot as the little figurine inside viciously attacked the crumpled bell. Theodore had been waiting for three dragging hours for the professor to arrive and you know what boredom did to the boy. The pain was too much to bear. He just remembered that Erveris and Ms Padalin hadn't come down yet, which was unusual because they were the first ones up. Perhaps they were touring down Diagon Alley. Theodore peered around the pub with one eye open and was suddenly struck by how the same pink haired girl from before, instantly gained green long curls. He just blinked. What else could he do?

"This place just gets weirder and more wonderful the more I stay," muttered Theodore to himself. The girl must've caught the boy's awestruck expression as she winked again and gave him a flirtatious wave. Theodore waved back shyly and turned his head quickly. Maybe if he weren't so easily flustered, he could probably act like a normal human being. He rotated his head back to her direction and saw that she was talking with another bunch of girls. Theodore wasn't exactly the best at learning different languages but he was certain that they were speaking French.

"Theodore?" Tom came from around the corner as he wiped his dripping hands against his stained apron. He must've dropped a litre of Firewhiskey all over himself because his trousers were drenched as well.

"Yes?"

"Professor McGonagall sent this to your room," said the innkeeper as he handed Theodore a blue envelope. "Got any idea what it's about?"

"Not in the slightest." Theodore muttered as he opened the envelope. The letter was a very strange one, in his opinion. Theodore had no idea on how to feel about what it said.

 _Dear Mr Riddle,_

 _It seems that I too, have been called for other pressing matters that will unfortunately, not allow me to accompany you for your school shopping. I am terribly sorry for my inconvenience however, the Ministry has elected somebody to take my place today. I believe that you are familiar with a Draco Malfoy. His father was more than happy to pay for everything. Again, I am sorry._

 _Professor McGonagall_

Theodore scratched his cheek. He wasn't expecting this at all. Draco's dad was 'more than happy' to pay for all of Theodore's things, despite not meeting him in the flesh? Theodore didn't doubt that Draco told his father about him, but something felt a bit too off. Oh well. If he was willing to pay for him, then Theodore was not going to do the foolish thing and reject his 'generosity'. He folded the letter inside his grey hoodie pocket, and went to go stuff himself silly for the day ahead.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr Riddle." Mr Malfoy shook Theodore's small hand with a mien of superiority yet under layers of hidden motives. There was no doubt that Draco was his father's son. He looked like the Malfoy boy at around twenty seven years older, with longer blonde hair slicked back and those grey eyes which mirrored his son's.

"Pleasure's all mine, sir." Theodore said with a slightly stern voice. He had to make a good impression at least, for that's how you gain a person's respect and he knew that Mr Malfoy had a lot for him. He just didn't show it. The two were standing outside Gringott's, waiting for Draco to pick up a few spilt Galleons. He walked out casually and stuffed a large sack under his black, pristine robes. Draco lazily looked side to side until he saw Theodore stand next to his father.

"Theodore!"

"Hey, Draco."

"Sorry for the wait, a stupid goblin poked my sack with his claw. Thought that I stole something." Draco sneered.

"Have a bit of respect for the goblins, Draco! They are the ones who keep our fortune safe." Draco looked in the other direction and rolled his eyes before turning back.

"So, where to Theo," asked the blonde boy. "I heard that we got a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, plus most of our books are from a guy called Lockhart."

"Lockhart? I don't even remember getting a list." Theodore searched through his pockets and took the envelope out. Another letter decided to poke out now, instead of before, and was read quickly. "What's so special about this Lockhart guy for us to need all his books?" Draco shrugged.

"Well come along, boys! Not time to waste, now." The older Malfoy led the way as the two boys trailed behind him.

"How comes you're not at that Muggle orphanage?" Draco asked.

"I uh, left for a while. I didn't even know what I was doing."

"Maybe you did." Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Well it's quite clear that you hate it there and I can understand that. I would be furious to stay with Muggles, knowing that I'm a wizard. It's insulting, to be honest. At least a guy like you has sense. Wouldn't stand an hour in there, let alone a day."

"It's not all that bad. People stay out of my way and I like that. They're not really a nuisance, just ordinary people who don't want to talk to me." Theodore said as they all entered the Apothecary. He remembered the store from last year, containing the most foulest of smells ever combined that he had ever smelt. But this time it felt a little more tame to the nose. Mr Malfoy simply nodded, allowing the boys to dig in with whatever they wanted. Theodore had a small packet of unicorn hair and horns, a bag full of bat wings and spleens with a few beetle eyes for Viripin, and a few other things that he would go broke for, or in his case in debt.

"You really went all out, didn't you," asked Draco as he saw Theodore carry an entire bag of potion ingredients.

"I guess I did. Probably will be of some use anyways. It's always like that at Hogwarts." They exited the store and walked closer to the Leaky Cauldron. Theodore was about to step inside of Flourish and Blott's, but heard his name call out to him from further down. The Malfoys was heading down to the pub, only they didn't stop at the brick wall. Theodore recognised their positioning against the side of the Alley and instantly began to feel nervous. They seriously weren't thinking about going inside Knockturn Alley? Theodore knew that they were sketchy but not this sketchy. He grudgingly moved away from the entrance of the bookstore and advanced to the other wizards.

"Mr Malfoy? What would we possibly need here for school? Isn't this place for," he peered inside the darkened alleyway, "dark wizards?"

"Now what makes you say that, dear boy? There's nothing to be afraid of." Mr Malfoy said in very very slight mocking tone.

"I'm not scared," said Theodore as he regained his composure.

"Ah yes, I forgot. Bravery is what you are all about, no? Draco told me about your sorting last year. Quite… interesting."

' _Arsehole.'_ Draco nudged his arm lightly while smirking.

"Come on, it'll be cool. Father will even get you something down there. Will you?"

"All depends if the boy wants to go." Theodore was in no mood to contemplate whether he should stay behind and just walked straight through the narrow alleyway. The air dipped in oxygen quality as Theodore could feel his lungs sucking in more air. There was no moisture nor was there any dryness in the air. It all just felt filthy to be around. Draco and his father quietly strode behind him, no doubt talking about Theodore. The man was probably mistrustful of Theodore as he was denied of Slytherin yet his son had an impression on him. Theodore could only smirk inside as he knew that his bloodline was much more noble and monumental than anything the Malfoy's had to offer. Draco was alright but Mr Malfoy needed to keep his distance.

They walked through the eerie yet familiar pathway, turning right and left around the tight corners until they entered Borgin and Burke's, the one place Theodore had dreaded to return to. Borgin must've known that the book was still missing and had been patiently waiting for the boy to return, just to slay him from where he stood. Theodore then thought to himself that if he was with the Malfoy's, Borgin surely couldn't try anything on him, right? Right now, he was a customer and it was imperative that the shopkeeper kept the customer in a satisfactory mood. There was nothing to worry about, hopefully.

The bell near the door rung as the three entered the store. Theodore caught a dusty black cabinet shake a little but he put that out of his mind. He just wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.

"Do not touch anything," said Mr Malfoy to the boys, especially eyeing Draco.

"You're still getting us something, right?" Draco asked as he quickly released the snappy skull of a baby alligator.

"If you behave. And I won't allow you to take anything from here. There's nothing here for little boys." Theodore was pretending to observe pickled rats as he honed in on their conversation. Judging from which house his parents came from and their possible nobility, Theodore wondered if his father would act the same towards him if he were alive. According to Viripin, his father was quite the 'vile boy', and Dumbledore had said that he died due to 'falling' into the Dark Arts, whatever that meant. In fact, Theodore wondered how he would act if his father and mother were still alive. More bratty than Malfoy? Who knew?

"You again?! What did I tell you about coming into my shop!" Theodore stepped back quickly at the frightening sight of Borgin waddling rapidly towards him, like an enlarged spider.

"I'm buying something for real this time- let go of me, idiot!" Theodore shouted as the man attempted to drag him out the door a second time.

"Little boys are not allowed in my- oh, Mr Malfoy! How good to see you! I was just disciplining this boy over-"

"The boy is with me, Mr Borgin. I can assure you that he is no thief. Please be so kind as to release him." Theodore ripped his arm away from Borgin's bony grasp and glared at him dangerously. He walked over to Draco who was poking a floating eyeball.

"What may I interest you for today, sir? Anything 'valuable'?" Mr Malfoy walked around, twirling his black gloved hands around his sleek cane.

"Actually, I wanted to sell a few things. Ministry raids are becoming quite of a nuisance and I can't allow them to interfere with my doings. Although, I did promise young Master Riddle here, anything that he wanted." Borgin squinted his eyes at Theodore, who was still glaring at him with venomous contempt, then sighed.

"Alright then. Take whatever you need, 'Master Riddle'."

"Father, that's not fair! You said that I'd-"

"-get you something if you behave now hush," hissed Mr Malfoy. He brushed a loose strand behind his ear and nodded at Theodore to prompt him to choose anything. Theodore gave a sympathetic shrug to Draco who was sulking, and walked over to the back of the room. He steadily paced forwards, careful to not break anything. Borgin would have a fit if he so much as cracked something.

A few minutes passed and Theodore returned with a cleaner-looking potions book. He dropped it on top of the front desk and waited for Mr Malfoy and Borgin to finish their conversation about the Ministry 'invading' and 'desecrating' his beloved home. He also quickly scolded his son, causing the blonde boy to walk over to Theodore to avoid any more embarrassment.

"Let's see what you got there…' _Moste Potente Potions'?_ Isn't this a bit complicated for people our age?" Draco asked as he studied the leathery spine of the book.

"Nothing is complicated for me. And besides, who knows what you could make up in here? Make people break out in incurable boils, turn people so old they shrivel up into dust. Of course, I'd never do that but…"

"I know who I'd like to give incurable boils," sneered Draco as he traced a lightning bolt on his forehead. Theodore felt a lightning surge of anger, but then suppressed it.

"Harry's not that bad, you know. I'm not saying you have to like him but don't you think you're taking it too far?" Theodore asked. He didn't mind being friends with Draco but there was an obvious divide between him and the others which Theodore would definitely plummet into. Being the middle man felt like he was betraying both parties, a trait which he'd hate himself for if it actually came down to it.

"Scarhead comes out of nowhere, strutting around like he's the greatest because he beat You Know Who. Even when everyone hated him, Dumbledore still gave him special treatment, like the end of last year. Points were being served for stupid feats, no offence."

"None taken." Theodore slightly gritted through his teeth.

"Everybody always puts Slytherin down because of all the Dark Wizards and Witches that came from there. Stupid stereotypes." Draco muttered as he fixed his robe around his neck. Theodore thought that he had a point. Surely, there had to be some wizards and witches from Slytherin that weren't pure-blood supremacy maniacs, that terrorised the world? His mother was probably an exception despite her obvious connection to Voldemort, but other than that, Theodore couldn't remember anyone else. Of course, Snape was in Slytherin as well but…

"I get that you don't like Harry, but you shouldn't… talk about him ALL the time. There are probably other things to focus on than to worry about him."

"Like?"

"Like…" He had nothing. Theodore wanted to keep Harry out of the conversation as much as he could but the younger Malfoy was being stubborn. Rivalries was a waste of time in Theodore's eyes, and only amounted to nothing at the end of the day. Luckily, Mr Malfoy swiftly came to their side alongside with Borgin, and examined the book just like Draco did.

"Hmm, quite the interest in Potions, I see. I wonder if Severus knows about-"

"He does," blurted Draco. "Theodore's the best in the class, next to that Granger girl. Professor Snape has even made him his assistant!" Theodore looked at Draco with annoyance as Mr Malfoy curled his thin lips into a 'heartwarming' smile.

"That's good to hear! I hope that Severus is teaching you well. Alas, if you were in Slytherin, maybe Draco could pick up a grade or two from you, eh?" Draco became silent once more. "Now, Mr Borgin! How much for this book?"

"Uh… Mr Malfoy, that book is not really for sale. You see, I keep a few things for myself, for little reading sessions. I'd hate to give this one away." Mr Malfoy narrowed his harsh grey eyes at the short man, making Borgin's lip tremble slightly as he swallowed. "Of course, I have read through this book multiple times so, there's no need for me to keep it! Haha… t-that'll be thirty Galleons." Mr Malfoy dropped one of his many sacks of gold coins into the man's greasy fingers and handed the book to Theodore. The young Heir had to admit, it was impressive the way Mr Malfoy didn't need to say a word to get what he wanted. Now that was true power.

The three left the store and made it back to Diagon Alley, avoiding small talk with the shady wizards and witches on the side. Theodore held the potions book underneath his right armpit while carrying the ingredients in his left hand. He was going to have the time of his life at recreating some of the things inside. The hairs on his skin became rigid from it, possibly from the cold air inside the alleyway. The life-filled, colourful street of Diagon Alley was in full vision as Theodore could smell a waft of beer drift from the Cauldron. The trip down Knockturn Alley wasn't as dragging as he expected it to be. All that was left was books from Flourish and Blott's and then he could go eat something with Viripin.

Theodore saw many familiar faces in the mid afternoon, such as the Patil twins who looked around the Apothecary, Seamus, Dean, Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley were also walking up and down the alley with their parents. Dean and Seamus were about to wave and call out Theodore's name but refrained from doing so when they saw him with the Malfoys. Theodore wished that they called out his name anyways. He couldn't be stuck talking to Draco for the entire day. They headed straight for Flourish and Blott's, quickly striding along everyone else like they were royalty.

"What the hell…?" Theodore mumbled as he saw a crowd of middle-aged witches(mostly) circulate the back of the bookshop. The two boys craned their necks to see what was all the fuss about, until they saw the large banner in the back, saying:

 _GILDEROY LOCKHART_

 _Come here to get a live signing of his autobiography 'MAGICAL ME' today! (Only available between 12 o'clock to 5.30PM.)_

"Oh yeah, him. I'm going to get a better view from further up, okay?" Theodore said to the Malfoys.

"I'll come with," said Draco eagerly as he followed the boy up the staircase on the sides of the large store. It seemed that a few other people had the same idea as the higher deck was littered with so many wizards and witches that were desperate to gain a single glance from Lockhart. The two managed to find a comfortable place near the middle and observed from above. Lockhart was a blonde man with rather perfect teeth that sparkled with a whitish gleam. Blue robes to match his blue eyes, and a matching hat to complete the entire look. For a wizard, the man was very fashionable. Maybe that was the reason why so many women flocked to him. Draco tapped Theodore on his shoulder and told him that his father needed him really quickly and that he'd be back soon. Alone, Theodore continued to watch the famed wizard as he winked and waved.

"Great guy, isn't he?" Theodore turned to his left. A squat man with long grey hair heaved past other people to talk to Theodore.

"What's so great about him?"

"What's great about Gilderoy Lockhart? You're just going to have to read up on him, kid. Guy's a flipping saint. I wouldn't be surprised if he ran for Minister of Magic and won in a landslide. The people love him!"

"Can't be that impressive if I never heard of him before." The man looked almost insulted by the boy's comment.

"What do you not get about him, kid? He's fucking famous!"

"Okay, relax! No need to get worked up, I was just being honest." The man huffed loudly.

"Hmph. 'Just being honest'," muttered the man as he leaned against the rail, causing it to creak a little bit as it bent forwards.

"Yes, that was literally what I just said. You didn't have to repeat it." The man looked livid with Theodore's sass. His nose and ears might as well bled from the rapid flush of red to his face.

"Listen here, you little prick! If you ever disrespect my Lockhart again, I'll- oh my god! It's Harry Potter!" Theodore widened his eyes as the two simultaneously leaned in to get a better look. Theodore looked at Harry being uncomfortably crushed by Gilderoy's arm, covered in soot. Knowing Harry, his explanation was probably going to be fantastically weird. Theodore turned his head over to the crowd where he saw spots of ginger hair among the clumps of people. Ron, Fred and George, Percy, Mr and Mrs Weasley and the youngest girl. They hadn't noticed Theodore upstairs but Theodore was quite happy to see them again. It had been ages since he had enjoyed a prank from the twins or a fun spat between him and Ron. Next to the Weasleys was a familiar girl with the same bushy mane from many months ago. Hermione looked unusually giddy at the sight of Gilderoy squeezing Harry's hand, ignoring the boy's pain through his pearly whites.

"Oh god, Hermione! Not you too…" The crowd clapped and cheered for the two as Gilderoy handed Harry a copy of his autobiography for free, making the scar-bearing boy even more embarrassed.

"As of this year, the post of the Defence Against the Dark Arts shall be taken up by yours truly!" Gilderoy declared in a showman's voice. All the woman screamed and clapped as Theodore could hear Harry groan internally. The man looked like a man who'd pamper himself a hundredfold before teaching a damn thing to his students.

"Great, now we have that guy?"

"I'm warning you, kid. One more time… one more fucking time." Theodore smirked. The day was still fresh, and he was allowed to have some fun, right?

"You're right, I'm sorry. Obviously, this man is to be respected and upheld in the highest honour. I mean, when your entire fan base is full of sheep-minded, simple dunces, such as yourself, one must only be humble as possible, no?" Theodore ducked and slid between the people above to escape the crazed Lockhart fan as he clawed at the boy. For Theodore, slipping through the people was easy because of his small figure but for the man? He was knocking down people right and left, all because of his obsession for a man that probably never acknowledged him. Theodore quickly ran down the steps and looked behind him to see the results of his childish antics.

Two witches were repeatedly punching him all over as he cowered in fear. As he tried to protect his face from being permanently disfigured, he flipped off a grinning Theodore until one of the witches jabbed him straight in the stomach, sending him to the floor wincing.

"That was unexpected… but I'll still give that ten out of-" Hermione had caught Theodore in a tight hug from behind as he slightly shuddered in fear. She quickly released him to allow the boy to turn around and face everybody else.

"Theo! I haven't seen you in ages, how are you?" Hermione asked cheerfully. Theodore gave a genuine smile as he replied to his friend.

"Hi Hermione. I'm great! I was just up there looking at this Lockhart guy. Can you believe that he's going to be our teacher?" Hermione rocked on her ankles as she blushed a little.

"Yeeeaaah, I can't believe it, at all… I mean, I mean-" Theodore chuckled silently at the girl. He didn't know anyone that could reduce an intelligent girl like Hermione to goggling fangirl.

"Ooh, does somebody have a 'wittle celebwity cwush'," teased Theodore. Hermione playfully slapped his arm while looking even more embarrassed.

"No! He's just an inspiration to all of us. I think that you should pick up a book from him, learn about his achievements and whatnots. You might be impressed." Hermione said.

"Seriously doubt it. And from the look at our booklist, I don't have a choice. He better be as good as people say. The last one was an idiot." Quirrell rushed in and out through his brain, wrenching his heart so suddenly.

"You worry too much, Theo. Trust me, I'm absolutely sure that he's genuine. Dumbledore wouldn't have employed him otherwise." Theodore rolled his eyes. The old man was eccentric for sure, but any headmaster, magical or Muggle, would know that hiring a celebrity for a job in a school was a bad idea.

"Whatever. I guess we'll see when school starts. Where's Ron and Harry?" Hermione pointed over her shoulder where the Weasley family were conversing with the Malfoys in a slightly confrontational matter. Mr Malfoy and Mr Weasley looked at each other with poison in their eyes as Draco and Ron mirrored their fathers. Hermione and Theodore looked at each other and sighed as they walked over to the dreaded sight. Mr Malfoy was the first to notice Theodore and broke eye contact with the elder Weasley.

"Theodore, dear boy! I was wondering where you went with the little incident upstairs. Are you alright?" Harry, the Weasley family and Hermione all looked at Theodore with a shocked expression. Theodore removed his gaze from everyone else and looked away.

"Um, yes. I'm fine, Mr Malfoy." The Malfoys smirked during the awkwardness as the Weasleys tried to ignore it. Mr Weasley was up first.

"Hello there! Arthur Weasley. You must be Theodore." Mr Weasley said as he stuck out a hand. Theodore shook it while avoiding Mr Malfoy's faintly disappointed face.

"Hello, sir. Good to meet you."

"I've heard that you are quite the smart kid in your classes. Ron had told me all about the sorting ceremony and almost everything else…"

' _Is that all I'm known for? The Sorting Hat's blunder?'_

"…seems pretty impressive to me." Theodore blinked to fix himself back into the conversation. He had no idea about what Mr Weasley was talking about.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat-"

"Sorry to intrude," interrupted the blonde man as he abruptly stood next to the two, "but we are not yet done here. You see, young Master Riddle is with me and Draco today."

"Is that so?" Mr Weasley asked unenthusiastically. Mr Malfoy frowned. Theodore thought that he should say something to split the two up from going at it like wild tigers but decided to say nothing.

"Have you taken all your things, Theodore? Your books for school are over there on that table. I bought them all when you went up there."

"Yes, sir. Um, thank you for buying me everything. I really appreciate it."

"Do not thank me. Just know that the Malfoy family will be your allies whenever you need us." Mr Malfoy proudly stated for everyone else to hear. Mr Weasley started to go a bit pink in the cheeks as his skin was almost about to match his receding red hair. "Come along, Draco. Say goodbye to Theodore." Draco removed himself from the outnumbering Weasleys and followed his father after saying goodbye to Theodore only. Theodore watched them leave the store as he looked down to the ground. He was waiting for them to act disgusted and to smear him with scorn, but it was quite the opposite.

"The insufferable genius is back! What's up, Theo?" Ron asked as he happily patted Theodore on the shoulder. Theodore looked at him, surprised that he wasn't badmouthing him for openly being friends with the Malfoy family. In a long time, Theodore's judgment of character was wrong and he was happy that it was the case.

"I-I'm good. Yeah." Theodore said nervously.

"What's up with the stammering, Theo?" Fred said.

"Yeah! Malfoys aren't blackmailing you for breaking into their house or something?" George retorted. The twins sniggered and Theodore couldn't help but do the same. He missed the lightheartedness of the trickster twins.

"I thought that they were actually bribing you for a second there," said Harry on Theodore's left.

"Me? Accept a bribe? Psshh! Never!" Theodore said sarcastically. "Hey Harry."

"What's up, Theo? You'd never believe-"

"Why you haven't replied to my letters? Or why you're covered in soot? I'm all ears, Potter." Theodore said as he cut him off.

"He's back." Ron whispered to the twins. The four regrouped once more as everyone walked over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Harry, being the most wealthiest person of the bunch, bought everyone a large ice cream cone each with every type of flavour that they could possibly combine. Theodore had chosen strawberry with crunchy caramel and toppings of sprinkled chocolate dust and flakes. The last time he had an ice cream as scrumptious as this one was on the last feast at Hogwarts, and that seemed like it was years ago.

When they were all finished, the group all then moved to the Leaky Cauldron like one big family, chattering among themselves, Mrs Weasley chastising her husband for constantly cursing Mr Malfoy under his breath in front of Hermione's parents as the four discussed their 'interesting' summer. Yep, it was all one big, happy family. They all settled in the Cauldron as they placed their shopping in the tables. Mr Weasley went over to the front counter to order a few drinks for himself and Hermione's parents as Theodore walked to the back-counter entrance.

"I don't think you're supposed to go there, Theodore." Mr Weasley called out as he sat on a wooden stool.

"It's okay, Arthur. The boy's allowed to go through as he pleases," said Tom as he handed Mr Weasley the drinks. The man shrugged and carried them over to the table where his family and new friends were.

Theodore opened the barrel room door against its squeaky hinges and stepped inside. He silently hissed in Parseltongue to draw Viripin out, and so that she wouldn't sneak up on him and bite him accidentally. The snake's head poked out from between the barrels and flicked her tongue to make sure that it was Theodore. Smelling the familiar scent of the young Parselmouth, Viripin slithered towards the boy's feet and winded herself up his leg and around his neck.

" _You were gone for some time, Theodore."_ Viripin hissed in his ear gently.

"I know but look at what I got you… a whole bag of little bats and fresh frogs, just the way you like them." The snake nuzzled her nostrils against Theodore's ear affectionately. She had explained how all the spiders were deathly afraid of her and how she had to resort to feral tactics of imitating their body structure to catch them scurrying around.

"Since when could you do that?!" Theodore asked.

" _It's a common trait among my species. Since I am still a child, I'm not able to do it as proficiently as a fully grown Maibian Adder."_

"Wow… that's wicked. No wonder the people locked you up at Hogwarts."

" _Please don't remind me."_

"Sorry."

Theodore hid Viripin inside of his hoodie by letting her wrap around him like a belt of some sorts. Viripin was a growing snake, but was not so big that she'd be a dead giveaway. Theodore zipped his hoodie up and crossed his arms to hide the unusual bulge around his body. As he quickly walked out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, he managed to slip away from everybody else, not hearing a mere mention of his name. He jogged up to his room and left Viripin under the bed with her food. He was about to leave to join the others when he noticed something on his desk. A white envelope, unopened. This surely had be from Louise.

' _Huh. This took longer than I expected to come back.'_

He opened the letter up and read:

 _Dear Theodore,_

 _I'm not too sure if I made the right choice in leaving London. It's nice here and all, but I really miss home, even if it's crappy. Should I stay or should I come back because I really don't know. Please help._

 _Louise_

Theodore felt for a minuscule fraction of a second, overjoyed that Louise had the possibility of wanting to return to London to him, but that thought was easily snuffed out. She shouldn't come back. As much as they both wanted to, Louise was better off with the Reagul's than at Stuggle's. If it meant that he'd have to berate her, then he would. No orphan should return to the place where they were dumped, it was unnatural.

Theodore folded the letter and placed it in his bag. It was full of letters from Louise, all different colours and sizes. He would read them all over again sometimes to try and hear her voice through the words. It was becoming more and more difficult to remember. He threw the bag on his bed and said goodbye to Viripin. He went downstairs to join the others. As he sat down next to Harry, Hermione was interested as to why he was staying at the inn.

"I just felt like staying here, you know? I didn't want to stay at Stuggle's for the entire summer, it'd be so boring." Theodore said.

"But that's your home, Theo. I know that it's not the best place in the world but the people over there would care enough to want you back." Hermione replied as she opened one of Gilderoy's books.

"I'm sure that he had a good reason to leave. Right, Theo," asked Harry as he drunk a small cup of butter beer. Theodore gave no answer as he flicked a splinter in the table.

"You could always come with us. Harry's staying at ours, so can you. I'm sure Mum could fit an extra bed in my room." Theodore shook his head. He had been running away like a coward for far too long. He broke Madam Geoffrey, who was the closest women that he would get to a mother, into tears without saying a word. The same shame that was creeping on him on that night had returned as he felt sick of himself. He inhaled, then sighed deeply.

"No, Hermione's right. I have to go back. I can't live here forever. It was a mistake to run away in the first place… man, I'm so stupid." Harry elbowed him lightly.

"None of us are perfect, even you. Making mistakes is called 'being human'. At least you're going to do the right thing in the end. You are going to, right?"

"I guess so."

"Look at that! You're not being your usual stubborn self. Are you really Theodore Riddle," taunted Hermione. The three others laughed while Theodore turned away, determined to resist laughing himself. Everyone was happy and cheery, forgetting the entire Flourish and Blott's skirmish, only focusing on each other. The Grangers said goodbye as they left through the front door over to the Muggle side and soon after, the Weasleys and Harry left by Floo Powder, a method of quick transportation, to their home, leaving Theodore by himself on the central table, feeling happy and content.

"If she sends me a letter, go to Stuggle's Orphanage. I'm on the ground floor on the left window facing the street, okay? Here you go, Sawer." Theodore tucked a freshly written letter inside the owl's pouch and opened the window for him to fly off. He closed it for the last time and looked around the room. The bed was neatly done, the desk was cleared and emptied, and all his bags were neatly arranged near the door. Theodore had to use an extra bag for Viripin as there was no space for her in his book-loaded backpack. He checked to make sure that his wand was inside his most secure right hand pocket and closed his eyes. He had to think on what he was going to say to Madam when he'd come back home.

…

Nothing was coming to mind. Theodore thought to himself that it was good that there was nothing. He'd go to her with no excuses and would just hope that she was going to forgive him, not that it was likely. He shook his head and grabbed his new school equipment and went down the stairs. The time was 00:27AM so mostly everyone was sleeping. He slowly crept down the stairs while struggling to keep a hold onto his bags. As he reached the bottom step, Tom appeared from the kitchens and rushed to the boy's aid. They exited the Cauldron to the Muggle street area from when Theodore had arrived and placed them all onto the pavement.

"Mr Tom, I can't thank you enough. I didn't think that you would let me stay inside for so long, especially for free."

"Nonsense! In fact, most people came to see you. A rumour that a boy ran away from the Muggles to stay at the Leaky Cauldron spread faster than drinking a Fungiface Potion! I should be thanking you for making this one of my most successful summers yet."

"Oh, I forgot to ask you. Have you seen any of the Padalins anywhere? I didn't see them at all today."

"I'm sorry but the two had left two days ago. They don't usually stay that long here. Mostly, it's for three days then they vanish. But don't look so down, son. I'm absolutely certain that they'll come back next summer!" Theodore looked reluctant at that fact then shrugged. He and Erveris weren't exactly on good terms when they had last spoken. Even with Ms Padalin, Theodore thought that he could've spoken a bit more with her. If Tom was right then he could always visit the Leaky Cauldron next summer, emphasis on visit, not run away to.

"Oh well. I'd better get going. The Knight Bus should come around soon, I think," said Theodore as he stuck his wand out in the air.

"Wait… here. A Galleon for your trip." Tom handed Theodore a golden Galleon coin in his hand. "And as an extra thank you for everything that you have done, you keep Sawer as your own."

"Really? But that's your owl!" Theodore exclaimed. Tom smiled and winked at the boy.

"Not anymore. Safe travels, dear boy and good luck." The Knight Bus blasted its way in front of the the two as they shook hands. Tom returned to the inn as Theodore went over to Stan at the doors.

"What's going on, Theo? 'Ow was your stay 'ere?" The purple clad man said while chewing on a broken matchstick.

"It was good. Eleven Sickles, right?" Stan nodded as he outstretched his palm. Theodore dropped the Galleon and was given back six silver Sickle coins in change. Stan heaved the boy's things onto the bus as Theodore found an empty bed to sleep in for the remainder of his oddly long journey.

"Oi! Kid, get up! We're 'ere!" Theodore opened one eye lazily as he saw a blurry image of Stan leaning over him while poking his head continuously. He stretched his arms so far apart they could pop out of their sockets, and lifted himself from the sliding bed. He forced both of his eyes to open wide and looked out the dimly-lit orphanage that was on the other side of the bus.

"Are we really here?" Theodore asked tiredly.

"Is this Stuggle's?"

"Yeah…"

"Then we're in the righ' place!" Theodore rubbed his eyes and grabbed his belongings which were secured at the front of the Knight Bus. Stan did most of the heavy lifting while Theodore carried the light stuff. He was too tired to carry everything and he needed all the energy that he could get to face Madam and Gretchen. They hauled everything to the front door, while the strange bus whirred thunderously in the night. How nobody noticed that a purple three-decker was blaring its engine was beyond Theodore.

"Well, this is me, Theo. Bin a real pleasure ferryin' you around. 'Ope to see you again in the future. I tip my hat to you." The conductor did just that and whistled his way to the bus. The boy watched the Knight Bus rev its engine and whisk away into nothingness, before returning to face the door.

"Breathe… breathe… breathe…bre-" He couldn't breathe. He knew that it wasn't happening but he felt his ribs crawl and crush his lungs, providing him with such less oxygen. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale…

He took the key from his pocket and fitted it through the dirty-gold key lock, gripping the key so tight his fingers were beginning to grow numb. One little twist and the door popped open, swinging forward without making a single screech or squeak. Theodore pulled the key away and slipped inside, shutting the door behind so slightly to not raise any alarms from the nearby children. The only person he needed to see right now was Madam and Madam only. The familiar smell of the orphanage pervaded into his nostrils, the springy sensation of the floorboard beneath him creaked a little and the grey walls still looked the same way. Theodore stopped in his tracks to take it all in, then walked to the living room at a slow pace. Viripin hissed in his bag as she slept soundly. Theodore wanted to wake her up so that he could talk to somebody but he knew that it was bad idea. As he reached the doorway, he peered his head around the corner to see one person crouching on the sofa, looking dismal and blue.

"Elise?" The girl turned her head to the doorway and enlarged her big hazel eyes. She couldn't be imagining things. Theodore was there, he really was there. Not dead, not a ghost and not a manifestation of her imagination. Just Theodore.

"You're back… the police were about to confirm that you were gone forever tomorrow… why would you-"

"I know, okay? I already feel bad," whispered Theodore, "but I need to see Madam straight away. I have to…" Elise stood up from the couch and walked herself right in front of Theodore. She surprisingly, was able to make her presence immense despite her height. However, Theodore was not shaken in the slightest.

"Your hair's shorter. It suits you." Elise said. Theodore brushed some hair away from his eyes as he looked in the other direction. "Where did you stay?"

"At a friend's house." Theodore lied. "He's from my school."

"Hmph…"

…

"I'm sorry for earlier, before I left. It wasn't my place to be rude to you. I just let my emotions do everything and, well now… it's all a mess." Elise rubbed his elbow briefly then walked out of the room without saying any more. Theodore watched her leave then rubbed his face with his cold hands. They felt refreshing against his boiling skin. He waited some more inside the empty room then made his way to his bedroom that he had been away from for so long. The bed looked neater as did the desk, and his cupboard door was open. His clothes were neatly hung and his four pairs of shoes were aligned perfectly along the floor. It all looked brand new.

He took a sleeping Viripin out his bag and laid her under his bed. As he changed into his pyjamas, a hoot from the window followed by a quiet pecking on the glass, caught his attention as he saw Sawer stare into the room with his large golden orbs. Theodore had almost forgotten that Tom had given the owl to him. He opened the window and allowed Sawer to flutter in. The owl nudged his nose against the boy's chest as Theodore stroked him slowly.

"Welcome to my room. It's not nearly as big as the one at the Leaky Cauldron but I think you'll fit in just fine. All you need is a cage and some food and everything will be okay, you'll see." Sawer fluttered and perched onto the bed post near the window and took a letter from his pouch, throwing it on the bed with his orange beak. Theodore decided to read Louise's letter tomorrow as his body was almost absolutely void of energy. He placed it on his desk and flopped on his small bed, throwing the sheets above his body and instantly fell to sleep. Wonderful flashes of green and red would be all that he would remember in the morning coming…

 _She wasn't the only one there. Lucius, Alecto and Amycus, Avery Jr and Snr were planted all over the street, trapping Valerie in the centre without anyway to escape. Bellatrix bit the tip of her crooked wand while she smiled devilishly at the cornered woman. She was going to enjoy this, so much more than she had hoped._

" _I know what he wants to do with my boy, Bella. I'm not going to let him take my boy away." Valerie said sternly._

" _The Dark Lord has his orders, Val. You know we can't disobey him. We wouldn't want to end up like you." Bellatrix hissed as she slowly closed in like a snake. Valerie was backing up at the same pace, keeping a solid front to show that she was not scared. You could never show fear to Bellatrix. She'd play with you like food then would consume you whole in the end._

" _No, of course you wouldn't. The Dark Lord did chose me over you to bear his child. Voldemort probably didn't want a deranged bitch to raise his child anyways." Bellatrix became furious in an instant from Valerie's tongue. The Dark Lord had favoured the Potter woman over her as she seemed 'more stable' and 'stronger' than the Lestrange. Along with that, Valerie's constant taunts and the mention of her master's name was enough to send the disturbed witch over the edge._

" _You speak his name?! You disgusting blood-traitor!" Bellatrix screamed. Lucius hurried over between the two and attempted to prevent the situation from spiralling into a disaster._

" _Valerie, please! Do not make this difficult for yourself. You know what the Dark Lord wants. Tell us where the boy is and no harm will come in your way."_

" _Fuck off, Lucius." Lucius swallowed as he furrowed his eyebrows in anger. He too hated the woman's cheek but was more tolerant to it than Bellatrix had ever appeared to be. Some would call it being a pushover, others would say that it was the smart thing to do._

" _We won't ask again. Give us the boy, Valerie. Now."_

…

" _Or what?" Everyone had their wands ready in their hands, prepared to cut down the outnumbered witch the instant Bellatrix or Lucius would shout the order._

" _I always wanted to kill your pretty little self. Always thinking that you were better than all of us because you opened your legs for the Dark Lord," said Bellatrix as she now twirled her wand in her thin fingers. "When he finds out that I killed you right here, he's going to love me!"_

" _He doesn't love anyone. Not even me." Valerie had to think this through quickly. Theodore was around four streets away from here. If she could bring the fight away from the area and if the charm really held up, then he'd be safe, regardless of what will happen to her. She turned her head to look at each of her former Death Eaters, disgusted to think that she killed and tortured to be within those ranks. She hoped that this last act, would be her final redemption. It was the end for her, she knew it._

" _I'll bring the boy to Voldemort and that will be the end of it, okay?"_

" _Calm down, Bella! Thank you, Valerie. I'm glad that you see the bigger picture here," said Lucius as he pocketed his wand. Everyone else except Bellatrix did the same. Big mistake._

" _Yes, so am I." Lucius looked confused, but the look was wiped off clean as he was sent flying into a Muggle car by a Stunning Spell. The band of Death Eaters attempted to reach for their wands but were far too late as Valerie conjured a whip connected to the tip of her wand, and ordered it to weave around their necks, choking them to submission. Valerie was probably the most skilful and powerful Death Eater, right next to Bellatrix who had managed to avoid the deadly whip attack. The two witches circled each other, wands outstretched and focused to kill. They hated each other and nothing would bring them any more pleasure than to maim and destroy the other._

" _You insufferable bitch," snarled the Lestrange. "The Dark Lord is going to use your son to kill that wretched old fool and the rest of his filthy followers. Don't you understand that?"_

" _He… is not touching my son. He's not going anywhere near my family, you can count on it."_

" _Oh, but haven't you heard? The Dark Lord knows where your little baby brother is. That's right, he's going to kill him, then he's going to kill his Mudblood wife and then he's going to kill the boy, just like I'll kill you-"_

 _White curses shot from Valerie's wand as she furiously engaged with Bellatrix. Matching her for speed, Bellatrix blocked the incoming curses and threw a few more back at her. The dark street was illuminated multiple times at the clash and mini explosions of the duel, projecting bright lights and shadows along the houses on the sides. The two threw them back and forth until Bellatrix decided to become serious._

" _AVADA KEDAVRA!" Bellatrix screamed as a green jet of electricity was released from her wand. Valerie quickly aimed at the concrete ground folded the street towards her like a carpet to block the Killing Curse. She kept the stationary rubble levitating in the air and used them as ammunition to fire at Bellatrix. The witch shot spell after spell, destroying each piece of debris that flew her way. Valerie could see in her eyes that she was being overwhelmed._

" _Incendio!" A gargantuan wave of flames quickly scurried in Bellatrix's direction as she waved her wand viciously to put the flames out. In between the crevasse of the broken fire, she could see Valerie hop onto a Muggle car and enchanting it to fly into the sky. Bellatrix did the same and chased the woman in the air, determined to slay her once and for all. Valerie looked over her shoulder to see Bellatrix pursue her, prompting her to send curses behind her back. It was much harder for her to fight Bella and steer the flight of the car at the same time. The evil witch had the advantage right now. If only Valerie could apparate without being seen._

" _Haaahahahahaaa!" Bellatrix cackled as she sent a Killing Curse that almost hit Valerie square on the back of her head._

" _Crazy bitch," muttered Valerie under her breath. A church tower was coming up ahead, gifting an idea to the Potter's head. She flicked her wand to make the car beneath her go faster, racing straight into the tower. Faster and faster, she could hear Bellatrix laugh behind her, coming closer to her ear. Valerie focused on the grey iron bell that was centred in the tower. Just a little closer…_

 _She pointed to the bell and pulled her arm backwards. The bell ripped away from the tower like it was being tugged by an invisible rope. It soared towards her as she carefully swerved her car to the right. Bellatrix looked terrified and frozen, but jumped off her car, avoiding what would've been certain death. Valerie watched her plunge down to the streets, apparating at the last second. She wasn't dead but at least she was well away from Theodore. She sighed heavily as she carried on flying over the Muggle houses. She had to find James, regardless if she couldn't find him. She'd tell him to find some place else and…_

" _Vaallll…" Valerie turned her body around. Hanging on the side of the car was Bellatrix, aiming her wand straight at Valerie. She reached for her wand but she was too late. She felt her neck, chest and stomach being sliced and stabbed repeatedly. She looked down on her chest as her robes were stained with her own blood. It spilt along the car, some flying onto Bellatrix's face but she loved every drop. She watched her sway side to side, the life in her drain away as she leaned to the side and plummeted down, all the way down._

 _Bellatrix's vicious laugh echoed in the air as she seemed to become smaller and smaller every metre Valerie fell. It was fate that she'd die like this anyways. The prophecy spoke of two boys... The details of it slipped away as all she wanted to think about was Theodore. Her darling baby boy would grow up motherless, away from his father for only so long. If she had to die so that he could live, then so be it. All she wanted for her last thoughts was just Theodore…_

" _Where did he come from?"_

" _I found him on the front porch, Madam. He was silent and sleeping. There was note with him inside the basket that he came in, look for yourself."_

"' _His name is Theodore Silas Riddle'. Theodore… such an adorable name for an adorable baby. It's a shame, Gretchen. All these children, without fathers and mothers. Makes me absolutely distraught. I pity them so much." Madam rocked the baby boy in her arms as he was still wrapped in his little blanket. He was sleeping peacefully, still whistling perfect tunes from his small nose. He was definitely the most beautiful baby that had been abandoned at Stuggle's for sure. His small tuft of dark-brown hair and those hazel eyes that would occasionally flicker open before shutting again all contributed to his purity. Such an angelic child._

" _Should I prepare a cot for him? And a bottle? Nappies maybe?" Gretchen asked excitedly._

" _Yes, yes Gretchen! All of- what was that? Someone's at the door." The two women walked out of the office and to the front door where someone was rattling insistently against the other side. Gretchen swung the door and was ready to scrutinise without hesitation when the most unexpected occurrence had happened. A woman, in black robes dropped inside the house, spilling blood everywhere. Her beautiful face was deathly pale as she was dying quickly, her left leg and arm broken and sticking out at odd angles. She looked as if she had been stabbed and ran over by a tank. She looked that terrible. Gretchen used her muscular arms to carry the near-dead woman to the infirmary, while Madam followed._

 _The stranger was placed on a bed while she continued to bleed heavily. It was amazing how she was still alive considering how much blood she had lost through the hallways. Madam ordered Gretchen to clear the spilt blood while she placed Theodore on a bed next to the woman. Madam searched desperately for bandages and sterile solution to clean the lady up. She was surely going to die but the least she could do was to try and ease her into death. As she cut through her robes and exposed her wounded skin, the woman started to mumble and mutter, trying to say something._

" _My dear, do not speak. Your throat has been slashed." The woman refused and carried on. She was determined to speak what was on her mind._

" _M-my son… my b-baby…" Madam leaned in closer to hear what she had to say. The woman was using all the strength that she had before she was going to move on._

" _Yes? What about your baby? Who is it?"_

" _Theo… his name… is Theodore." Madam clasped her hands to her mouth. The boy's mother was right there, dying on his side while he remained silent and unknowing. She quickly used a clean rag to hold against her neck to stop the bleeding there, trying to help her say everything that she needed. "Please… care for him… like a son… like he is… your own… please… please…" Theodore's mother wept as she was racing towards death, falling into its inevitable embrace._

" _I will. I will, just… hang on for as much as you…" The mother used her right blood-stained hand to hold onto Madam, grasping her shoulder feebly before the pressure from her fingers decreased. "No, no no no, please! Stay! Stay for your son, stay for your…"_

 _Valerie Potter had succumbed to her wounds, lifeless next to her child as he slept, still wrapped in his mother's blanket. He didn't know that she had been brutally killed by her former allies, on the orders of his own father. He didn't know that his father had slain his aunt and uncle, leaving his cousin in the same predicament at that very moment. He didn't know any of that, just the scent of his own, dead mother…_

 **Summertime is over guys. I gave a brief overlook about how Theodore ended up in Stuggle's but not so much that everything had been revealed about the past. The prophecy and yadayada will be explained later on but now, it's CoS time! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and make sure to look out for the next one. Later.**

 **Guest #1: It's not a 'I'm gonna be a half-ass at writing this story', my schedule is going to switch up in so many ways before the year ends so I'll have to see if writing this one will fit in later on. Not everybody is going to drop a story if it's discontinued. Hope that you like this story anyways. (And I said that on the second chapter when I'm eleven chapters up.)**

 **P.S. I've decided to write everything from Philosopher's Stone to Deathly Hallows, all in one story as it seems redundant to split it up. I may do spinoffs and oneshots after Deathly Hallows, so here's hoping!**


	12. Chapter 12: An Ancestor's Thoughts

"Have you heard?"

"What, that Theodore is back?"

"Theodore's back?"

"Yeah! He's in the office with the Madam."

"I'd hate to be him right now. He was probably better off wherever he went."

"Where did he go anyways?"

"Dunno. All I know is that Madam is going to freak the hell out…"

Theodore was losing consciousness. His arms had been trapped by his sides and his ribs were slowly caving in. His lungs were starting to give way and he didn't know if he could take it anymore. Oxygen depleted, bones crushed, body failing. What could he have possibly done to deserve this… this… punishment?

"Madam… I'm so sorry for… leaving like that. I know I… shouldn't have. But… don't you think that you're hugging me… a bit… too…hard?" The second Madam laid her eyes on the boy who had miraculously appeared into her office, she held him in a vice-like embrace from which he couldn't escape. He'd feel sentimental if the life within him wasn't being squeezed out.

Madam only wept in response to the boy's pleas. Theodore could feel her tremble as she sniffled behind his ear. Any feeling of scolding, scrutinising, even downright damning the boy, was not present. The boy had come home, safe and sound. She could finally sleep without her heart twinging in those dreadful nights. He was here, he really was. After thirty more seconds, the orphanage owner released the dying boy from her hold.

"Thank… you." Theodore panted.

"My dear… I… I…" Madam was about to burst into tears again. Theodore held her hands against his small ones and looked into her eyes. The shedded tears made this more painful every second he'd look but there was no running away. Not now.

"Are you angry?"

"Maybe... I don't know, Theodore. There's just too much to feel and to understand about all of this. Yesterday, I thought that you were dead yet here you are. I don't know whether to hug you again or to kick you out." Theodore gulped at last suggestion and shook his head.

"You should be angry."

"Why?"

"You know why. I hurt you, made you cry, made you think that I was dead. All for a stupid reason." Madam wiped her tears with her left black sleeve and expressed a small smile which masked a lot of pain.

"You wanted to speak with your best friend. Nothing stupid about that. It just sickens me what had to happen for me to see that. Will you forgive me?"

"Don't. Don't ask for forgiveness. It should be me. I'm the one who ran away." For a second, the boy's mother was staring into Madam's eyes through Theodore's. Those same eyes, which died with his mother and was reborn through him. They dragged out those memories, forcing her to only be motherly towards the boy. She wasn't his but he was her own. She couldn't deny that. Madam caught Theodore in a more gentle hug and wept tears of joy for the boy's return.

"Don't leave me again, okay? Not again." Madam could feel his head nod slowly. How was it that people always managed to find the good in his wrongdoings? Why did people disregard the blatant iniquity that he displayed to them, and would overlook that? This confused him for so long, ever since he had killed Quirrell. Huh. That felt a little less painful than before.

The two separated and ridded themselves of the past. They agreed that it was best to not think about it again despite the detrimental effects it would've had on each other, had the boy stayed away.

"Erm, Madam? Is it okay if I ask for one thing?" Theodore asked as he twirled his fingers around each other. Madam nodded. "I have a pet, two in fact. Well, one of them is not exactly like my pet but I have two animals that I own, which basically makes them my pets…"

"Just say what you need to say, Theodore."

"Could you… buy me a cage? Please?" Theodore was walking on a thin line, asking Madam for well, anything. He was lucky that she was feeling so lenient for him. Madam closed her eyes in hesitation. "Or I could just-"

"I'll get you the cage, if you help clean up after dinner until you go back to school." Madam decided.

"But that's a whole four days! And there's like, forty people here!" Theodore moaned. Madam glared at him fiercely. "I guess that I could do it."

"Not could, will. Now go and have some breakfast. I'm sure everyone else is dying to talk to you about where you've been." Theodore scoffed. As if. They were all whispering when they saw him suddenly walk outside his room like he'd been there the whole time. Nobody was going to talk to him, probably except Elise. Theodore would just have to wait patiently until he'd go back to King's Cross and meet up with his friends.

Theodore was a boy of his word and would spend most of his time scrubbing, rinsing, drying, rearranging, sweeping, wiping and spraying after each dinner that passed by. Clearing up after forty children was exhausting to its maximum, and made the boy more grateful of his slumber. After picking slabs of pea and sweet corn infused lasagne, mixed with the regurgitation of fish and chips off the walls, Theodore was in no wait to go back to Hogwarts. Potion-making was much less vile than this. Elise would come in sometimes to give him some company, which he wouldn't mind much, had her other friends stopped constantly talking about him and her behind his back. Seriously, he wasn't an animal that just roamed around the building.

' _Just two more days, Theo. You can manage.'_

* * *

"Don't forget your snake, Theodore! Oh god, it's trying to bite me!" Madam had ran down the stairs with Viripin on the tip of her fingers, shaking violently from the loose grip that the woman had on her. Viripin looked displeased by the lack of caution, and bared her fangs threateningly. Madam quickly draped her around Theodore's shoulders and wiped her hands against her black dress.

"She's not slimy, you know. I think that she's just upset from the way you held her," said Theodore as he stroked the snake's scaly head.

"How could you possibly know that?"

" _Stupid Muggle."_ Theodore tapped her skull quite hard, causing Viripin to spit and look away. Madam crouched down and held Theodore close, but not that close. She had kept a close eye on him since he had returned and was almost grieving that he'd leave once more. At least she knew where he was going. Or had some idea.

"Madam, people are watching." Theodore whispered as he saw the other children peek their heads from around the corner, Elise included. "I have to go now, remember? To that thing called school?"

"Alright, alright. Have you forgotten anything? Books, pencils and pens, your owl?" Theodore looked shocked as he realised that he hadn't taken Sawer from his room. "Don't worry, Elise took him from your room and gave him to Gretchen." Theodore looked over Madam's shoulder to look at a blushing Elise, who hid her face.

"I guess that's nice. But do I really have to go with Gretchen? Why can't you take me instead?"

"It's Sister Gretchen to you, and last time I checked, I'm in charge of the orphanage therefore I must be here at all times. They'll all go mad if they stay with her."

"I hear that. I'd go absolutely mental." Madam giggled before rapidly changing her demeanour. Theodore never knew that she was capable of giggling at all. The two walked out the front door and to Gretchen's car, which still looked like it was in pristine condition. Sawer was inside of his cage, darting his head around on the back seats while Gretchen was waiting in the front.

"Theodore…" Just as he was about to enter the car, Elise was standing behind him. She looked nervous and didn't seem to know what to say. "Um… good luck."

"Thanks."

"Will you be back for Christmas?" Madam and Gretchen were overhearing the conversation as they were having their own.

"No."

"Oh. Well, is there any way where I can send you a present? I mean, if you want a present, that is…" Elise stammered. Time was ticking and Theodore had to get to King's Cross before the Hogwarts Express left him behind. He wouldn't know what to do if it came down to that.

"I don't think so. You could save it for me when I come back next summer but I think that it would've lost its meaning by then."

"Right! Right… so um, see you next summer. Bye." Elise said as she smiled awkwardly. Theodore saw that his presence was making her undoubtedly nervous, and sought to leave as soon as possible to remove the tension. Theodore said goodbye and sat on the back seat next to Sawer. Viripin hissed gently to the owl and the owl loudly hooted back.

"Keep those blasted things quiet back there! I don't want them hissing and hooting in my ear for the entire journey!" Theodore decided to not respond and bent his head down to Viripin as the car started up.

"Don't worry about her," whispered the boy, "she'll be out of our hair as soon as we get to the station."

" _Can't I bite her? Just once? I'll even retract my venom!"_

"I don't think that you'll want the taste of Gretchen in your mouth." The two sniggered as the car began to drive off to King's Cross. Sawer looked at them both happily, like the third friend who didn't understand the joke yet still laughed.

After a similar journey of when he came the first time, Theodore was left alone to wheel his belongings on a trolley through the grand station, up to Platform 9¾. The upper platforms were as busy as ever, many Muggles in crumpled suits carried leather bookcases with depression on their faces, old women in bizarre clothing held poodles and chihuahuas which barked at Sawer and Viripin, and the same guard that stood near the pillar from last year. Theodore nodded to him and the guard tipped his hat. The boy looked side to side, to make sure that nobody had their eyes set on the boy with a snake and owl on an overloaded trolley. No… no… good. Theodore aimed straight towards the wall and ran as fast as he could, pushing the heavy trolley with everything his skinny arms could give. Some days, he wondered if the barrier would close off the second he'd make contact, shutting him away from the train forever. Those wonders would remain wonders as he effortlessly passed straight through, leaving the Muggle side and entering the other.

The Hogwarts Express looked sleek and grand, but was otherwise much quieter than before, no whistles erupting or the constant tremors that it sent through the platform. It looked inactive and quite… dead.

' _Oh no. Oh shit! Am I too early? Or was it not today? Today is the 1_ _st_ _. But what's the-"_ Theodore looked up at the hanging clock which read 09:05AM. He was almost two hours early. Theodore sighed and pushed his trolley to the empty benches near the further end of the platform. The feeling of being alone here felt like he was in a haunted house and was expecting somebody to jump out and scare him. The two animals were sleeping and Theodore felt like dozing off as well. If the train was going to leave then he'd obviously know. Just even a thirty minute nap, and he'd wake up from-

"Kid! What're you doing here sleeping?" Theodore hadn't even laid his head on the armrest and already somebody couldn't leave him alone. The train driver, presumably, was fitting his uniform over himself when he caught the young boy sitting alone.

"It's not even ten o'clock. I'm trying to get a nap before I go so if you don't mind…" Theodore laid his head against the armrest and exhaled loudly.

"Where are your parents?"

"They're dead, now let me sleep." Theodore stated quickly. As he shut his eyes, the very faint shadow of the driver disappeared through his eyelids and he relaxed his body against the hard wooden bench to try and make it as comfortable as he possibly could.

 _3, 2, 1…_

"Um, why are you sleeping there, Theo?" He opened one eye to see Hermione tower over him as she brought her face close to his own. He rubbed his eyes and sat back up, making the bushy haired girl lean backwards.

"I got here early so I * _yawn_ * thought that I could sleep for a bit, until you came along." Hermione frowned.

"Hey, don't be like that! I just thought that you were in some sort of trouble. You did, sort of, run away from your home after all." Hermione sat next to him and looked at the sleeping pets. "That owl is so adorable! And… is that a Maibian Adder?!" Theodore nodded. Hermione gasped as she looked closer to her.

"Don't get too close! She hates it when you breath into her nostrils. She'll try bite you without knowing it." Hermione flicked her head back, looking terrified.

"How did you even find one? They're extremely rare. The only that's in Britain is the one at Hogwarts, which escaped somehow…" It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "You stole the snake?! From school?!"

"I didn't steal the snake, I liberated her. Do you know what they were doing to her? They plucked her fangs, drew out her blood and cut open her intestines from when she was baby! You of all people would not condone this." Hermione bit her bottom lip her large front teeth. It was definitely disrespectful for him to release a snake with such rarity from the school but…

"I guess it was okay to free it, I mean her. But do you take care of her? How do you know when she's hungry or when she needs to sleep or play?" Hermione said rapidly. Theodore was about to reply when the Express became active. More and more children flooded in, bringing Hermione's parents to come closer to the two children. Mr and Mrs Granger were both Muggles and dressed exactly like Muggles. Hermione explained to them that Theodore grew up with Muggles and that he was probably the only competitor that she had in the year (she said this as humbly as possible, but the smugness was still there).

"Weren't you the boy that was talking with Hermione last year? That's very sweet that you two are friends."

"Yes, she talks about you a lot, Theodore."

"Dad…"

"I'm just joking, dear."

The Hogwarts Express soon began to load up with children as Hermione and Theodore waited with each other side by side. They both looked wearingly for Ron and Harry, who weren't anywhere to be seen. Hermione spotted the Weasleys down the line and thought that the two were probably there with them. The children hopped on and walked down the corridors before they found a compartment to themselves.

"Do you think that they'll be alright," asked Hermione nervously. Theodore looked out his window, searching for the two among the humongous crowd. He could see Percy, the twins and Ginny, the youngest and only girl, but not Ron or Harry, which was weird considering he stayed with them during the end of the summer.

"I hope so. Maybe they're just down the other end, fighting with Malfoy or something." Hermione still looked nervous and tapped her feet against the ground. The train started to leave the station slowly and off they went. The two talked over sweets and treats, about what the next year had to offer for the two brightest children in the second year. Theodore had declared that he was going to blow Hermione out of the water this year at the final exams. Hermione took this as a challenge and shook hands with him. After reading over the potions book from Borgin and Burke's, Theodore was surely going to be ahead of her. No way she'd even hold a matchstick, let alone a candle in what he was going to accomplish this year.

"That's it. We're going." Hermione said as she stood up and walked to the compartment door.

"Going? Going where?"

"To look for Harry and Ron. They haven't tried to find us so we're going to find them."

"I'm sure that it would only take one of us to find them." Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him away from his seat. He accidentally dropped a Pumpkin Pasty and was upset because he was quite fond of those.

"Stop being such a child, I'll get you another one." They walked up the train, knocking on each compartment door to see if Harry or Ron where inside. Neville was sitting next to a Gryffindor and two Hufflepuffs from his year, namely a girl called Hannah Abbot. The two looked cheery but didn't notice Theodore and Hermione walk past. Hermione knocked on the next one but Theodore swung the door open, shocking the first years that were inside.

"Have any one of you seen Harry Potter?"

"I have! I saw him last year, when my big brother went to Hogwarts!"

"Not last year! I meant today!" Theodore snapped. The first year pouted and turned away in shame. Hermione look appalled by Theodore's approach and walked off to look somewhere else. Ginny was sat in the corner, patting the first year that Theodore scolded on his back.

"Ginny, have you seen your brother anywhere? Or Harry? Either one of them?" Theodore asked.

"We came by car to King's Cross and we went to Platform 9¾. Although I didn't see them go through the barrier." Ginny said. The red headed girl had a quiet and soft voice, compared to her brothers' brash and loud ones. Theodore turned to the girl opposite, who had dirty blond hair coming to her waist, eyebrows so pale that you'd think she had none and silvery eyes which had a look of otherworldly wonder inside of them. Despite her odd choice of clothing, Theodore asked her if she had seen the boys anywhere.

"No, but I'm sure if you look high enough, you'll find them."

"High enough?" Theodore looked up to the ceiling and back to the girl with a puzzled look. "Was that supposed to be some sort of joke?" The girl shook her head and smiled. Theodore furrowed his eyebrows and left. Such an odd girl. He jogged through the aisle to catch up with Hermione, who was stuck in between an argument with Lavender. Lavender gasped when she saw her open crush and ran to him with arms outstretched, only to be pulled back by Hermione.

"Theodore! Please tell your 'girlfriend' to let go of my jumper! She's stretching the expensive seams!"

"I am not his girlfriend!" Hermione shouted.

"Is that why you go red every time he looks at you?" Hermione clenched her fist while she gritted her teeth. Aside from what Lavender said, Theodore did not want Hermione to put Lavender in her place, even if she deserved it. He pulled Hermione to the side and told her that they should go someplace else until Parvati screamed.

"What?! What is it?!" The three entered the compartment and pressed their faces against the window. High up in the sky was a Ford Anglia, soaring above the Hogwarts Express like a plane. The four of them squashed against each other to try and get a better angle of the flying car, staring in bewilderment.

"Wow," mumbled Hermione. "Who could possibly be in there… Oh. My. Gosh." Hermione zipped out of the room, shortly followed by Theodore. He chased her down the train and called out for her to stop. It was only just a car that was flying _high enough_ that it could disappear into the clouds. Wait a second.

"Hermione! I think I know-"

"That it's Harry and Ron driving the car? Yeah, I do to. They're are such… idiots! What drove them to miss the train and to fly a car instead? I'd seriously like to know!" Hermione said as she sat down on her seat in a huff. Theodore kicked the Pumpkin Pasty out of the compartment and sat down on the opposite side. He was slightly jealous that they were flying in a car above them and was regretful that he had arrived to King's Cross earlier than everyone else. He guessed that was the price of being early to everything. You'd miss out on all of the fun.

Hermione was still in a bad mood for the rest of the trip, not only because of the daredevil antics of Ron and Harry, but because of what Lavender had said about her and Theodore. Theodore probably had no clue that she thought that he was a nice-looking boy, and now it would be awkward for the remainder of the year, maybe the remainder of Hogwarts. Lavender just really got under her skin. The train pulled over to Hogsmeade station and everyone emptied the Express. The second years went to a different direction this year, and went with the majority of the school to the carriages pulled by distorted looking horse creatures. They were almost completely black, save for the dark blue hue, and had wings similar to a bat or most likely a dragon. Their bones were highly visible, they looked blind from their completely white eyes and their fine tails flapped up and down. Theodore was taken back from everybody else, who acted like they couldn't see a thing.

"Hermione, can you see those things? I think they're Thestrals." Hermione peered at the carriages long and hard, but gave up in the end.

"You're seeing things. People can't see Thestrals unless they've seen death beforehand." Well that only verified his vision. Theodore had seen death before, death that was by his hand, so that would naturally allow him to see Thestrals, right? As he, Hermione, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Seamus boarded on a carriage, Theodore couldn't help but stay focused on the creatures that pulled them along to the castle. He ignored the chatter amongst the others, all the way till the main castle.

Having already changed on the train, the older years walked straight to the Great Hall without McGonagall giving them an introduction. They filled up their respective tables and waited patiently for the first years to arrive for the Sorting Ceremony. The only person that Theodore knew in the year below him was Ginny and they only ever had one conversation. There was the strange blond girl but he didn't think much about her. Other than that, the sorting was probably going to be as bland as the following years. He sat between Hermione and Seamus and caught up with him.

"It was probably the worst summer ever! I had to stay over my cousin Fergus for the entire holiday, and he is annoying as shit! Always apparating behind me, giving me a good scare. What did you do, Theo?"

"I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron, mostly. My orphanage was getting really boring." Hermione elbowed his ribs. "But I went back in the end. Can't stay too long away from home, no matter how boring it gets. Could you stop, Hermione?"

"Neville here, went to Spain for two weeks. He got lost in the airport and almost forgot his passport."

"Is that true, Neville?" Hermione asked. They all turned to the boy, who was going as red as ever. Seamus laughed and went to talk to Dean until McGonagall strode in the Great Hall with the first years tagging behind her. The Hall became silent and still as the sorting was about to happen. The usual introduction and the process of the sorting was explained to everyone like it was something new and soon enough, the first years were called up. A Colin Creevey, an excitable Muggle-born, had been sorted into Gryffindor. The boy sat eagerly next to Neville, delighted that he was in the same house as the legendary Harry Potter. A few more came and went until the blond haired girl was called up.

"Luna Lovegood!" Luna was fiddling with the Sorting Hat, causing it to splutter and spit despite the lack of a tongue. Theodore had to admit that it was nice to see someone mess around with the dated hat from time to time. He was still slightly sore from last year.

"Ravenclaw," bellowed the hat as Luna skipped to her house table. Her tie turned dark blue and white, as did the trailings along her jumper. After a long wait of everybody else, Ginny was called up to the stool and her face looked like she was on fire. McGonagall placed the hat on her head and in an instant, she was sorted into Gryffindor. A look of relief was upon her face as Ginny went over to sit next to Hermione.

"New year, new students but the very same Hogwarts!" Dumbledore declared. Theodore hadn't noticed him at the very front of the Hall. In fact, he almost forgot about most of the teachers on his way there. Snape, Flitwick, Binns and Lockhart. He groaned loudly at the sight of the vain professor, who's teeth was as dazzling as ever. "I only expect that you all flourish and excel throughout the year, with no hindrances whatsoever! We as a whole must- yes, Severus… now? I suppose so. Let us not waste anytime and carry on with our feast." Theodore watched Snape slither outside the backdoors of the Hall with an evil grin all over his face. He knew something was up but was then forced to look down to the tables at all the glorious types of dishes that he had missed for so long. He, along with all the other boys, grabbed and chomped on everything that they could, earning a look of disgust from Hermione. Theodore was enjoying a succulent chicken drumstick with a slice of ham when Hermione poked his side.

"Where do you think Snape's off to," whispered the suspicious girl as she kept on eyeing the door that the shady professor went through.

"Maybe the two crashed somewhere near the lake and need a spare leg or two." Theodore said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Hermione looked at him with horror and revulsion at the boy's manners. Theodore swallowed his food, then resumed the conversation. "Hermione, while I do believe that they crashed the flying car, I'm absolutely, one hundred percent, sure that they are okay. We beat a troll and a three headed dog last year. We're practically invincible."

"It's a wonder how you can sit upright with a head as big as yours." Hermione responded as she shook her head.

"Will they be okay?" Ginny's small voice came from around the corner and she looked worried for her big brother and Harry. Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be okay. They're idiots for flying the car but they'll be fine. Trust me, Ginny." Ginny sighed then gnawed at a corn on the cob quite viciously. The two left it behind and carried on eating, not noticing that Snape had returned and left with McGonagall at the front table. Deserts came and deserts left and soon enough, the food had made everyone feel lethargic and sleepy. The prefects directed everyone to their dorms and the Gryffindors followed Percy. The common room felt lovely against a tired Theodore's skin. Everyone was waiting in the main room on the twins' orders for the arrival of the delinquents.

"Can't lie, they're legends for doing this." Dean said excitedly. Theodore had to agree.

"Talk about entering with style. I've got to follow them around for the fun." Seamus replied. Theodore had to agree with that too.

"I wonder if-" Theodore's words were cut short as the portrait of the Fat Lady from behind swung in to reveal Ron and Harry, walking in like rockstars. Everyone screamed and cheered for them. Lee Jordan and the twins held Harry on their shoulders while some of the older years patted Ron on the back. Percy and Hermione looked severely displeased by the attention that they were getting, and Percy went so far as to go tell them off. Harry's eyes widened at the approaching Weasley and jumped to the ground to grab Ron. They made a break for it by running up the spiral staircase, quickly saying goodbye to Hermione and Theodore.

"Idiots. The lot of them."

"Come on, Hermione. You have to admit that it was wicked of them." Hermione spun on her heels and stomped up to the girls dorm. Theodore grinned and walked up to the boy's dorm for the second years and walked in with Seamus, Neville and Dean crowding around the two. "Forever famous eh, Potter?"

Harry grinned as everyone circled him and Ron to listen to everything they had to say, from the barrier closing off to them, to crashing straight into the Whomping Willow and Mr Weasley's car disappearing into the Forbidden Forest.

"Dad's gonna roast me alive when he finds out! Mum will be even worse!" Everyone laughed at the red headed boy's fear of his mother's wrath, unknowing of what certain consequences Ron would have to deal with later on.

* * *

"Oh no…" Seamus was barrelling in laughter for some reason.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Theodore asked. Ron's half-dead owl had swooped in like it died in midair but it was still alive. Hardly anything to worry about. Seamus guffawed even louder.

"Ron, what's the matter? And why are you laughing, Seamus?"

"He's, he's got a Howler! Weasley's got a Howler, I'm crying!" Seamus wiped his eyes as he cried over seeing Ron's shocked face. Everyone had egged him on to open the letter, especially Theodore who had never heard of a Howler. Ron swallowed carefully, then reached for the smoking red letter. Theodore leaned in closer as did Harry, while Seamus and Neville put their fingers in their ears. Theodore and Harry soon regretted coming so close as they felt their eardrums rupture at the sudden explosion from the Howler. They both sprung back as a voice, pure with rage and anger screamed for the entire hall to hear.

" _NEVER IN MY LONG, DAMN YEARS HAVE I SEEN ANY OF YOUR BROTHERS DO SOMETHING SO STUPID, SO IDIOTIC, SO DISRESPECTFUL! NEVER! WHAT IN FRESH HELL WENT THROUGH YOUR BRAIN, RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY?! I DEMAND TO KNOW!_

Ron was half hidden underneath the table with his eyes staring at the letter which contained his mother's angry screams, only a hundred times louder. "I can't really tell you what happened, you're just a letter," said the boy weakly.

" _-AND HOW DARE YOU DRAG HARRY INTO YOUR ANTICS! IF IT WAS YOUR IDEA TO STEAL YOUR FATHER'S CAR AND TO FLY ALL THE WAY TO HOGWARTS, THERE IS NO CASTLE, NO DUMBLEDORE, NO FATHER, NO MINISTRY OR AZKABAN THAT WILL STOP ME FROM WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO TO YOU!_

Ron grimaced as he looked to Harry. He honestly looked like he'd die from all the embarrassment that made him red to the nose. Any more and there'd be blood pouring out from his ears.

" _DO NOT MAKE ME COME ALL THE WAY THERE TO DRAG YOU STRAIGHT HOME! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!"_

The Howler shredded and burnt into a crisp, raining ashes in front of Ron's face. The entire Gryffindor table was silent, unlike the Slytherins, then Seamus broke into laughter once again. Ron punched him in the stomach, causing the Irish boy to splutter after being terribly winded.

"You did deserve it." Hermione remarked as she looked through her book, _'Voyage with Vampires'_.

"Shut up," snarled Ron, "I don't need to hear anything from you!" Hermione ignored this and looked down in her book. Theodore was eating a folded piece of toast filled with bacon and scrambled eggs and watched Ron pull his hair out. All the mightiness that he had felt the night before had been sucked out, sliced and burnt by a magical letter from his mother, and it did not bode well for him the next time he'd meet her again.

"Maybe our first lesson will take your mind off it. Come on Ron, don't act like you weren't going to get in trouble. You were flying a Ford Anglia, for God's sake!" Theodore said as he was given his timetable by McGonagall.

"And I don't want to hear it from you either. Double Herbology? Why couldn't it have been Defence Against the Dark Arts instead?" Ron moaned. The four of them had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, making it one of their few mixed lessons. Theodore left before everyone else, and was followed by Hermione who still remembered their competition between each other. They arrived at the greenhouses around the magical gardens and so did the others. Professor Sprout, the teacher for Herbology was a happy-looking, short and round little witch who had a layer of earth all over her with tattered robes and a hat. Lockhart had been accompanying her with helping the Whomping Willow but left promptly when he suddenly remembered that he was teacher, not a celebrity.

"Come along, children! Into greenhouse three!" Everyone rushed inside the called greenhouse, eager to find what dangerous, magical plants would be housed in there. Theodore walked in next to Harry but was suddenly by himself when the other boy was pulled over to the side by Lockhart, who he wanted to have a word with. Theodore, Harry and Professor Sprout all looked annoyed by the lingering man but he insisted on talking with the Boy Who Lived. Theodore walked in and stood next to Ron who wondered where Harry had went off to.

"Lockhart pulled him over. What the hell is his problem anyways? Is he obsessed with him?" Theodore whispered.

"Not as much as he is obsessed with himself." The two silently laughed and focused on the lesson. Harry had walked in behind everyone else and took a place between Ron and Hermione, dismissing Ron's questions about what the man wanted to talk about.

"Mandrakes will be the focus of the lesson today. Can anyone tell me what a Mandrake is?" Hermione beat Theodore as the girl was picked over him.

"The Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a restorative plant originating from the Mediterranean, capable of subsiding and curing the effects of anyone that has been transfigured, cursed or petrified to their original states."

"Splendid! Ten points for Gryffindor!" Professor Sprout said. Hermione gave a snobbish grin to Theodore who was determined to answer the next question. "Yes, the Mandrake has several healing capabilities however, can anybody tell me how it can be just as dangerous as the ailments that it is used to cure?" Theodore shot his hand right up but Professor Sprout chose Hermione instead.

"The cry of a Mandrake is absolutely fatal to anyone that hears it."

"Well done! Another ten points for Gryffindor!" Theodore was fuming inside as he could feel Hermione staring at him with joy that she was going off with a bang at the start of the year.

Professor Sprout explained that they would be potting baby Mandrakes in soil as using adult ones would be far too dangerous. Everyone was told to grab a pair of earmuffs from the back, which created a rush for the ones that didn't have mud or crusty slime hanging off. Theodore managed to salvage a clean looking white one with little dirt on the outside. They all snapped them on as they watched the teacher pull out what looked like a deformed baby covered in mud squeal at the sudden change of environment. It writhed around as Professor Sprout held it from its green leaves above its head. She then carried the Mandrake to another empty pot and dropped it inside before burying it in compost and mud. It looked like it was comfortable with being under the mud as it stopped squirming about.

"Everyone get into groups of four! Make sure that your earmuffs are properly fitted and be careful of the surrounding plants. Nobody wants to be horribly poisoned today now, do we?" Everyone shook their heads and made groups of four under a minute flat. Theodore had refused to work with Hermione, who looked sad by this, and instead went to work with Seamus, Neville and Hannah.

"How come you're not with them, Theo?" Neville asked as he held a fluffy pink pair of muffs.

"Hermione's on her high pedestal. I'll wait for her to come down soon." Theodore didn't know that he was being a hypocrite for calling Hermione out on her ego. The four of them focused on potting their hefty Mandrake with somewhat ease and difficulty. Hannah kept on staring at Theodore, putting him in an uncomfortable position where he was bitten several times by the screaming plant. Seamus was too disgusted to touch it, leaving Neville to do most of the dirty work, no pun intended. Theodore was highly impressed with the way Neville had poked the plant in the back to stop it from resisting, and how he quickly covered it with compost. Judging from everyone else, they were the first ones that were finished and were the first to be excused from lesson. The other three watched Theodore and the others leave without a trace of dirt on them, save for Theodore and Neville, and struggled with their own plant, that looked particularly fat.

"Nice one, Neville! You looked like a true professional!"

"Thanks Seamus." Neville said nervously.

"He's right you know," said Theodore approvingly, "you could seriously pass your N.E.W.T's if you wanted to. Maybe even become a professor here." Neville looked even more embarrassed by the praise from his fellow students and the three split away from Hannah to go to Transfiguration.

The rest of the Gryffindors arrived after looking worn out from the previous class and all took their seats. Hermione tried to sit next to Lavender to avoid the free seat next to Theodore but quickly changed her mind. She didn't give a glance to the boy as they both looked forwards.

After thirty minutes of writing notes down on pieces of parchment, the class were then tasked to change a black beetle into a button. McGonagall had an eye on Theodore and Hermione as they were the two overachievers of the class and always seemed to surpass her expectations. Theodore was daydreaming as he tapped his acacia wand against the desk. He hasn't spoken to Louise in a while. He would go write a letter immediately after the lesson and would find Sawer to deliver the message, if he had the time to-

"Ahem." Theodore blinked and turned to Hermione. She had a stern face and was not impressed by his lack of attention. "Would you like to go first, or should I go ahead?" Theodore lazily waved his wand at the beetle.

" _Vera Verto_!" The beetle shook a little then shape-shifted into a perfect black button, free of any antennas or legs. Hermione still didn't look impressed as she attempted on her beetle, producing the same results. After rather shocking results, the class was dismissed after the bell had rung and they all went for lunch in the Great Hall. Theodore was walking next to Ron who was furiously waving his broken wand in the air that was barely held together by sellotape. Harry suggested asking his parents for a new one but Ron only went pale. He dreaded receiving another Howler from his mother. They all walked in the Great Hall and sat themselves on Gryffindor table, with Theodore purposely sitting next to Hermione.

"Hi." The Parselmouth said in a nonchalant tone. Hermione didn't make eye contact and was reading through one of Lockhart's books.

"Yes?"

"Why are all of Lockhart's lessons outlined in hearts," said Theodore as he held in the urge to laugh. Hermione slammed her hand on her timetable and crumpled it inside of her robes. She was not looking happy at all.

"Don't you have a flock of girls to keep you busy?"

"I'm sorry. Didn't know you wanted me so bad." Hermione was blushing very noticeably at the moment that she had to turn away.

"I didn't want you… 'so bad'! I simply asked if you wanted to be in a group and you said 'I don't want to be with you'! Stop twisting my words!" She hissed.

"Alright, okay. I'm sorry, really. I'll make sure that we're partners for everything. Is that okay?"

"That sarcasm of yours? Needs to go, now." The half-blood and the Muggle-born were still talking till they saw a white flash of light temporarily blind them.

"What the bloody hell was that!?" Theodore rubbed his eyes and focused on the familiar boy that had flashed the camera in their naked eyes. Colin was wrapped in his Gryffindor scarf, despite the nice weather, and looked amazed by the sight of Harry eating a ham sandwich.

"Hi! Colin Creevey here! Is it okay if I take a picture of you for my memory book? I mean, I know that I just took one but another wouldn't hurt. How about it? Please?" Colin was breathless as he said all of that in under four seconds. Harry looked at him blankly, completely unaware of what was happening as did the others. The first year was elaborating quite quickly, about how he entered the school as he was a Muggle-born and how he learned everything about Harry, his birthday, the colour of his eyes, all of it.

"Thanks Colin, but I don't think that I want to." Harry said as he tried to shut the boy down.

"Please?! Just one good photo! You could even sign it!"

"Look at me! My name's Harry Potter and I sign photos for my stupid fan club!" Everyone turned around to see Draco alongside Crabbe and Goyle, smirking at the attention that Harry was gaining. "You going to cut lightning on his head too?"

"Shut up," snarled Harry. Theodore could see the pure hatred that Harry had for Draco. "Don't you have to be kissing up to Snape somewhere?"

"As if. I want to stay here, see if I can get a photo as well. Let me see, could we have one where I'm looking at you crashing a car into a tree? Oo! And I could get a great big dirty scar on my forehead! That'd be the entire package!" Draco's sidekicks laughed as Ron and Harry started to fume. "Don't worry Weasley, I'll make sure to get one with you instead, if you can pay for it."

"Piss off, Malfoy!"

"Yeah," said Colin in a squeaky voice, "you're just jealous of Harry." Draco walked closer to him in a threatening manner, causing the small boy to flinch backwards.

"Now why would I be jealous, you little Mud-" Theodore stopped Draco from escalating the situation and gave him the look that enough was enough. Draco hesitated then slowly backed off. Crabbe and Goyle gawped at the frightened boy like two tigers preying on a newborn gazelle. "Anyways, I'm here for Theodore."

"What do you want with him?" Ron hissed.

"None if your business, Weasley! It's important stuff, stuff that is above the likes of you!" Theodore stood immediately between the livid boys and agreed to follow Draco only, outside the Great Hall. They reached the doors and made sure that they were out of sight of the others.

"So? What is it?" Theodore asked slightly boorishly. The divide was getting wider and he was falling deeper. Draco looked side to side and brought out something from the insides of his robes. "You called me up, to give me… a history book?"

"Not just any history book. Look at the title. _Our Founders._ There's a copy of the book in the library but obviously, that one is useless. So father sent this to me to give to you. Here." Theodore took the copy in his hand and observed it. The book was much more sleek-looking, thicker and cleaner than the one in the library, but the author's name was still not present. Perhaps it was lost in time.

"Your dad wanted me to have it? Why?"

"Don't know. It said somewhere on the letter about helping you 'discover more about yourself' or whatever that means." Theodore flicked quickly through the pages while he couldn't shake the feeling of something. Mr Malfoy was definitely strange for sending him a book about the founders. He remembered last year when he was searching for anything about his ancestor with Hermione, but had barely recovered anything. Did the man know that he was Slytherin's heir? He was far too interested in the boy when he had first met, but this was borderline eerie. Theodore shut the book and pocketed it in his robes.

"Thanks, Draco. Make sure that you, uh, give my thanks to your dad." Draco nodded and lightly punched Theodore on the shoulder before rejoining his friends. The bell for the next lesson went off and Theodore grabbed his things in the Great Hall before leaving for DADA alone. For the first time ever, Theodore was the last person to arrive and some people gasped mockingly.

"Hello! Theodore, is it? Let's not make this a habit of being late, eh? There's a good chap!" Theodore ignored Lockhart as he walked over to the back near his friends. Each table was a four-seater and Harry, Ron and Hermione were sat all together. Lavender tried to grab his attention by waving like a maniac, but he quickly ducked next to Ron.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh you know, Order of Merlin, Honorary Member of some bullshit, four-time winner of smiling at something, the usual." Ron explained.

"Five-times, Ronald." Hermione gritted through her teeth.

"Bite me."

"Quiz time! This will give me a rough idea about how much you know about, well… me." Lockhart said through a sparkly smile. He quickly dished out several test papers and gave everyone thirty minutes to complete it. Theodore was ready. He was going to ace this one in five minutes flat without any problems.

' _Time to put you in your place, Hermione. Let's see, 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?' What…'_

Theodore, as well as Ron and Harry, flicked through the paper to see a barrage of questions, all based on Lockhart. His birthday, his favourite food, even his favourite shampoo brand. The three boys turned to Hermione who was hurtling through each question like it was nothing.

' _Typical.'_

Lockhart goaded everyone on how most of the answers written were terribly wrong with only Hermione gaining full marks. She blushed terribly at the praise she received and looked entirely proud of herself. That was 30-0 to Hermione with Theodore not receiving a single point on the first day. There was something terribly wrong here.

The Parselmouth was in a bad mood for the rest of the lesson and started to play around with his wand, completely ignoring what was happening at the front of the classroom. He fumbled around in his bag to see if anything could help him past the time when the Founder's book came into full vision. There was probably more information about Defence Against the Dark Arts in there, than there was inside Lockhart's brain. He placed the book on his lap and started to read:

 _SALAZAR SLYTHERIN_

 _The legendary Salazar Slytherin, founder of the Slytherin House, has been an icon and imprint in wizarding history, proving his ambition and cunning to be a valuable asset at his time in Hogwarts. Along with Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, they created the foundation that is Hogwarts today._

 _Alas, the severe clash among the other founders was detrimental to the school as Salazar believed that those born from Muggle blood were unworthy to learn under their school and that pure bloods were entirely superior. This had led to confrontation with the others, particularly Godric, and broke out in violent bouts of disagreement. Some chose to believe that the wayward founder acted under prejudice, fuelling the divide and hatred for Muggles while others thought that he acted under caution, as wizard and witch prosecution was heavily prominent during that era._

 _The arguments resulted in Salazar leaving the school for good, never to return again until his death which was unknown. However, rumours and myths, spread across centuries, had originated from the founder's last actions. They say that Salazar built and left behind a hidden room, the Chamber of Secrets, which-_

"Hey!"

Something blue and tiny shot right past and seemingly snatched the book from his grasp. Theodore focused on where the book went until he suddenly realised the chaos that had filled the entire classroom. Lockhart was hiding underneath his desk, Neville was hung upon the chandelier somehow, and the class was running amuck, trying to defend themselves against Cornish Pixies.

"Somebody do something!" Neville screamed as his jumper was tearing slowly from the hook. Theodore was busy whacking several pixies away from him with Lockhart's book and was trying to find the cheeky devil that took his own. He managed to see it flying in the air with his allies but looked in horror at what they were doing. They were casually ripping out the pages and throwing them all around like they were confetti. Theodore grabbed his wand and aimed it at the pixie group.

" _Ventus_!" Thin streams of condensed air shot out from the tip of his wand and hit each pixie square in the chest, sending them smashing into the walls. The other pixies saw their injured comrades and began to circle Theodore, ready to attack him until they were quickly immobilised by Hermione. Theodore lowered his wand and went to collect his book and all the pages that were sprawled everywhere. They were lucky that they did not decide to eat them as Theodore wasn't afraid to go a bit dark to find the pages inside them.

"Theo! You okay?" Harry asked as he helped Theodore pick up the pages. Theodore quickly snatched them and stuffed them inside of the book.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Who was the idiot that let those things loose? Was it-"

"Yes." Ron said blankly.

"I knew it. The guy's a fraud, he shouldn't even be here!"

"He's not! I'm sure that he had everything under control." Hermione said. The boys pointed everywhere in the demolished classroom. "Almost everything."

The quartet finished rounding up the pixies and left for the day was finally over. As everyone went up to their beds later that night, Theodore was still in the main room, sticking the pages in the correct order with Sawer and Viripin as company. There were only three or four pages that were badly ripped in the middle but the rest were able to fit just fine. The obsession of looking for Slytherin and his father's work had slowly returned as he was determined to know what the Chamber of Secrets was. He just had to.

" _So how was your first day? Did you have a lesson with the torturer?"_ Viripin said as she flicked her tail in Sawer's face.

"Could you stop doing that to him, he's getting annoyed. And today was just great. If that idiot Lockhart hadn't let out those pixies."

" _Mmm, pixies. They taste quite salty but nice nonetheless. Was it they that damaged your book?"_ Theodore nodded as he fitted the last page. _"What's so special about it?"_

"This, my dear Maibian beauty, is the answer to who I am. My ancestor Slytherin built something called the Chamber of Secrets and I have to know why. Maybe it has something to do with his heir."

" _Hmm, interesting. Tom didn't find out that he was the Heir of Slytherin until he was around fourteen. I'm impressed that you did it when you were eleven."_

"Oh, Viripin. You flatter me too much!" He said sarcastically with a wave of a hand. "Also, there's a letter and a package for Louise on the table over there. Tell Sawer to deliver it to her."

" _Please,"_ spat Viripin as she slithered to the brown parcel with the letter attached.

"Please." Viripin motioned the owl to come closer and imitated the bird's noises to communicate with him. Sawer must've understood everything as he picked the package in his sharp talons and flew straight out of the open window. Theodore leaned backwards, and traced his finger to where he last left off and carried on reading:

" _-was a testament to those that belonged to his bloodline. It was said that it could only be opened by his heir and his heir alone, using their heritage as a key of some sorts. Slytherin tasked his heir to open the Chamber of Secrets, and to use the very mystery that he left behind to cleanse the school of those, in his eyes, unworthy to study magic. What lies inside the chamber has remained unknown to all, but speculation has said that Slytherin planted a beast of terrible nature, that only his heir can control._

 _However, there has been no attacks within the school since his time away from Hogwarts, proving that the Chamber of Secrets will remain a myth. The room has never been seen or recovered, therefore-"_

Theodore quickly turned his head at the sound of pattering feet. He stood up quickly as Viripin hid underneath the couch.

"Who's there… come out, now!" For a few seconds, nobody came into sight, then from the girl's dormitory entrance, came a red haired, red faced little girl who slowly came inside of the room. Ginny was wearing pink pyjamas and was holding something in her hands behind her back. She didn't look that nervous to being around the boy but she was embarrassed for some odd reason. "Oh, it's you. How comes you're up, Ginny?"

"I-I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I. But I'm about to go up so you should to. You don't want to be tired on your second day." Theodore said as he collected his book, quill and ink from the table in front of the fire. He could see Viripin sticking her black-tipped tail from underneath the couch but couldn't say anything to her, out of the fear of freaking Ginny out. Theodore walked towards his dorm when Ginny suddenly moved right in front of him, causing them to both drop what was inside of their hands.

"Sorry! Sorry sorry, sorry!" Ginny apologised several times as she bent down to reach for her book. Theodore got to it first and took a closer look at it. It looked like normal diary, a bit worn out with rough edges and a faded brown leather texture. There was absolutely nothing extraordinary about it, not one thing. Except the name that was written across it.

 _Tom Marvolo Riddle._

That was his father's name, written in dirty gold. That was his father's diary. But what was a girl like Ginny Weasley, doing with a diary that belonged to his father? Theodore had no time to think as Ginny snatched the diary and skipped up to her dorm. Theodore had remained frozen, crouching on the floor, trying to find an explanation for what he just saw. For some weird reason, the diary… 'called' to him when he had it in his hands. Like it wanted him to hear something it had to say. For some odd reason, he needed that diary, and he was going to get it. Right after he was going to find his hidden birthright that laid somewhere, right in this castle.

 **Yessssss, we're herrreeeee! And the mystery begins. I'm going to enjoy this so much as this might be the defining year of Theodore's character later on. I'm just going to keep this short and brief and I'll see you in the next chapter. Hoped you enjoyed. Later.**


	13. Chapter 13: Parental Possession

Four days in, and Theodore still had no clue as to where the Chamber of Secrets could have been hidden. During the lunch hours, he would excuse himself from the others, trying to find any secret passageway that would lead to such a place. Of course, there were multiple tunnels and doors that led to different parts of the school but none of them screamed 'Chamber of Secrets'. This however, was not going to deter the young heir as he was certain that he was capable of finding the hidden chamber. Not to purge the school of Muggle-borns like Slytherin intended, but just out of grand curiosity.

The second-year Gryffindors were sat in the Great Hall on the first Friday afternoon, starting on the strenuous homework that had been dumped on them, most of the weight coming from Snape and McGonagall. They were all huddled up against each other, arguing over who got a question wrong and why they were right themselves, then turning to Theodore and Hermione to see if they were correct. Hermione was more than happy to help but Theodore was adamant on not helping anybody. The Chamber and his father's diary occupied most of his thinking space, not concerning himself with the homework that had been handed to him.

"Are you listening to me? Theodore!" Hermione snapped her fingers in front of the dazed boy's nose, forcing him to listen. "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling ill?"

"What? No, nothing like that. Just got something on the brain, that's all." Theodore replied as he returned back to his contemplation. Another snap of the fingers.

"Well, don't doze off, you have homework to do."

"I'll do it later." Hermione placed a hand on Theodore's forehead, making him flinch backwards at the sudden contact. "I said I'm not ill, Hermione. I'm fine."

"You of all people, don't want to do your homework? That's a first! But you really should do it. Professor McGonagall gave us an essay task to give in next Monday, and I know that you don't want to upset her." Theodore nodded then sighed. He opened up his parchment roll, dipped his quill in ink and started to write the essay. As he pressed the tip of the quill against the parchment, his hand remained frozen for a horrible thought came to mind. What if Slytherin had left a clue for his heir, but it was inside the Slytherin dormitory? What if he could never get to it because of the absurd sorting that had occurred last year? He blinked furiously as many other questions flicked through his mind. What he didn't notice was that the ink had mostly soiled the parchment as it was leaking along the table.

"Theo, man! Look at what you're doing!" Seamus said as he watched the ink drip onto the floor. Theodore quickly used his robe to clear the mess and carefully folded the ruined parchment.

"Are you sure you're not ill," asked Hermione as a look of concern was upon her face. Theodore simply nodded and rotated his things around for Ron to sit next to him. Harry sat beside Hermione and the two of them slammed their mountainous stack of books down.

"Good," sighed Ron, "you're both here. Let's get this stupid essay out of the way so that we can relax. What's all this gunk?" Theodore apologised and wiped the spare ink away.

"Did you see how much work Snape loaded onto us? The guy is probably still sore about how we weren't expelled for our entrance." Harry complained as he flipped through a Potions worksheet.

"Don't worry, it's all easy stuff. I'll help you."

"Thanks, Hermione." Ron turned his head to Theodore and tried to give Theodore a sympathetic look to try and persuade him, but Theodore just thought he looked confused.

"You going to help a red head out? Snape's just doing my head in." Theodore brought his face a bit closer to Ron, signalling him that he had something important to say.

"You know Ginny? Do you know if she keeps a diary with her? Like recently?"

"A bit of an odd question to ask. Most little girls have diaries these days, maybe even Hermione."

"I meant a diary that's not really… hers." Ron's facial expression now matched his current emotion as he was puzzled by Theodore's question.

"Theo, you're not trying to… you know…" Theodore shook his head and palms in an offended manner.

"What, no! That's your sister! She's eleven and I'm twelve, for God's sake! Why would you think- wait, there's Ginny now!" Theodore collected his things quickly as he abandoned Ron to complete the homework himself. Ginny was leaving the Great Hall by herself, holding something black against her chest. Theodore immediately thought that it was the diary and practically ran after her, before almost crashing into Professor McGonagall.

"Good Lord, Mr Riddle! Do not run when there are tight corners!"

"Sorry, Professor," said the boy quickly as he attempted to stop Ginny but McGonagall held him in place.

"Ah ah ah! I was coming down for you. The headmaster wanted to see you. Said that he wanted to catch up with you, seeing as you barely interacted during the summer." Theodore bit his lip as he watched the red headed girl disappear around the corner and blew out of his nostrils loudly. He reluctantly agreed to see Dumbledore and made his way up the castle. Just before he left, McGonagall had told him that the password was 'Acid Pops', not wanting the boy to stay locked from the outside without no way to enter.

The journey to the Headmaster's Office felt shorter than last year as he felt as if his legs became stronger as a result. He reached the gargoyle and spoke the password, allowing him to enter. Dumbledore's office still looked zany, possibly a reflection of the old man himself, and still housed the magnificent phoenix, Fawkes. The bird looked spry, much more healthy and a lot more lively as well. He gurgled at Theodore softly, probably greeting the boy in his own language. Theodore came closer to look at the bird when he heard the voice, coming from the other end of the office.

"Good to see you again, Theodore!"

"Hello, Professor." Theodore turned away from Fawkes and sat down on the chair opposite to Dumbledore. The man did not wear his spectacles and his wizard hat was hanging off the side of his chair, revealing the silvery glowing locks of hair that resided on his head. Dumbledore looked quite pleased to see the boy.

"I hope the first week has treated you well. How was it?"

"It was fine, I guess. I've got way too much homework, but I'll manage. Especially from Professor Snape." Dumbledore's chuckles felt like music in Theodore's ears. He had to admit that it was good to see him as well.

"Ahh, how the young mind grows. Such a wonder. So, from what I've heard, you returned to Stuggle's a few days before school started, am I correct?" Theodore nodded. "Whether you followed my advice or not, I'm happy that you made the right choice in the end. Do not think of this as a punishment, dear boy. Dark forces are arising as we must protect our own. You understand?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good. And I almost forgot, Professor Snape has still kept your position as his apprentice open, if you still want it. I would highly recommend that you'd do so. I can see you achieving the highest number of N.E.W.T's available in your seventh year, if you keep with your duties."

"You think so," asked Theodore curiously. He remembered how the seventh-year students from last year broke down into tears and fits of anger during their final exams. Didn't seem like a big deal to him but he wasn't so keen on throwing himself into table as well.

"Of course! If you allow your distractions to become distracted, then you will achieve anything, I promise you dear boy."

"How can you make your distractions become… you know what? I'll just keep that for later. May I be excused?" Dumbledore allowed the boy to leave the room and bade him farewell with a bag of sherbet lemons in his hands. Odd but wonderful, that was Dumbledore in his entirety.

The first weekend had arrived and Theodore was sleeping peacefully in the early Autumn morning, aside from all of the shuffling Oliver and the Quidditch team made. He heard a lot of groans as Oliver barked at his team players to wake up at the very early morn. Theodore lazily eyed every single one of them trudge down the spiral staircase, some even tripping downwards, although the sniggering twins may have been responsible for it. Everything seemed to calm down when Theodore felt something nibble against his right ear. He ignored it briefly until the thing decided to stop nibbling, and to start screeching. Theodore shot up straight from his bed as Sawer stopped the racket with a letter attached to his leg.

"Stupid bird. You should've waited for me to get up first, instead of screaming in my ear." Looking the exact opposite of offended, Sawer hooted happily as Theodore detached the letter and read it in his head:

 _Dear Theodore,_

 _I'm glad that you're having fun over there. I'm having the time of my life here (but not that much!) and I can't wait until Christmas time comes along! We probably might not see each other then but at least we're still talking. I'll do my absolute best to send you something (remember, I said my best)._

 _Anyways, I overheard the Reagul's talking with the Madam over the phone about you apparently running away from Stuggle's. I don't know what awful thing had happened to you for you to do something like that. Gretchen couldn't be that mean, could she?_

 _But what I really wanted to tell you was that starting next summer, Mr &Mrs Reagul and I, are going for a worldwide cruise, stopping at almost every country imaginable! Can you believe it? They said that it could take probably almost half a year but that it would be worth it. I seriously wish that you could be here with me. It's not the same without you._

 _From Louise, still Free. XXX_

 _P.S. Thanks for the sweets! Love them! I also put a picture of myself inside the letter, so you should keep yours coming._

It was funny how the two thought that Theodore would've gotten adopted first, yet Theodore had nobody to speak of who genuinely wanted him to live with them. All he knew was that Louise deserved every second of it, much more than he did.

He picked up the photograph from inside the letter and gazed upon the smiling girl. This time, Louise had her hair free and wild, resembling the way that she used to keep her hair. She was standing underneath an umbrella and was wearing an expensive-looking coat along with sleek black leather gloves. How could a girl of twelve years old be so photogenic? He carried on staring at the eyes that he missed so much, until he remembered what he had planned to do on the weekend. The photograph was placed in the photobook and the letter was sided in the bag.

After getting clean for the day, Theodore entered the main part of the common room and saw Harry trying to resist Colin's attempts to gain another photograph from him. Harry looked like he was on the verge of cursing the small boy out when he noticed Theodore leaning against the red comfy chair, doing his best to contain his laughter to which he failed.

"I don't know why you're trying to get away, Harry." Theodore said through snorting snickers. "You are a celebrity after all." Harry weaved around Colin and stood behind Theodore. He seemed to have a certain plan in mind which confused the Parselmouth.

"Great! I can get a shot with your best friend! Say cheese!" Theodore gave the boy a venomous stare which almost petrified him. Colin lowered his camera slowly and frowned a little. "Or I could just get one later. I don't mind…"

"Have fun playing Quidditch with your new friend, Harry!" Theodore shouted as Harry jumped through the portrait hole. Colin tripped over as he ran after him, asking multiple questions before closing the portrait behind him. After retrieving the Founders book along with his wand, Theodore journeyed over to the Great Hall to fill himself up before he would resume his search for the hidden chamber. He had to search behind every single crevasse of the castle, look into every room, even the teachers' bedrooms if he had to. The chamber had to be real, no way it could've only been a legend.

The Great Hall was fairly empty as it was mostly occupied with seventh year students, doing early morning revision among themselves. Some were curious as to why a second year was up so early. Theodore sat near the further end and filled up his plate with stacks of pancakes, scrambled eggs on the side with baked beans, buttered and jam toast, a plate of waffles and a nice large goblet full of refilling orange juice. He was aware that most people were watching him eat a ridiculous amount of food but he honestly didn't care. A couple of older girls 'aww' him but the sensation of his enormous breakfast felt too good to even notice. How he remained skinny was probably a bigger mystery than where the Chamber of Secrets was.

"Morning, Theo!" Ron called from the Great Hall doors. Hermione was walking alongside him as they both were in casual clothing. They both sat either side to the hazel-eyed boy and began to discuss Theodore's eating habits.

"Did you eat all of that?" Hermione asked in shock. Theodore nodded as he covered his mouth to mask a rising burp.

"Wow! You should come over to my house sometime! My mum would cook up an entire feast just for you!"

"You think," said Theodore excitedly. With the amount of children that were inside the Weasley family, he would expect the meals to be quite grand.

"Yeah! So, are you coming with us to watch Harry play Quidditch? I know you don't like it but it'll be fun." Theodore hadn't forgotten about what he was planning to do.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I'm still doing that apprentice thing with Snape. I have to be in the dungeons for the entire morning." Theodore lied.

"We'll have marmalade toast and bacon sandwiches," protested Hermione. "It's literally the first weekend. Even I'm not doing anything school related today!" The day wasn't going anywhere. And Hermione was right, it was the beginning of the school year. But obsession was the dominant force in this situation and Theodore knew that it wouldn't go away until he would achieve his goals.

"I'll go for five minutes. Then I'll leave." Theodore decided.

"Awesome. We can go right now. Also, were you okay yesterday night? I heard some hissing coming from your corner." Ron said.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. It was probably just my snake."

"You have a snake?!" The trio walked out of the Great Hall, talking about Viripin and how dangerous it was to have her inside of the dormitory. Ron was absolutely against it while Theodore was the opposite. Hermione was the middle man and played a lot of good points either side but Ron accused her of leaning towards Theodore, which he correctly suspected. They walked out of the castle and across the grounds until they reached the Quidditch fields. The stands were trouble to walk up as they were many stories up in the air. They settled in as Hermione handed out marmalade-spread toast to both of the boys. Theodore watched Harry soar and dive in the fresh sunny morning, with Oliver barking at the twins who taunted the captain to chase them. One minute passed.

"I've been thinking about taking Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes next year but I also want to take Muggle Studies as well, since it would probably be the easiest for me. Of course, Divination is also a choice but I think it's rather useless. I've heard that the teacher for the class is quite looney and- Theodore? Theodore!"

"Yes Hermione, I heard everything that you had to say! You don't have to keep on poking me in my arm!"

"You've been awfully distracted all week. What's the matter? Tell me, now." Hermione instructed. Theodore wasn't going to tell her the truth but she'd know if he was telling a lie. He might as well. He couldn't have her trying to convince him every passing second that he was doing the wrong thing. This was for him, only. Two minutes passed.

"It's nothing. I was just… thinking about something. But I'm over it, don't worry." Hermione was burning into him. He remained still and calm for the predator that was called Hermione could pounce at any sign of weakness. She carried on looking at the closed off boy with suspicion as she knew that he was lying. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. If she carried on pestering him into asking what was the problem, it would've probably grown into a full on argument between the two. It was too early for that.

"Colin, stop taking pictures of Harry! He doesn't want to!" Ron said from around the corner. The red headed boy had scolded Colin for snapping secret pictures of Harry flying the air and was about to snatch his camera when he groaned loudly. Hermione and Theodore asked him what was wrong when Ron pointed to the lower field. Theodore could make out a few people walking on the pitch with emerald robes and sleek black broomsticks in their hands. No doubt were they the Slytherin Quidditch team, and no doubt would there be trouble kicking off between them and Gryffindor. Three minutes passed.

The trio and Colin rushed into the field to see the two captains butt heads with each other. It seemed that Slytherins had apparently booked the fields with special permission from Snape himself. Theodore didn't think that the suspicious professor held so much weight in something as useless as Quidditch but still felt annoyed for some reason. Maybe because he wasn't looking for the Chamber.

"Who's your new Seeker?" Oliver said as he peered around the cluster of Slytherins. They all paved way for Draco to walk through dramatically as he smirked iconically. Theodore remembered that Draco must've gotten a broomstick the day he went with the Malfoy's to Diagon Alley. Guess he wasn't going to use it for show. Four minutes passed.

"No need to look so stupid, Weasley. This really is happening."

"Since when did you care about playing for the team, Malfoy?" Ron gritted.

"Ever since I got this broom. You like it? Courtesy of my father. He supplied the entire team with Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. The privileges of having wealth on your side. What could YOUR father buy for you anyways?" Theodore stopped Ron from lunging at Draco as the blonde boy's attention turned to him. "You alright, Theo? Father says that he's happy that you liked the gift."

"Malfoy giving you gifts now," muttered Ron under his breath. Theodore sensed a bit of spite in his voice but simply ignored it. A disaster was just waiting to spiral out onto the field.

"The pitch is ours, Wood," said Flint nastily, "so you can go take the little pussies you call a team, out of here."

"You watch your dirty mouth, Flint! Or I'll punch it off clean!" Oliver growled. Fred and George held Oliver back from doing anything stupid and proceeded to walk away with the rest of the team. Theodore followed suit and told Harry, Ron and Hermione that he was leaving. He had wasted enough time already. Five minutes passed.

"Theodore! Wait up!" Draco was walking towards the boy he called out for and had a secretive look upon his face. Theodore was not liking these sudden interactions in front of everyone else. He turned around and waited on the spot for Draco to come towards him.

"Yes, Draco? I need to be somewhere, it's urgent."

"Then I'll be quick. My father-" Hermione was suddenly by Theodore's side as she held onto his wrist tightly with slight anger on her face.

"Come on, Theodore. We're leaving."

"I'll be just a second, just-"

"Now!" Theodore's face darkened. Hermione was usually bossy around him and the others but she needed to put herself in check right now. Nobody told Theodore what to do like that. He took her hand off his wrist and turned to Draco.

"I said that I'll be just a second. Go." He said quietly.

"Theodore, I'm not going-"

"He told you to leave!" Draco shouted. Hermione frowned as she looked at the smug boy.

"Piss off, Malfoy." Draco and Theodore were taken back by Hermione's choice of words. She never said anything like that, not even close. Everything would've been fine, if she walked away the first time or if Malfoy had kept his mouth shut.

"Don't you ever say that to me, dirty little Mudblood!"

And everything was spiralling out of control like Theodore had predicted. Apparently, both teams had been listening to their conversation from afar, and had caught on to every single word that they had to say, including Draco's. Ron came sprinting over as did the other Gryffindors, and was shrieking curse words to Draco. Theodore too, was livid at Draco and held him by the scruff of his neck.

"Take that back, Draco! Take it back!" Theodore was suddenly tackled by Flint as he felt his entire body slam onto the ground. He hit his head pretty hard against the pitch grounds but was lucky that it wasn't wintertime. Hermione helped him up to his feet as he furiously searched for his wand. He grabbed it and aimed at Flint, who genuinely looked afraid at the second-year's fury. Normally, he'd laugh at the given situation but when he saw a flash of crimson appear in his eyes, he took a few steps backwards.

"Theo, put it down, he's not worth it!" Hermione shouted. Emotions were flying around Theodore's head. He was too amped up on rage to not curse the ugly captain. He would've followed through had Ron not made a fool out of himself while trying to curse Draco.

Everyone else except Theodore and Flint ran to Ron as he was hit by a rebounding spell from his broken wand. Theodore breathed out heavily and lowered his wand to go aid his friend. Theodore was walking directly to the clumped Gryffindors and was going to ask if Ron was alright when everybody broke apart immediately. Theodore rushed to Ron, thinking that something serious might've happened to him.

"Ron! Ron! Why would you try curse Malfoy, you're wand is- oh my god!" Theodore backed up quickly as Ron burped up a stomach-full of slugs onto his lap. The Parselmouth was disgusted. "The Slug-Vomiting Charm… nice one, Ron."

"Shut up and help-" Ron vomited a few more as the Gryffindors cringed while the Slytherins laughed. Harry told him and Hermione that they should take him to Hagrid's Hut, as it was much closer than the infirmary. The two agreed and proceeded to lift Ron up from his arms and legs. Harry and Hermione held him under each armpit while Theodore held his slime-ridden legs. He was not happy at all.

After telling Colin to go away, and after quickly dodging Lockhart who was visiting Hagrid for some reason, the trio held a slumped Ron to the half-giant's door and knocked rapidly. Hagrid opened the door and was overjoyed to see them but was ignored as they rushed inside to throw Ron on Hagrid's high chair.

"Now why would yer try ter use a broken wand, Ron? They aren't the best ones ter use, yer know."

"Is there anything to stop this from happening, Hagrid?" Hermione asked nervously as she patted Ron on the back. He was given a bucket to release all the slugs his body could produce, and it all looked painful.

"Nothin' like good ol' treacle fudge can't fix. I'll fix it up for yer." Hagrid said happily as he opened up a large tin can, the size of a pumpkin. Ron thanked him before burping up another shower of slugs. Harry asked why Lockhart was coming from his hut's direction and Hagrid suddenly became furious. "The idiot wanted ter 'help' me catch kelpies in a well! Thinks I don't know how ter run the place! Gets me mad, thinkin' bout it."

"I'm sure he was just trying to help," said Hermione softly. "Dumbledore hired him so he must be good."

"Nonsense! You can't look me in the eye and tell me that there was nobody better than Lockhart! Hell, I think that Theo could be a better teacher than him, and I mean it! It mostly bin like this, teachers coming in and out. DADA is a strange post to take up, these days. So, why'd you try to curse somebody with your broken wand, Ron? Must've had a good reason."

"It was Draco," said Theodore from the corner darkly. He was busy looking out of the window as he listened to what Hagrid had to say about Lockhart. "Called her a Mudblood."

"NO!" Hagrid shouted. The little exposure of skin that his bearded face would allow turned pink as his eyes grew wide with anger. "How dare he! He should be expelled for that!"

"Um, I don't know what that means. But it must be bad, judging from how everyone reacted. Including Theodore." Hagrid turned to the boy who was still looking outside the window.

"It means- ' _urggh'_ dirty blood. Used for Muggle-borns. They say Mudblood because- ' _urggh'_ some wizarding families think that Muggle-borns are inferior compared to them. Because they haven't got any real- ' _urggh'_ magic blood. But we all know that doesn't matter." Ron explained.

"He's right. Blood status doesn't mean a single thing. Look at you, Hermione. You're a Muggle-born yet you're better than Malfoy. He couldn't do half the things you can in class, I'm sure of it." Harry stated. Hermione smiled as she went a bit red.

"Thank you." She said quietly. Hagrid held her tiny hands in his immensely large ones. All anger had been replaced by sincerity and ease.

"You don't ever, and I mean EVER, think that yer are lower than anyone else. You're a brilliant, smart young girl who could fight the world if you could. You are amazing, you hear me? Amazing!" Hermione went into a deeper shade of red as she smiled at Hagrid's encouragement. Theodore was still not looking but slightly admired that Hagrid did not have a single bad bone in his body. He tapped against the window, looking at the larger than usual pumpkins that were growing in Hagrid's garden. He felt like a traitor, being friends with Draco. Well, they were friends. Theodore was going to cut off all ties with him, no way was he going to be friends with him again.

"Why did he even call you that anyways?" Hagrid asked. Hermione looked at Theodore then back to Hagrid.

"He… wanted to tell Theo something. I thought that it was just something nasty but…" She looked at the boy again. "I guess he didn't want me in the conversation."

"This true, Theo?" Theodore turned to them, then nodded. "Yer shouldn't get involved with those folks, Theo. Draco's father ain't the type of person that yer would want ter be around as a friend. Stay away from him, okay?" Theodore nodded once more. As Hagrid and Harry helped Ron with the full bucket and fudge, Hermione walked over to Theodore, looking quite saddened by what happened.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Are you okay? You took quite of a hit back there. Wait, your lip, it's bleeding!" Theodore pressed his finger against his bottom lip and saw that he was indeed bleeding. He sucked the cut and resumed talking.

"Just a small cut. It'll be fine."

…

"Are you really going to stop being friends with Malfoy?"

"Yeah, I promise… I'm sorry for not following you back there. If I did, then he wouldn't have called you a… you know." Hermione held Theodore's right hand with her both of hers. They were soft and warm, just like Hermione's eyes, despite the redness from before.

"Don't be. I have to admit, it was nice seeing you stick up for me, even though I wouldn't want you to get into trouble. You looked like you were going to seriously curse Flint."

"I was."

…

"Oh! Don't you have to go somewhere?" Hermione squealed. Theodore looked over to see Harry stuffing fudge down Ron's mouth then Hagrid slapping his back after choking. Ron flew across the room but luckily landed on Hagrid's wide bed.

"Actually, I think I'll stay. It's only the first week after all." Theodore showed Hermione his rare genuine smiles, causing her to redden so quickly. She released his hand from her grasp and quickly followed the other three outside to look at Hagrid's abnormally large pumpkins. All four children were impressed by the size of them and was eager to ask how he got them to grow so big when Ron burped up another handful of slugs near the pumpkins. Hagrid picked the red headed boy up like a doll and placed him far away from his garden. The other three laughed at Hagrid's worried face and soon enough, they all said goodbye to the half-giant and was all set to feast on the awaited lunch ahead of them.

But out of nowhere, the four children were intercepted by McGonagall within the open corridors and were told disheartening news. Well, for Harry and Ron that is.

"Please, Professor! I'll do it next Saturday! Even in the break of dawn!" Harry protested. "Please, just… don't make me stay with Professor Lockhart!"

"My decision is final, Potter, and you'll help him with his fan mail. The more you detest the punishment given to you, the better it is for those who suffered." McGonagall said strictly.

"Please? Not even Friday? I'll stay up as late as you want me to. Please?" McGonagall was about to quickly chastise the boy for trying to make a deal with her, but then allowed the detention to pushed further back.

"But you will stay up for the entire night, Potter! Including you, Weasley. Don't think of this as leniency. You both are still in deep, deep trouble. Now, off you go." Theodore could see the two cheer on the inside as they managed to sway the immovable object known as McGonagall, and followed behind them until McGonagall held Theodore to the side.

"Yes, Professor? Is there something wrong?" The deputy headmaster had a rare softness across her face as Theodore felt confused. She leaned in a little and spoke in a whisper so quiet that Theodore could barely hear her.

"Is Miss Granger alright? I noticed that she had a tear in her eye and I'm certain that allergies has nothing to do with it." Hermione was standing around the corner with the boys, waiting for Theodore as she seemed to be arguing with Ron about 'evading' the detention.

"She's fine, Professor. Something was bothering her but she's fine now, no need to worry." McGonagall had a sigh of relief and leaned backwards.

"That's good. For a second, I thought that she was… I'm glad that she's okay. Now, off you go. Lunch will be ready now." Theodore said goodbye and rejoined his friends as they walked to the Great Hall. Ron and Harry had a victorious look upon their faces but Theodore knew that it wouldn't last long as the week would surely speed up, just for them. The two rule-breakers just didn't know it yet.

Theodore did his best to try and avoid Draco after the skirmish on Saturday. He stuck to his word and used every opportunity to dive into a nearby classroom that were full of older children, even Filch's grubby closet, just to get away from him. It didn't even look like Draco wanted to talk to him as Theodore could see him from the corner of his eye, burning his stare into the back of his skull. It was probably for the best. Draco had crossed over the line by a mile after calling Hermione a Mudblood, and Theodore couldn't let that slide. No, he would just have to carry on doing this for the next five years. If only it were that easy.

The young Parselmouth exited the dungeons as he had finished working with Snape on recording the ingredients within the Potions Cupboard. The tasks felt a little more meaningful than those of last year but he knew that he could be doing more. Snape knew that as well but obviously, why would he help a student who was not in his own house excel? Wasn't like the professor at all. Theodore walked up the moving steps of the castle to reach the second floor corridor, as it was quickest way to Lockhart's classroom to hand in the 'special' essay about Lockhart's school life. Unfortunately, the self-obsessed 'professor' had suddenly taken an interest in Theodore as well, recognising the attention that Theodore had gained from the female students. Lockhart had decided to take Theodore under his wing and would give him useless tips on how to 'keep them wanting more'. Theodore had no clue as to what he meant by that and refused to understand anything that the man had to say to him. He must've been blinder than the most decrepit bat if anything Hermione said about him was true.

He finally reached the second floor corridor and paced quickly along, wishing that he could be in and out with Lockhart, but the person that he dared not to meet, instantly appeared around the corner with Crabbe and Goyle by his side.

"You watch me on the next game, guys. Potter is going to have two scars on his forehead by the time I'm done with him. He won't see it coming!" Draco bragged as he walked down the corridor.

"Hey, d'you think he'll fall off his broom this time," said Goyle stupidly. "The skinny git would break like a twig if he smashes against the floor." Both he and Crabbe laughed horribly as they followed the smaller blonde boy. Draco chuckled at the horrid comment and carried on walking when he stopped by the second floor bathroom doors.

"What's wrong, Draco?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Draco peered inside the ajar door of the abandoned girls' bathroom, squinting in between the opening.

"I could've sworn I heard somebody walk inside there…" Crabbe and Goyle towered over Draco and peered into the crack as well. "Do you guys know why this place was left alone?" The burly pair shook their heads. "Of course, you wouldn't. Around fifty years ago, a Mudblood died in that very bathroom."

"How," asked Crabbe.

"Some say that it was a monster from inside of the school that killed her. A monster that lives somewhere in the school."

…

"Where?" Draco hit Goyle around his ear.

"Stop being an idiot! How could I know where it lives? Come on, we stayed here long enough. I shouldn't be anywhere near a Mudblood's tomb."

Theodore hid himself right behind the very door that the three Slytherins had talked behind. Every single word from Draco had been etched into his mind, further adding on to what he had already known. Not only has the Chamber been opened recently, but a Heir of Slytherin had successfully used whatever the hell lived in there, and actually killed a Muggle-born. Right in this very place. He should've been disgusted to the hairs on his head but curiosity once again, got the better of him as he walked around the bathroom. It was somewhat circular with a diverging aisle of cubicles leading to the other end of the bathroom. Most of the doors looked worn and old with flaking green paint and the sinks had all grown cities of black masses, forming inside and under. The tiles on the floor were dusty and cracked and the ceiling seemingly reflected all of that. This was definitely a place where somebody could've died. However, the most out of place thing inside the locked off bathroom was the central collection of sinks that looked pristine compared to everything else.

"Hello," said the boy to himself as he walked closer to it, "what do we have here?" He looked at himself through the slight soiled mirror and took a while to take in what he saw. He couldn't see why girls were so infatuated with him but he could see his mother through himself. He pressed his cheeks with his cold fingertips and breathed heavily. He shouldn't be feeling sentimental at an urgent time like this. The Chamber was all that mattered now. Not his mother.

"I WON'T DO IT!"

Theodore spun around quickly as the shrill voice snapped inside his ears. He looked around everywhere as nobody came into his line of vision, but he was certain that it was real. Somebody else was inside the bathroom but decided to toy with the boy by hiding somewhere. Theodore sucked in a good portion of air and spoke out loud.

"Come out and face me… if you're brave enough. Come out-" Ginny dashed out from one of the cubicles near the end of the bathroom and quickly cowered behind Theodore, like she was running from somebody, or something. Theodore pulled her off himself and sternly asked her if it was she that screamed.

"I-I… I'm so sorry Theodore… so sorry…" Ginny was beginning to look queasy as her face turned into a nasty shade of green. Theodore lowered himself slightly to come face to face with the shorter girl.

"Ginny, are you okay? Hey, look at me. Are you okay? What's the-" Theodore looked down to her hands as she clenched the diary from before, tightly in her grasp. Theodore stared at it some more and looked back up to her. "Ginny, talk to me. Why do have that diary? And why do you look deathly ill?" Ginny raised her quivering hands to Theodore as she presented the diary to him. A few tears were streaming down her face, replacing her green shade to a deep magenta.

"Take it… he wanted you to have it… please, take it… please…" Ginny looked like she had maimed a baby and was destroyed by her guilt. Theodore had no idea why she was giving him the diary or why she said 'he wanted him to have it'. Did she mean his father? She shouldn't even have any idea as to who his parents were. Theodore held onto the diary and tugged it away from the girl, who was still clutching onto the diary as hard as she could. With one final tug, the diary was now in Theodore's possession, where it finally belonged.

Ginny shook her head as her body shuddered a little before she suddenly ran outside of the bathroom. Theodore watched her leave without thinking of stopping her and instead gazed at the diary instead. It was warm, a different type of warm of when somebody would hold onto it for a long period of time. It had a warmth which felt… alive. It felt… alive. Theodore closed his eyes as he could feel something quickly conduct through his nerves at lightning speed. Whatever that was, it felt good. Too good. Maybe the Chamber of Secrets could wait out a little longer this time.

"Snape is not going to let us be partners again this year. Did you know that he partnered you up with Malfoy?" Hermione said from the other side of the sofa. Theodore was sat cross-legged on the floor, his father's diary spread wide open on the table in front of the crackling fire. He didn't respond to his friend's question and carried on looking.

"He's gone off again." Ron said as he refitted a new coating of sellotape along his wand. "You should just leave him. He's obviously in shock about working with Malfoy." Hermione didn't agree and instead knelt down next to the silent boy and jogged his shoulder.

"Theo…"

"Huh? Yes."

"Did you hear what I just said?" Theodore looked at her confused and scratched his temple. He was out of it for a good half hour.

"No, I didn't. What was it again?" Hermione looked up to Harry, who looked equally as concerned. "What?"

"Theodore, what's so important about that diary in front of you?" Theodore closed it immediately and stood up from the ground. He felt hopelessly drained and needed some sleep.

"Nothing. It's uh… it belonged to my father. I'm going to sleep now. I feel tired. Goodnight guys." He walked over to the boys' dormitory stairway when Hermione held him back gently with a hand to the forearm. She looked at him like he was troubled close one that had refused to rehabilitate himself from a destructive addiction.

"Theodore…"

"I'm fine, Hermione. Really. I just need to sleep that's all." Theodore released himself from her grip and walked up the stairs while catching a glimpse of Ginny staring at him intently. He walked over to his bed and got underneath the sheets with the diary still in hand. After looking through it countless of times, Theodore was perplexed as to why it was completely empty. Not a single entry at all. Not 'the very first day of Hogwarts' or 'aced all of my N.E.W.T's', nothing. Completely vacant. Theodore refused to believe that this diary was ordinary. Ginny held onto it like her life depended on it, and now he could feel something 'move' from within it.

"What's inside of here, Dad? What does this diary mean?" He whispered. Viripin placed her head upon Theodore's lap and greeted him tiredly.

" _Are you going to sleep soon?"_

"Uh… yes. In fact, I'm going to sleep right now. I feel so tired and I don't know why." He yawned noisily as he chucked the diary near the edge of his bed and slammed the back of his head onto the pillow. His sudden weariness sent him straight to sleep, not bothered to say goodnight to Viripin. All he could think about was his father, the Chamber and dead Muggle-born in the abandoned bathroom.

 _Theodore was inside the bathroom once more. He didn't know how he got there, or what was even the time. The windows were purely white as was behind the door which led to pretty much nowhere. The entire bathroom looked freshly constructed, not a single crack, stain or smudge anywhere. The cubicles looked clean, the tiles looked clean, everything was clean. Except the central sinks. Dirty green moss had infected them, growing in the oddest shapes possible. As Theodore looked more carefully, he noticed that little snakes began to spurt out from the moss, telling him to 'Open it' again and again and again. Theodore didn't understand._

" _Open what? What do you want me to open?"_

" _Here…" A voice called out to him from the sinks. He circled around them slowly, staring at his reflection through each mirror until he paused at a certain one. The boy in the mirror was not him. He looked almost identical to him, but it wasn't him. He had a stronger looking jawline, his hair was the right mixture of messy and neat, his face was sharp and pale, and his hazel eyes- wait. It was him. Only a few years older. Theodore looked at his older reflection, who had cunning written all over his face. He wore the Slytherin Hogwarts robes and was smiling deviously._

" _Fresh blood… Slytherin's blood.. our blood. Open it, Theodore. Do it!"_

" _The… the Chamber? You want me to open the Chamber of Secrets?" The elder Theodore nodded maliciously as his eyes turned red. Theodore looked fearful of his reflection as he began to back away slowly. The elder Theodore began to laugh in a high voice, slowly morphing out through the mirror while beckoning forwards. Theodore watched in horror as his older self began to change. His skin started to become waxy and scaly, shifting into a bone-white tone. His lips became thin slowly until they were nonexistent. The hair on his head shrunk, leaving behind a pale scalp with blue veins running across. His nose was pushed back into his face until all that was left were two slits. The elder Theodore pierced into the younger one's eyes with his own slits and carried on laughing till he stopped abruptly. He stopped until they were face to face, mere inches away from each other, looking with silence holding their tongues._

…

" _OPEN IT!"_

Theodore snapped back into reality, breathing profoundly as he tried to recover from the nightmare. He saw himself change into that 'thing'. That 'thing' was something that he saw from before. Something from last year. Theodore felt a shiver coming from his feet as he realised that he was not inside his bed. Standing upright, he was inside the second floor bathroom at god knows what time. The moonlight shone upon the central sinks as they beamed the reflections all across the bathroom like a disco ball.

' _How did I even get- what… the fuck? Why do I have the diary in my hand?'_

Tom Riddle's diary was in his grip, somehow. Theodore was starting to freak out a little. He had a dream about suddenly waking up inside of the creepy bathroom and here he actually was. This was no dream, for sure. He could feel the cold tiles against his bare feet, the air from the open windows flowing against his skin. This was real.

' _Did I sleepwalk? I've never sleepwalked in my life. What the hell is going on?!'_

 _Open it…_

A sudden urge fell over Theodore as he felt compelled to move towards the central sinks. He was drawn towards it. Something about them attracted him. He could feel something… something that needed him. Theodore slowly walked to the same mirror in his dream and looked at himself. A perfect reflection. He looked around the sinks, searching through every gap and every tap for that one thing. There it was. Etched on the side of the tap was an engraved snake, winding in a 'S' shape. Theodore traced it until he realised what this was. This…

"The Chamber of Secrets… it's here." Theodore quickly turned the tap to see no water run from it. His obsession had grown exponentially as he knocked on every corner of the tap. The entrance had to be there somewhere. It had to.

 _Speak…_

Theodore took a step back and thought for a second. He faced the tap silently, then said what he needed to.

"Open." He hissed in Parseltongue. There was a click as the sinks began to rotate anti-clockwise. After three rotations, the sink that had the snake-engraved tap sunk down into the ground as the others moved further away to reveal a hole inside of the ground. Theodore wanted to shout in victory as he found it. It had barely been two weeks and he found the entrance of the Chamber. He didn't know how exactly he made it to the bathroom but he was sure that his intuition was strong enough to lift him to the very place. He was brilliant in that way.

Theodore walked over to the pipe and stared downwards. A black hole. He didn't know if there was any way back up but if Slytherin was as great as Theodore thought he would be, he would have nothing to worry about. Theodore was about to jump straight inside until he felt something rigid in his pyjama pocket. His wand. Good. He was glad that he unconsciously thought to bring some protection as well. Who knew what was down there. Holding on tightly to the diary and his wand, Theodore gave a good lift against the ground and plummeted straight down.

The pipe twisted and turned at violent corners, it's slime reducing the friction between the boy and the pipe itself, sending him faster and faster downwards. As he raced deeper down the school, he could see diverging tunnels that looked smaller than the main one, probably going off to the other parts of the castle. After two more minutes of sliding through, the pipe shot the Parselmouth right out, sending him rolling across a damp, stoned floor with rough edges. Theodore wheezed as he felt a gashing pain form on his right shoulder. He winced as he pressed against it and was sure that it was deep wound. He grabbed his wand and pointed it at the cut, trying to remember the spell that Dumbledore had used last year when he scraped his palms.

"Uh… uh… _Vulnera Sanentur_!" Theodore could feel his shoulder knit back together as the pain subsided. Sighing in relief, he pocketed his wand but realised that the diary had fell out of his hand. Wherever he was, it had no light whatsoever and was so humid, he felt like drowning any second now. He casted a charm which lit the tip of his wand so brightly that it filled the corners of the room. The diary was beneath his feet and the second he picked it right up, the unexplained sensation fell over him again.

 _Go through… the tunnel…_

Theodore pointed his wand towards the tunnel on the far end and followed through with his unusually loud 'sixth sense'. Theodore walked slowly, casually observing the slime that hung off the walls. He must've been underneath someplace with a lot of water, probably the Black Lake. He continued forward until he felt a searing pain of something pricking the soles of his feet. He hopped backwards and pointed his wand towards the ground. Hundreds, probably thousands, of small animal bones laid all in front of him, rats mostly. Theodore instinctively knew what do.

" _Ventus_!" Instead of precise streams of air being released, a wide spread of a powerful gust blew out from Theodore's wand, creating a wide pathway for him to walk through. Impressed with himself and his power, Theodore strolled forwards, keeping his wand and diary close to him.

' _I can't believe it. I actually found the Chamber of Secrets! This is… this is…'_

 _Your birthright…_

" _Yes… my birthright…"_

The tunnel lead on and on until he reached the end. The Heir of Slytherin faced the circular door made of rusted steel, holding seven faded-green snakes that were aligned with each other. Theodore touched the lowest snake and closed his eyes. Behind this door was the real thing. His destiny, his heritage, his blood… all that belonged to him, behind the snake door. He swallowed for he wanted his pronunciation to be absolute perfection. Theodore inhaled, then hissed once more.

"Open."

An eighth snake slithered from the hinge area as it moved across the edges of the circular door. As it passed one of the stationary snakes, it would force them to snap backwards, repeating with each one until the seventh had assumed its position. Theodore stepped backwards as the door swung open, screeching, for it had been still for so long.

 _Go, Theodore… go…_

Theodore was inside. Slytherin's heir was inside, just like he would've wanted. The boy ignored the water beneath his feet as he was overwhelmed by what he saw. A green tinted chamber, reaching out so far that one would have to squint to see the other end. Silver serpents acted as pillars, supporting the rough ceiling as they were half submerged in water on either side. Theodore couldn't help but feel like a prince who had found his hidden palace and had finally ascended to true power as a king. Theodore walked down the central pathway, occasionally splashing into puddles of slimy water. He didn't mind. The air was thick and damp but he loved it for some reason. Closer and closer, he got to the end. The features of the marvellous statue in front of him became clear, in vision and in mind. It was of a man, who had something primal within his face. A bald head, a thin beard that sunk into the water below it and eyes of fury which invigorated Theodore. His ancestor…

"Salazar Slytherin…"

" _Master… is that… master?"_ Theodore shot backwards by so much that he fell into a large puddle, drenching himself in the process. Something in the mouth just spoke to him. The Parselmouth quickly got up and picked the diary but not his wand. Staying in his spot, Theodore spoke aloud, only in Parseltongue.

"I… I am not Salazar Slytherin… but I am his heir…"

…

" _Prove it…"_ Theodore came closer to the statue's mouth, pressing his forehead against his ancestor's bottom lip.

"You're a snake aren't you? That's why I can understand you. This is Parseltongue, our language. I know that you can smell me. Go ahead, do it…" A brief flicker of a tongue and a deathly hiss vibrated against Slytherin's mouth.

" _Half-blood… filthy half-blood… you're like the other one… only a bit purer… master made me for the pure… only the pure…"_

"I am Slytherin's heir, therefore you will listen to me. Are you listening… I said are you listening?! You answer to me! I am the Heir of Slytherin and you answer to me!" Theodore shouted. He didn't know where this anger came from but he liked it. He held onto the diary as he waited for the creature's reply. The beast said nothing. "Creature, I command you to yield to me. Tell me who your master is."

…

" _You, humble master."_

"Good. The purity of my blood doesn't not matter if it is of Slytherin's. I am the heir and you will obey me." The creature hissed from behind the wall in submission as it devoted itself entirely to the twelve year old boy. Theodore grinned almost malevolently as he gained what he wanted. The beast was under his control. He could do whatever he wanted. He could finally reveal to everyone that he was the new Heir of Slytherin, demanding that he should change to the appropriate house, he could use the Chamber as hiding place for any practice of the Dark Arts that he encountered over the summer, or he could complete his ancestor's work and rid the school of every filthy Mudblood that polluted the great school that was-

Theodore rubbed his forehead viciously as a few drops of water fell from high above. He was losing the main objective. He said he'd find the Chamber, he never actually said that he was going to use the monster as his ancestor planned. This was all to see if the myths were true and he found them. He rediscovered the Chamber.

"Creature, I want to see you with my own eyes. I command you to come into the light, now!"

" _Close your eyes..."_

"Why…"

" _Close them."_

Theodore shut his eyes as he stepped backwards. The ground beneath him shuddered as excess water flowed across his damp feet. He could feel the shifting of stone grinding against each other before something heavy hit the ground. The beast slithered towards the boy and circled right around him as it kept its head posed in the air. Theodore was breathing loudly as he dug his nails into the diary. The book seemed to respond to the boy's uneasiness as it sent a feeling of warmth throughout Theodore's body, suppressing his fear.

" _Open… master…"_ The Beast of Slytherin said. Theodore slowly opened his eyes to see the feared monster that he had heard all about but did not know of. The hide of vivid emerald scales belonged to a colossal serpent that had winded itself around the boy. Its body had the thickness of a hundred year old oak tree and probably possessed the weight as well. Theodore could not see the head of the giant serpent for he heard it hiss behind his head, its hot, stinging breath hitting the back of his neck. He didn't dare turn around.

"Wait," whispered the boy in Parseltongue. "I know what you are… you don't want me to look you in your eyes because… you're a Basilisk." The serpent brought the front his head in front of Theodore's eyes, but was careful to not go to far. It had no purpose if she killed those that it was created to serve. Theodore observed its slimy mouth as its forked tongue slowly flicked out I front of his face.

" _Yes… Basilisk… First Master chose me for my power… for I am… power…"_ It was a basilisk the whole time. It made sense, all of it. A feared and dangerous beast which could kill with a single glance. A serpent which would only follow Slytherin's blood. A creature that was under Theodore' control. He felt hungry, hungry to see what the serpent was capable of right in front of him. He had to see if it truly held up to its name and if it was truly the King of Serpents. Anger and hatred filled his heart as he became desperate. Theodore couldn't see it but his eyes had turned red for an influence was beginning to infect him.

' _I shouldn't, but I must. I was born with a purpose. To carry out Slytherin's plan. I must, I should… I will. I'll will purge the school of the unworthy and will uphold the glory that is Salazar Slytherin, on high! I will-"_

Theodore threw the diary away from him as he felt a stab cut through his chest. He felt something sever as he screamed in pain. Brought to his knees, the boy's screams filled the hidden chamber as the basilisk loomed over him, unsure as to why its master began to cry in pain. One knife drove into his body from the back, another from the front. It was just like last year when he slaughtered Quirrell. His soul was tearing again. He hasn't killed anyone but it was ripping at every passing scream. Theodore's lungs shut down as he instantly passed out on the ground, unable to breath or move. As he choked on the ground, probably dying, he could barely make out the basilisk as it hung over him, completely silent.

" _Fresh blood… Slytherin's blood… my blood…"_

 **I was so tired with writing this chapter that I think I threw in a lot of bullshit lol. From here on out, the story is mostly going to be through Theodore's eyes with a little from Harry, Dumbledore and Hermione. Those four are the main characters that I picked after all. I noticed that I haven't really refined Theodore's character yet but I guess that's the point of character development, you can't rush into it. So yeah, I'm pretty sure that there are no spelling mistakes and poor grammar(I hope so), so enjoy this chapter. Later.**

 **caveydude: Thank you so much :)**

 **DreaminginGreyscale: sure, why not**


	14. Chapter 14: The Heir's Return

_Wake… wake…_

The soft texture of a mattress supported the boy as he sat up from his bed. For a second, Theodore couldn't feel anything but then instantly clutches his chest at the returning pain. This wasn't potent enough to make him bellow in anguish but did cause him to wince a little. As he rubbed caressingly, Theodore cycled the same question inside his head vigorously, wanting an answer at the very second.

' _Was that real?'_

He fed his brain the same question over and over again but received negative results. He had no idea if all of that was real. He opened the Chamber of Secrets on that night, he really did. But all of it felt too real, too fast. Theodore tried to recollect everything, piece by piece, and resisted the strain across his upper body.

' _There was the bathroom… and the sinks in the middle. That was where I went through… right. A big pipe… bones? A-and… a door, that's it! A door! With snakes! And behind it was… the Chamber and… the monster which was a… a…'_

Theodore rubbed his chest as the pain grew too strong for him to focus. He couldn't recall everything, only the sinks, the snake door and the diary that was on his bed. His father's diary was placed in between his two feet. Theodore took it in one hand and felt none of the warmth that it gave in his 'dream'. He inspected the sides and its contents, and nothing had changed. Nothing out of the ordinary. He closed the book and threw it underneath his bed before he heard violent hissing from the snake that he had forgotten somehow.

" _Watch it!"_

"Sorry, Viripin!" Theodore suddenly realised that he was speaking aloud in Parseltongue and quickly covered his mouth. The boys' dormitory was still full of snores from his fellow roommates. He ducked his head lower to the ground and spoke much more quietly. "Are you alright?"

…

"Viripin?"

…

Theodore didn't get angry that the snake was ignoring him. Oddly, he felt distraught that Viripin hadn't replied. He wasn't feeling himself at all, in fact. The pain had disappeared soon enough, and the Parselmouth had decided to leave his bed. The skies held a rich purple and orange blend as the waking sun initiated the early morning. Theodore felt like he slept forever but according to his pocket watch, it was only eight hours, or so he thought. His body was sluggish and it felt too heavy to drag along the dormitory and to the bathroom.

Theodore was in his school uniform half an hour later, and sat in the empty common room, still upon the sofa. His robe was crumpled along his lap as it had the Gryffindor emblem stitched on, along with the inner threads sporting a scarlet colour. They should've been green. The emblem should've been of his ancestor. He didn't belong here. His left eye twitched. Theodore wrapped the robe around his neck and fitted it on tightly before he left the common room. Voices and murmurs from the others filled his ears but were instantly silenced as he shut the portrait of the Fat Lady behind him.

"I already assigned you with Vincent, Longbottom! Do not ask me again!" Neville whimpered in his seat as Snape glided away to the front of the classroom. The first term of Potions was based all around the brewing of the Hair-Raising Potion, consisting of essays, homework, practicals, more homework, evaluations and even more homework. Theodore was sat near the far right of the room when Draco happened to be sitting right next to him. The two hadn't spoken to each other since Saturday and for Theodore well, he was burning with anger just by even being in the blonde boy's vicinity. He couldn't stand the sight of Draco anymore, always feeling contempt whenever he would smirk stupidly with his friends. Slytherin would've been disappointed that a boy of such purity only held value from his blood alone, not his talent or gifts. Then again, Theodore's ancestor would've probably favoured Draco over him, seeing as how he was a half-blood.

"I thought that there were rooster feathers inside of the potion." Draco said as he looked over the parchments that were in front of Theodore.

"It's of a falcon, not a rooster." Theodore replied.

"But it says-"

"I know what I'm talking about. It's falcon feathers, end of!" Draco said nothing and scribbled out a line across his parchment rolls to rectify his mistake. Theodore hadn't noticed that he was hissing loudly as others, mainly the Slytherins, turned their heads to him. A few whispers but Theodore didn't know what they were saying. He didn't care.

The lesson carried on with the same atmosphere lingering on until the first bell rung throughout the castle. Snape barked instructions about completing another load of hefty work before the next lesson and pulled Theodore away from leaving with the other three. The man looked distastefully happy as Theodore could see his crooked smile. Talk about unsettling. The boy opted to speak out but was beaten by the professor.

"I take it that you are enjoying these recent lessons? The very first few potions that I taught you last year are beyond advanced than what you saw in the classroom today."

"Is there a point in all of this, Professor? I wanted to go with my friends to eat in the Great Hall." Snape raised an eyebrow as his greasy hair stiffened a little.

"And by friends, you'd include… Draco?"

"Draco is not my friend," said the boy quickly. "I don't want anything to do with him! I don't even know why you made me his partner in the first place."

"Do not question my judgement, boy! I suppose that you'd want to be with Miss Granger, to parade yourselves around like the arrogant children you are! Don't make me regret choosing you, is that clear?"

…

"I said, is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Snape dismissed Theodore after handing him a list of tasks that needed to be completed on Friday after school. Theodore was sure that this was a well-hidden detention from Theodore's little 'outburst' back there, but had no doubts that this was result of Snape's pettiness. And here he thought that Snape might've actually liked him. His assumptions were horribly off. The boy closed the classroom doors behind him and walked to the exit of the dungeons, until stopping so suddenly. From around the corner, he could hear a few people whisper and hiss about something. No, someone.

"…so? Why do you care about him? He's in that idiotic house anyways!"

"My father told me to ally myself with him. Told me that his allegiance would be valuable to our family. Still don't know what the hell he meant by that."

"Just leave him, Draco. He's not worth our time. If he was really 'valuable' to your family, then why isn't he in Slytherin? Oh wait, I forgot. The Sorting Hat rejected him because he doesn't belong with us!" Theodore's nostrils flared at the comment. His heart filled with malice as he tried to peer at who made such a ludicrous remark. A bulky, heavy jawed girl with striking black hair grimaced in the most revolting way possible that it would be difficult to not recognise her. Millicent Bulstrode.

' _Stupid girl. To think that the Sorting Hat chose her instead of me. Me! The Heir of Slytherin! The disrespect…"_

"Then go on, all of you! I'll wait for him myself, you don't have to wait up," said Draco as he leaned against the dungeon archway. She, along with the others, left Draco on his own to wait patiently for Theodore. He whistled loudly to himself as Theodore rubbed his chest again. Something was throbbing on the inside but didn't seem painful, only uncomfortable. He thought about jinxing Draco temporarily while he made a break for it.

' _No, Snape would probably come outside and see me running away. I'll just wait for him to go when he realises that I'm not able to come out soon. Yeah, that'll work.'_

A dangerous crunch and growl echoed from Theodore's stomach as he held it tightly. It was stupid of him to avoid breakfast, and now lunchtime was slipping away every second he'd spend there hiding from Draco. His mouth became dry and his stomach growls became stomach pains. He needed to eat, right now. If it meant that Draco would notice him, then so be it. He had to reach the Great Hall before lessons came back on, before his stomach would eat his body.

Theodore came out from around the corner and bolted right past Draco without giving him a sign of acknowledgement as he raced to the Great Hall. Draco's calls of his name quickly lowered until Theodore could hear no more and soon enough, he was speed-walking along the second floor corridors with the images of food motivating him to not drop dead onto the ground. He could feel his stomach acid leak around his other organs.

"ARRRRGGHHH!"

"Calm down, Ron. It's only until Christmas." Harry uttered. The three of the four were sat along the Gryffindor table, with Ron complaining about the previous lesson in pure frustration.

"Of course you'd say that. You have Hermione as a partner while I'm stuck with that idiot Goyle! Did you know that he's incapable of writing his entire first name? How ridiculous is that?!"

"Neville's probably got it the worst," said Hermione as she secretly folded her Lockhart bookmark. "Did you see what Crabbe was doing to him underneath the table? So awful. And Theodore is still partnered up with 'him'. Harry and Ron suddenly grew scowls on their faces as they remembered what Draco had done last week. Hermione did her best to try and forget the situation by avoiding Draco and simply pretending that he didn't exist. That wasn't her usual way of approach, but she had no idea that she would face any discrimination in a school for magic. It simply didn't make any sense to her.

"Theo's been gone for a while. Should we go find him," suggested Ron.

"No need to. Look. He's right over there." Harry pointed as the other two turned their heads around. Looking particularly moody and tired, Theodore was pacing in between the two middle tables of the Great Hall and placed himself right next to Ron rather clumsily.

"Sorry, Ron," said Theodore shortly before rapidly filling his plate to the brim with multiple types of food. The three watched him scoff everything in under minute, both amazed and perplexed by the boy's hunger. They never suspected him to being such a 'fan' of food.

"Didn't see you this morning. You alright?" Harry asked. Theodore nodded as he used a napkin to wipe off a ketchup spot on the corner of his mouth.

"I woke up really early this morning. I think I had a… bad dream or something but I honestly can't remember. It was all too vague."

"But you're alright? I heard some hissing coming from your corner again and I swore that you left your bed at one point." Ron said a bit worryingly. Theodore was skeptical that he left his bed in the middle of the night. He couldn't deny that he may have slipped out a bit of Parseltongue but there was no way that he slept-walked, no matter how real that dream felt.

"Well, I feel fine. Besides, it's not me I have to worry about. You're stuck with Goyle, how foul is that?" Ron and Theodore went back and forth with their thoughts on their new Potions partners, both being completely resentful at Snape for the sudden changes. "And you know what's funny? It's like Snape really wanted me to work with Malfoy."

"Probably to help boost his grades up, the slimy gits. Favouritism at its finest. Why couldn't he have just partnered me up with you instead? I've got it worse than Malfoy," cried Ron as he threw his hands up in frustration.

"Couldn't you just make a complaint to Snape to change partners?" Hermione suggested. Ron and Theodore looked at her like she was crazy. They were pissed at Snape, but not to the point where they would actually confront him about it. Call it cowardice or intelligence, it was a witless idea. They were just going to firm their 'punishment' until Christmas would come along, and that seemed far too long for the boys' liking.

"For fuck's sake," muttered Ron.

* * *

"I couldn't help but notice that Ginny has been following you for a long time, Harry. Do you think that-"

"Shut up, Theo. Let's just get to the common room before Filch catches us. Again."

"That was last year, we've learnt from our mistakes."

"And what were they?"

"The first was remembering to give Mrs Norris a good kick to her side." Harry elbowed Theodore as he chuckled. It was funny yet disheartening to think that Harry had no clue that one of his best friends was also his cousin. Theodore wondered if he had made any sort of link between the two, maybe seeing the little semblance that they had, or having a familial inclination towards Theodore. He hadn't seen any signs of the former thoughts so far.

The two boys walked through the castle's many leaf-littered corridors as the chilly October came around. A fast-growing, but easily curable epidemic loitered around, sending many students and staff to Madam Pomfrey, only to be cured in a blink of an eye. Magical healthcare was really something, wasn't it?

"Hey look, it's Nick. Hey, Nick!" Harry called out. Gryffindor's respective house ghost, Nearly-Headless Nick floated boorishly as he gazed at the wall with sadness. He perked up a little when he saw the two coming over for a chat.

"Hello, Mr Potter, Mr Riddle. How are you on this fine autumn day?" The ghost said melancholically.

"We're alright, but you don't look so good yourself, Nick. Is there something wrong?" Harry asked. Nick sighed and further explained his current predicament. Theodore listened to all of this while mundanity got the better of him. After Nick had finally finished, Theodore piped up to say something.

"Not to be rude or anything Nick, but Harry and I have to keep on moving. Filch is going to murder us if he sees the mess that we made here," said Theodore as he pointed to his and Harry's muddy shoes. A footprint trail of slippery mud had been left behind from when the boys were hurrying to the common room. Filch, being the cunning grumpy old man that he was, was surely tracking them down as they spoke.

"Oh yes! Right, I forgot. Don't mind me, I'll be alright. I'll be just… fine… just fine…"

…

"Well… bye." The two hurried off in the direction that they intended to go, only to have their skin crawl at the sound of a horrible, screeching hiss coming from below. "Urgh, it's the flipping cat! Come on! I'll kick it then we'll run in the opposite direction!"

"Don't! Filch is probably around the-"

"SO IT WAS YOU TWO! I KNEW IT! MUCKING UP THE HALLWAYS AS A JOKE, HUH!? YOU'RE COMING WITH ME, POTTER AND RIDDLE!" Harry and Theodore trudged behind the grubby caretaker while they both argued silently on if they should've made a break for it. Their bickering lasted all the way to Filch's office, proving to be redundant at the current setting. The room was a reflection of the man who owned it. Dusty, ancient and housed a terrible odour. This was Filch's place, no doubt about it. Confiscated items, most from the Weasley twins, were neatly placed in several drawers, objects that looked of the torturous sort hung from poorly driven nails, a large dirty round mirror and a few piles of oily parchments that were stacked on his desk. As Filch fumbled around for something, Theodore and Harry were talking under their breath, desperate to find a solution out of there.

"We need to distract him." Harry whispered.

"How?" Harry looked around to see if anything could be knocked over to stall Filch long enough so that they could escape. Everything was too far out of reach for Filch to not notice them.

"I… don't know."

"I told you, we should've kicked the cat and run away, but you didn't want me to."

"What do you think he would've done to us if had done so, huh," hissed Harry. "We'll just have to wait and be hopeful that something saves us. For the time being, we're stuck here."

"Shut your mouth, Potter before I shut it for you!" Filch threatened.

The caretaker scrawled over two pieces of parchment while he happily mumbled to himself. Theodore suspected that he was writing detention slips for the both of them, knowing how much he despised the two, especially Theodore. He had barely even scratched the blasted cat last year. She was lucky that he favoured stealth over theatricals during the whole dragon fiasco. "Where the hell did I put- those fucking twins! Took my stamps again!" Filch dashed out the door, leaving both of the boys confused but glad that the twins had unintentionally stalled them for time. Harry sat at the cluttered desk while Theodore inspected the various items that were scattered across the room. A bear trap with multiple teeth the size of a baby's palm, a nine-tailed whip that Theodore swore he saw move and others that looked too drastic to describe. Theodore was fiddling with a barbed chain when Harry called him over.

"What is it?"

"It's some kind of weird, substitute magic. Why would Filch have something like this? Isn't he a wizard?" Harry asked as he handed the folded parchment letter to Theodore.

"He's probably just too old to do magic." Theodore said as he read through the letter.

"But Dumbledore's pretty old and even Voldemort is scared of him."

"…true. Or maybe he's just a Squib." Theodore looked at Harry's face and explained what he meant by the term. "A Squib is somebody who has magical parents or parent, but aren't magical themselves. Like the black sheep of the family."

"Yikes. D'you think that's why he's so grumpy all of the time? Because he can't do any magic?"

"I'm one hundred and ten percent sure, that it's the case." Theodore read over the letter once again, trying to understand why a possible non-wizard would need something that he was incapable of obtaining. Taking a 'Kwikspell Course' looked like a cheap method of learning magic but it was Filch. What would you expect from a bad-tempered man like him?

Filch pushed the door open with such force that it forced Theodore to drop the letter onto his feet, instantly giving himself away. Filch ignored Harry, who also shot up from the chair, and eyeballed Theodore with outright detest and hatred. Theodore didn't know what to do at all, only silently murmuring as Mrs Norris circled around him like a hungry shark.

"You… touched… my stuff?" Theodore turned to a terrified Harry and back to Filch. No response. "You touched my stuff!"

"I-I didn't-"

"LIAR! YOU READ MY STUFF! HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT! I OUGHT TO HANG YOU IN SHACKLES FOR WHAT YOU DID!"

"Mr Filch, he didn't open the letter, it was me," pleaded Harry but Filch didn't want to hear any of it.

"Shut up! Matter of fact, you get out of here. I'm going to give the discipline that this little tyke has been neglected for so long. What are you waiting for? GO!" Theodore nodded slightly for Harry to leave before Filch decided to inflict his wrath upon him as well. As Harry reluctantly left the room, Filch slammed the door behind him and grinned horribly to reveal his darkened yellow teeth. Mrs Norris meowed as the two began to corner the boy. Theodore moved backwards slowly until he hit the desk behind him. He stared into Filch's mad eyes as his own quivered a little.

"A shame that I can't physically hurt you. Little shits such as yourself need a good beating every now and then. But it will be a pleasure knowing that I can report you for intruding into my office and attempting to steal my things."

"But that's a lie! I haven't stolen anything!" Filch leaned closer to the boy, the smell of rotting fish leaking from his mouth. Theodore wanted to gag and push his head away from his own but kept still.

"Nobody will believe you. And if Potter tries to back you up, I'll just say that he was in on it as well," whispered Filch. "I might even throw in the threats that you sent to my cat from earlier on. That's right, I heard you. Not feeling so tough now aren't you, 'Theo'?" Filch broke out into a wheezing fit of laughter while Mrs Norris hissed from behind. Theodore's skin burned as anger seeped out from his pores. He hardened his fist as he felt compelled to hit the despicable man, despite his age. Filch noticed this and came closer to him one more, face to face. "Is little Theodore angry? Did I touch a nerve? Well don't just carry on standing there, hit me."

…

"I said, hit. Me." Theodore gritted his teeth as tightened his fist so hard he could've bled right there. He knew what would've been the consequences had he succumbed to his anger but by god, did he want to hurt him so bad. Whether it be by magic or by hand, Theodore wanted to see this man suffer in so much pain, that he'd never come back to Hogwarts. He'd be doing everyone a favour by doing so. Filch poked Theodore in the chest and pushed him back a little, trying to draw out a reaction from the boy.

"Don't push me." Theodore said quietly. Filch pushed him again. "I said, don't…"

"Or what, 'Theo'? What could you possibly do?" Filch taunted as he pushed Theodore one final time. The Parselmouth almost exploded as his hatred for the man was on the very edge, waiting for the final push to release everything. He looked down to the ground and counted slowly to ease his anger, not knowing that his eyes briefly took a scarlet shade for a few seconds. "Hmph. Just as I thought. Thinks he's better than everyone else. You should be happy, kid. I just gave you a reality check. Don't matter if you're a wizard, you kids don't mean a thing to me. Bunch of sissies with undeserved power. Look at you. Silent, just how I like it. You see that, Mrs Norris? That's how you deal with these kids. Gotta twist their feeble, naïve minds to understand the truth." Filch opened the door and told Theodore to leave. "If you ever try anything like that again well… hehe… you'll see."

Filch slammed his office door as Theodore stood in the dimmed corridors. Rain had began to fall as Theodore felt like lashing out to the next person that came around the corner. He wanted to go back inside Filch's office to traumatise the hell out of him. He seriously wanted to see some blood from the caretaker.

' _Filthy Squib tries to threaten me and thinks he can get away it? He doesn't even know what he- what am I thinking? I can't do anything to him, I'd get expelled just like that. And I haven't even found the Chamber of Secrets yet.'_

 _What if you had…_

Theodore turned the other direction and walked all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he needed to spite Filch for what he did, even if it didn't seem like such a big deal. He was just so angry, and he couldn't really tell why. Thoughts that were enough to damn a boy to hell, ran through his brain on what do. Theodore even considered using the monster in the Chamber against Filch, but knew how risky and impossible that could be.

' _But nobody would suspect me at all if they knew that the Chamber was opened. They'd think that it would've been someone from Slytherin instead. No, I can't do that. I won't do that.'_

Theodore spoke the password to the Fat Lady and walked straight through the portrait hole, feeling drowsy by the warmth of the room. Most of the entire Gryffindor House were sat everywhere, talking and laughing while some were being quite boisterous, namely Fred and George. Theodore tried to stealthily walk into the dorm but was caught by Neville who cheerily greeted him. Not wanting to be held up and rude at the same time, Theodore quickly said 'Hi' and ran straight to the spiral staircase to change out of his sweaty uniform. His shoes were going to need a good clean before tomorrow came around.

After changing into his clothes, Theodore fed Viripin who was a lot more friendlier these days. Just like when they first met, the Maibian Adder would often sleep on his bed and would coil around him whenever he would come into the dorm. Theodore was mostly distant these days and the snake started to feel lonely whenever he wouldn't stay for long.

" _You look angry."_

"Don't want to talk about it."

" _Was it Snape? Or Draco?"_

"I just said, I'm not going to talk about it, Viripin. So leave it!" Theodore sighed then waited for a moment. Viripin didn't deserve to be shouted at. She didn't do a single thing that was wrong. "I'm sorry. It's Filch, the caretaker. I don't know why but I wanted to rip him into shreds. I hate him so much. He… I just hate him."

" _Maybe you should take your mind off it by writing a letter to Louise. You're always calm after that."_

"She still has replied to the one I sent last week. Maybe she's just busy enjoying her great life with the Reaguls. I don't blame her, I would've been the same." The snake thought for a while before suggesting another idea.

" _You could go find yourself a girlfriend."_

"What?! I-I don't need a… girlfriend! I don't even like anyone here like that!" Theodore stammered as his cheeks suddenly became a bit rosy. Every time Viripin, or anyone for that matter, brought up anything to do with girls, the boy would turn into a pile of bricks.

" _Well it was only a suggestion. If you don't like it, leave it. I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight,"_ hissed the snake as she slithered into her new basket that Theodore conjured a few days ago.

"Goodnight, Viripin." He watched her tail disappear underneath his bed and sighed again. Anger still bubbled inside of him as he wanted to purge it from his system. And the only way he could do that was by getting back at Filch.

 _Seek me… seek me…_

Theodore turned to his pillow and flipped it over. He forgot that he left the diary underneath there for the past three days. He picked it up and flicked through to see if there were any hidden words within the pages that decided to reveal themselves. Not a single one appeared. A faded memory of him taking the book to the Chamber of Secrets flickered in his mind.

" _As if the legendary Chamber of Secrets was underneath a girls' bathroom. I must be losing my mind."_

The next few days came and went as Theodore unknowingly started to reserve himself from the others, day by day. Some days he didn't feel like following them to Hagrid's Hut or some days, he'd decide to stay in the library for its quietness. Trying to think inside a common room full of fireworks was a juxtaposition in itself. Halloween was just only a week away and Theodore wished it could've gone faster. His partnership with Draco irked him greatly as he would see Snape smirk in the corner, the Chamber of Secrets was nowhere to be seen and Filch had reported Theodore to McGonagall, feeding her filthy lies from his filthy mouth. The boy's hatred turned into suppressed bloodlust, somehow needing to see the Squib beg for death right in front of him. He even questioned why he suddenly felt this way but those thoughts were eventually snuffed and forgotten.

Theodore was sat in the library with Neville sitting across from him, helping the pure-blooded boy with his Potions work. Neville was in a dire need for help, too noticeable for even Theodore to simply ignore. The boy took it upon himself to help Neville only, all the way up to Christmas so that Snape wouldn't have a reason to fail him at the end of the school year.

"What's that in your hand, Theo? Is that a diary?"

"Yeah…" Theodore said as he flicked through the book, back and forth, entranced like a moth drawn to a light.

…

"Is it yours?"

"No, Neville. It's not mine. It was my dad's. He must've had this since he was at Hogwarts, though I have no idea why it's empty. There's literally nothing written here." Theodore showed Neville the blank pages, before flicking frantically through again.

"Well you might as well keep it for your own. I think it's cool that you have something from your dad." Neville suddenly looked sad for a moment before returning to his books. Theodore didn't know much but what he did know was that Neville lived with his grandmother instead of his parents. He had no clue if they were dead or not but Theodore was certain that there was a tragedy behind the clumsy boy.

"I guess so. For a second, I almost thought that this thing was… awake," muttered Theodore as he reached for his quill. He dipped it in ink and turned to the first page of the empty diary.

' _Saturday, 24_ _th_ _of October,'_ scribbled the boy. _'Could not find the Chamber of Secrets, contemplating on whether to abort the mission."_ Theodore jokingly wrote down.

"What did you write down?" Neville asked curiously.

"Oh nothing. Just one of my greatest failures. This way I can easily remember when I couldn't find- huh?" Unexpectedly, a mind-stopping occurrence had just happened before Theodore's eyes as he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Neville stared at the perplexed boy, wondering if asking what had happened was the best idea. Theodore then snapped the diary shut and stuffed all of his things inside of his bag while attempting to leave the area at once.

"Theo! What about the work, I can't do it on my own!" Neville cried out. Theodore hurriedly walked off. What had just happened needed to be out of sight from everybody else.

"I'm sorry Neville! I'll help you tonight, I promise! I'll- ow!" Theodore yelped as he felt his nose cave in at the sudden impact. The person that he had just crashed into also winced in pain as they staggered over to the side, holding their face firmly. "How blind are you that you can't see- Hermione! I'm so sorry, are you hurt?!"

"I'm… okay. Gosh Theo, you have such a thick skull! Ouch…" Theodore felt his insides squeeze tightly at the sight of a pink spot forming on the girl's forehead. "Why were you just running around anyways? This is a library, you know."

"I was going to go up to the common room to do some things." Theodore said as he helped Hermione to pick up her dropped belongings. A lot of sheets from Snape and McGonagall alike, it looked like Hermione was going to have one of her hardcore study sessions. Theodore used to do that as well until the Chamber came crashing in his life.

"Well be careful. You could really hurt someone, running like that. Ouch… I'm fine, Theo. There's no need to worry about- what's this?" Hermione had Tom Riddle's diary in her hand as she read the golden words on the front. "Tom Marvolo Riddle. Is this your- hey!" Theodore swiped the diary from her hands swiftly and tucked it inside of his green and black jumper.

"That's nothing of great importance. Absolutely irrelevant. So what are you doing here," asked Theodore rapidly. Hermione took some time to answer then shook her bushy mane to go along with the sudden change of the subject.

"I'm going to do a bit of homework, but I also came to see you. We almost forgot to tell you about Nick. He's having a 'deathday' party on Halloween. He asked Harry to come first and of course he said yes, but Ron and I are coming along as well. You're coming as well, right?" Theodore was walking backwards slowly to the door while narrowly avoiding the tables.

"I'll see if I can make it. And that's an 'if', not a 'yes'."

"But Theo…"

"Neville is down near the third aisle, he needs some help, so byeee," said Theodore as he briskly left the library to run all the way back into an empty Gryffindor Tower. Once there, he flung his bag onto the sofa and dropped straight down to take out the diary. He drew out his ink and quill and placed all three on the table.

' _It's alright Theo… the diary of your dead father only wrote back to you like it was alive, nothing to worry about… it's only magic…'_

The young heir slowly opened the diary to the first page and gawked at the empty sheet. Heart pounding loudly in his chest, fingers slippery and loose, Theodore grabbed the quill and dipped it into the ink once again. Hesitating to lower the quill, he found the urge to press down against the paper and scribbled away.

' _Who are you?'_ His stylish handwriting dried up upon touching the page, and remained like so for three seconds until it happened again. The diary absorbed his written words like a sponge, returning to its blank state before something resurfaced. A handwritten message that was not from his own hand.

' _My name is Tom Riddle. May I ask of yours?"_ Tom Riddle. The diary had just called itself after his father. His dead father. Theodore couldn't help but to scrawl again, the second the words disappeared.

' _My name is Theodore Riddle.'_

…

' _Riddle? Like me?'_

' _Yes. I think, no, I am your son. I'm in Hogwarts right now!'_

' _I am amazed. To think that my own child has found my diary! It's nice to meet you, Theodore!'_

Theodore exhaled loudly out of his mouth as his blood was pumping with excitement. He didn't understand what this was, or how this diary came to be, but he was talking with his father. The boy could feel his chest almost about to burst from the excessive breathing. He calmed his nerves and wrote back.

' _I have so many questions.'_

' _As do I, Theodore. Being inside of a diary for nearly fifty years does tend to keep someone slightly behind on things.'_

' _I hope you don't mind if I ask first.'_

' _Not in the slightest.'_ Questions were flying around in Theodore's head like the winged keys from the previous year. He plucked the closest one and wrote it down as neatly as possible.

' _How did you do this?'_

' _The diary? I simply preserved a memory of myself from my time at Hogwarts, inside the diary. It's much harder than it looks, but I have no doubt that my bloodline is incapable of performing such a task.'_ Theodore could see that Tom was a prideful person, just like he thought. Like father, like son, right?

' _So, you're really around my age?'_

' _Yes, sixteen years old.'_

' _Amazing.'_ Theodore thought for some more until he rallied up another question. _'It is true that you are the Heir of Slytherin, right? You can speak Parseltongue, like me.'_

' _You know that I am the Heir of Slytherin? When? How?'_

' _I found out last year with a bit of looking around.'_

' _How old are you now?'_

' _Twelve.'_

' _I applaud you, Theodore. I did not find out our noble heritage until later on. You are truly remarkable.'_

' _So, because you are the Heir of Slytherin, you must know about the Chamber of Secrets. Do you know anything about it?'_

…

' _I can tell you where it is.'_ He hit the jackpot. Theodore tapped his fingers against the wooden table, completely thrilled at his sudden luck. He couldn't turn back now, not when the entrance of the Chamber was only a few flicks of a quill away. The warm sensation had returned again. It felt all too entrancing, sending him into a slight daze before a wave of Gryffindors flooded into the room, alerting Theodore to quickly hide the diary. Ron and Harry followed Hermione to his position as she returned to her usual bossy self. At least her forehead was free from any red marks.

"You are not going anywhere, Riddle. You stay right where you are." Theodore mockingly put his hands up, pretending to act submissive.

"Wasn't going anywhere in the first place, Ron. What's the problem?" Hermione had her hands on her hips as she stuck out her lower lip pronouncedly.

"Why aren't you coming to the deathday party? It's for Nick's deathday, we have to go!" Harry exclaimed.

"I thought that only you were supposed to go. Isn't Ron and Hermione tagging along? Also, we can't go even if we wanted to. You can't miss the Halloween feast." Hermione turned to Harry quickly as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I told you, Harry! You should've thought about that before saying yes to going. We could get into serious trouble!"

"But you promised to come with me. I can't stay around ghosts only for hours, alone. Come one, Hermione."

"I'll won't go if Theodore doesn't." Hermione decided. "It's all of us, or you and Ron."

"I'm definitely not going. Filch will probably catch us." _'And he won't even see it coming.'_

Harry had used almost all of his strength to convince the stubborn girl which turned out successful, but was unable to shake Theodore. Harry had never seen a boy so stubborn, not even Dudley. Three out of four felt much better than the entire set, and they agreed to skip the Halloween feast for the party. Theodore's ounce of regret for not joining the three was forgotten during the final week leading to Halloween. Every night, Theodore would write in his father's diary, communicating with him at every given opportunity before he would go sleep. Tom was an interesting boy, to say the least. Achieving multiple awards and praise from many of the teachers, Theodore saw a lot of his father within himself. Striving to collect and to utilise, Tom and his son were simply the same person in different eras. The blood of Slytherin was potent within the two. The younger Riddle learned extensively from the elder one about what it meant to be of such purity, even if one could argue that Theodore was probably 'purer' than his father. No matter. Somebody who truly understood what it felt like to be him, to live in his shoes and to see everything from his eyes. Oh, how he longed for this.

Four o'clock in the Halloween afternoon, and Theodore was inside of the Great Hall. Although decorated to the brim with barrel-sized carved pumpkins, live bats that flapped in the air and the new feature of sideways 'blood' on the walls, Theodore had no intentions of attending the feast at all. After everything that he had learnt during the past week from his father's diary, the young heir was more than prepared and motivated to finding the Chamber. Not asking for too much information as that would ruin the thrill of the search, Theodore only asked for the location of the entrance. Something familiar crossed his mind upon knowing this like he was already aware of it. He was almost certain that he had checked there before, once or twice.

"We're still going to the deathday party," said Hermione, opposite to where he was sitting. The two and a few other Gryffindors were spread along the elongated table, giving everyone much more elbow space than usual. "It's not too late to come along."

"I'm fine." Theodore replied as he looked back to the Great Hall doors. Filch briefly appeared in between the doorways before slinking off again with Mrs Norris trailing behind him. Theodore smiled evilly, then he shifted back into a neutral expression. "Whatever I'll do today will be worth missing it. Completely."

"And that would be?" Theodore tapped the side of his nose. Hermione watched the boy hum to himself as he stared up into the starry ceiling. Call her ridiculous, but Hermione had been one hundred percent, on the dot, sure that Theodore never hummed to himself so… cheerily. The handsome boy looked like he found enlightenment of the highest sort but kept it to himself. She didn't show it but Hermione cared a lot more for Theodore than she had let on. Hermione could never forget the night from last year, when the four of them had a detention in the Forbidden Forest. When they had faced the hooded figure that was really You Know Who in disguise. When the figure started to speak in that snake language, only to hear Theodore hiss back. After that day, she could never stop thinking about him. He was hiding something from her, she knew it.

"I worry about you sometimes, Theo."

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't really see you that often now. You're always somewhere else, or going up to bed really early. I just worry, you know?"

"You don't have to be," said Theodore softly, "I've never felt better." Hermione saw him show his gorgeous smile, but that smile was not his. This… wasn't Theodore. The boy brought out a gold pocket watch from the inside of his robes and checked it briefly before standing up. "Have fun at the party. Wish Nick 'Happy Deathday' for me, yeah?"

"Yeah…"

Theodore swaggered to the Great Hall doors and eventually vanished from Hermione's line of sight. He turned to his right and made his way slowly to his desired destination. Up a few stairs, along wide and thin corridors, and around the sharp corners. The abandoned second floor bathroom. Theodore looked all around for any leering eyes, then swiftly slipped in through the doors. The bathroom was still the same, dirty and soiled except for the central sinks. The hidden entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. He had left the diary inside of his suitcase so that he would write everything to Tom the second he'd get back, but still kept his wand by his side. You never know what could be down there.

As he faced the mirror 'towering above the snake tap', he quickly whipped his body around. A wail of sadness and gloom emanated from the cubicles down in the diversion. Probably just a pathetic girl crying about being teased, maybe even Ginny. Theodore ignored this and turned to the supposed tap that would lead him down to the Chamber. A tip from the diary was to 'always remember your tongue', and the Parselmouth knew exactly what it had meant.

"Open," hissed the boy. Something unhinged as the sinks shifted and moved. Rotation after rotation, the sinks parted while the sink with the snake tap lowered under the ground. Déjà vu zipped across Theodore's mind, appearing then disappearing in an instant. A large pipe leading into a dark abyss was revealed underneath sinks. Theodore kept his urges of shouting out wildly to himself as he didn't want to give himself away to whoever was inside of the cubicle. The rest was now up to Theodore. "A girls' bathroom. How so oddly genius."

"Who's there?" A sickly voice from the cubicles called out to Theodore as he instinctively jumped inside of the pipe, the afternoon light from the bathroom fading until he could see nothing. Twist, turn, faster and faster. Theodore could feel the rush of sliding down the pipe deep into his bones as he madly loved it. He was crazy for it. He didn't know why he ever hated going so fast. The invigoration, the electrifying sensation of his nerves burning with excitement, Theodore felt like a whole new person. The pipe carried on further below the school until it came to a sudden end. Like he had already experienced this before, Theodore landed on his feet perfectly without thinking about it. He tidied his hair a little as he grinned a little too happily.

"I hope that there's a way up," said Theodore to himself. He looked up the pipe and saw that it was impossible to climb up with hands and feet alone. "Oh well. Tom said that it would be easy to leave, if I looked hard enough." The water-saturated air was cool against his skin and refreshed him from the pipe-sliding. From where he was standing, a little light had hit some spots of his surroundings, but were not bright enough to walk through without stopping every second to check for potential stalagmites. Theodore brandished his wand and held it up in air, high above his head.

" _Lumos!_ " A bright white ball of light formed on the tip of his wand, banishing the darkness from every crevasse. This was all second nature to him. Theodore walked through the tunnel further down the damp cave, ignoring the dripping water and slime to prepare himself for the 'monster' of Salazar Slytherin. Another thing that Theodore decided that he'd find out for himself.

' _It must be a serpent. Why wouldn't it be? 'A beast of terrible nature, that only his heir can control'. Of course it's because we can speak Parseltongue, but what about other Parselmouths? Is the monster immune to them as well? And what type of beast is-'_

A horrible crunch came from underneath the boy's shoes as he lowered his wand to the ground. A graveyard, full of rat and other animal bones, littered all over the place. Theodore panned over them then carried on forwards. The Chamber was near, he could feel it. Wand still beaming with light, Theodore walked faster and faster till the very end. He stopped to marvel at the magnificent circular door, covered in multiple blankets of fly-infested cobwebs but still holding a brilliant steel gleam. A single large, emerald snake was tightly curled in the centre of the door with its head planted inside a winding trail that led around the door.

' _Breath… breath… I'm here.'_

"Open."

The snake clicked, then snapped out from its fixed position, perfectly slithering along the trails that circled round and around. Theodore watched it slide along the door so smoothly until the door creaked open. The cobwebs were ripped apart as the Chamber's final door had welcomed its new heir. Theodore clambered through the door, splashing straight into a puddle on the solid stone ground beneath him. The green hue entered his eyes, infecting every single thing there was inside, including the boy's pale skin. Pillars sculpted into silver snakes bared open their large fangs, reaching to the top of the seemingly endless ceiling as their bodies were sunken in water. Theodore didn't recognise the viciousness that had started to broth inside of him nor did he give it any notice. All he wanted was to see a filthy Squib and his cat, lifeless by his hand. Theodore's eyes slowly turned red as the wicked smile that was not of his own, tainted his face.

* * *

"Come on, darling. I've got a nice smelly fish waiting for us. Cooked it me self this time." After scraping away all the pumpkin bombs off the walls, Argus had deserved his break. Cleaning up an entire castle after hoards of multiple vile children, not to mention Peeves, would naturally break down an old man like Argus himself. Had he not thought of a retirement plan all those years ago, he was sure to have submitted to the lingering presence of death hanging by his corner.

Argus and Mrs Norris were eager to lay in their comfortable seclusion to enjoy themselves, hence why Argus was carrying the ruffled cat in his grubby little hands. Mrs Norris purred affectionately as Argus traced a finger from between her eyes to behind her ears. His dear cat was the only thing that kept him from losing his mind tenfold inside the child-infested castle. He wouldn't know what he'd do without her.

Setting the cat on the floor, the old caretaker searched his pockets for the key to his office, already catching the waft of the piping hot haddock that he had left wrapped inside a metal container.

"You smell that? Cor, I can't wait to dig right in!" Argus finally found the right key and twisted the lock. He threw his stained grey jacket on a spare nail as he walked over to the prepared haddock that was laid upon his desk before grabbing his mirror. He 'fixed' his stringy greasy hair while checking his golden-yellow teeth. "Alright, Mrs Norris. I'll take first crack at it, then you'll- Mrs Norris?" No purr or meow called back as the office had only one occupant. Argus looked over to the ajar door, waiting for his beloved cat to stroll right inside. Nothing. Argus frustratingly grabbed his jacket and left the room without locking it.

Mrs Norris was poised like a tiger, facing something from around the corner. Argus looked dumbfounded by the cat's sudden erratic behaviour and called her back into his office. Mrs Norris ignored her owner's attempts to bring her back and bounded away, out of sight. Argus immediately ran after her, wheezing loudly after ten seconds of running while suffering from a stabbing stitch in his left side. His cat zipped from corner to corner, running up two floors as she left the caretaker in the dust. Argus painfully staggered up the staircase, crawling along the second floor corridors.

"Mrs… Norris," panted the old man, " you're gonna… give me… a right… heart attack." Mrs Norris silently lapped water from a leak in the abandoned girl's bathroom. The door was slightly open, allowing some exposure of the inside. Argus slowly picked up some of his energy back, giving him just enough strength to walk over to the large puddle. "What are you doing? Running off like that when it's dinner time. And stop drinking that! It's not clean, darling." The caretaker grabbed the cat into his arms but she struggled greatly, breaking away from his grasp and sprinting off again. Argus had absolutely nothing inside of him, all of his energy spent on the cat's attempt to having some fun. As he used his hands to support his sides, he bent over to the leakage and splashed it with his hand. "Stupid Myrtle, always flooding the damn toilets. Can't be keeping up with this shit. They need to go. Every single fucking ghost, especially Peeves!"

Argus was then intrigued by the shapes and colours that had suddenly appeared in the puddle. The entire corridor consisted of browns and stone grey but what was shown in the water was of vivid emerald green. Lots of it. Curious, the naïve caretaker leaned in closer into the hazy contortions of the water, waiting for it become to still. The green figure slowly became refined as Argus could see how slender it had gotten. Something big, thick and… snakelike. He gazed at its glistening green hide, its flat broad head and those great dirty yellow-

The last thing he saw was those yellow eyes. He didn't see the young dark haired boy that glared from beside the creature, grinning devilishly at the sight of him. He had no clue who he was. A petrified piece of 'living' flesh, was all that he was and nothing more.

"Enemies of the Heir… beware…"

 **Well then, this just got 'interesting'. I'm not going to say anymore. Love it, hate it, I hope that this chapter kept you reading. Look out for the next one. Later.**

 **John Lanford: well when you put it that way... lol**


	15. Chapter 15: The First Mudblood

"Oh. My. God."

Hermione stood behind Harry, disturbed by what she was witnessing. She had never seen anything more terrifying in her life before, not the hooded figure; Fluffy. Gasps of shocking revulsion were contained, afraid that whatever had done this would crawl out from the corner and snatch all three of them. Hermione didn't say a word as she stood with her two friends, mouth covered and eyes quivering by the ghastly sight.

"Guys," said Ron through his cracking vocal chords, "tell me that's not… Filch."

"I-it is him." Harry stuttered as he too, was afraid. His circular rimmed glasses constantly slipped off his sweaty nose, forcing a finger to push them back up at every descent.

…

"He isn't dead, is he?" Hermione turned her head from seeing any more. She couldn't refrain herself from feeling queasy. Her throat began to burn and corrode from the sensation of her stomach pumping its acid back up.

"I think he is. Should… should we do something?"

"Please!" Hermione shouted through the fingers that covered her face. Harry looked at the agitated red head and slowly stepped over to Filch. Laying inside of a large puddle caused by a leakage from the closed off bathroom was the bitter caretaker, his body stiff and stuck in a single position. It looked like he was crouching down with his hand firmly outstretched but had toppled over. It reminded Harry of a mannequin that had been kicked and left alone, only so much more lifelike and visually disturbing. The scar-bearing boy noticed Filch's face expressing so much fear that it dug into Harry. He had no clue as to who or what had done this but he was sure as hell not going to stick around. He pulled on Ron's shirt to tell him that they should go to Dumbledore but instead ran to a distressed Hermione.

"What?! Did you see something?" Hermione raised an unsteady finger and pointed to the wall in the adjacent corridor. Harry spun around and read every single word that had been branded roughly with blood-red fire. _'THE CHAMBER HAS BEEN REOPENED, FOR IT IS THE RETURN OF THE HEIR!'_

"What 'Chamber'? What 'Heir'? What the fuck is going on here?! Filch is dead a-and there's this-this message and-" Ron stated hysterically. Harry held Ron and Hermione both, and shook them by the arms to bring them back down. Ron eased his breathing as Hermione removed her hand from her mouth. She still looked completely terrified.

"Get a grip, the both of you! Let's just go to Dumbledore. He'll know what to do. I hope so." Harry didn't sound so sure. Ron wiped his sweaty cheeks and nodded calmly. No point losing his mind, he wasn't ready to go to St. Mungo's at all.

"We should leave then, right now. We don't want to-"

"AAAAARGGHHHH!"

Standing from a distance away from the supposed corpse, was Lavender. She was the first of many to spot the body as several other students flooded in from either side, crashing against the ground like a senseless platoon. Lavender's scream attracted everybody else's attention as they tended to the shocked girl, later to be mortified by who was laying in the puddle. Nobody spoke a single word, not even Draco who looked unbothered by Filch's still body. The boy did not care for non-magical blood, especially Squibs.

…

"You killed Filch." Ernie spoke out from the front row of the silent crowd.

"We didn't," snapped Ron. "He was already lying on the floor when we got here! We don't know what happened to him."

"Liar."

"Say that to my face, Ernie. I dare you." Ernie gritted his teeth as he remained in his spot. Murmurs brushed along the observing crowd as they looked upon the trio with disdain. Harry could've sworn that he heard 'Mudblood' spring from one corner but it was too faint to tell. The three just looked at each other, clueless on what do next. If they weren't careful then it could turn out to be the second part of the entire school treating them like foulest of tramps who had somehow found a way inside of the castle. They felt their hearts skip when Dumbledore glided in with grace. Multiple other teachers, including McGonagall, followed the old man as they too were appalled by what they saw.

"So what's the problem? I'm sure that I can fix it with a- oh my." Lockhart strolled along as the last teacher on the scene and almost posed heroically until he saw Filch. His glittering smile disappeared, as did the colour in his face. "Is that…"

"Yes," said the headmaster, "it is Argus."

"What happened to him, Albus?" McGonagall asked anxiously, tightening her grip on her robes.

"We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I suggest everyone returns to their dorms immediately. Except for Mr Potter, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley. Come this way." Everybody parted as they carried on hissing about what happened. The trio followed Dumbledore, who was levitating Filch with his finger, Snape and Professor McGonagall to Lockhart's office. Hermione wanted to know if Theodore was among the crowd but put him out of her mind as they finally arrived. Everyone, except Lockhart, ignored the clutter of the moving portraits of Lockhart himself, and cleared his desk to allow Filch to lay upon. After several minutes of inspection and prodding from the old man, everyone tensed up to hear the final confirmation of the caretaker's condition.

"Alas, Argus is not dead." The trio sighed quietly as did McGonagall but Snape simply twitched his lower lip.

"But he's frozen… he can't move. How is this possible?" Hermione asked gently. She stuck close to Harry and Ron.

"Petrified, I'm sure of it. But the real question is how. Nothing or no one in the castle, is capable of performing this feat, unless…" Dumbledore stroked his silver beard slowly, until something odd blazed within his eyes, only for half a second. Fear. Harry narrowly noticed this as he watched the old man shake his head and return to his usual self. He thought that a brilliant man such as Dumbledore was incapable of fear. He guessed that no matter how brilliant the man may have been, he was still just a man. Didn't mean that it wasn't odd at all.

"Albus. The message that was burnt into the walls. It said that the 'Chamber' had been reopened. The 'heir' has returned! Could this be…" McGonagall whispered fearfully. Dumbledore was silent, then resumed the conversation at a similar volume.

"Yes. I… I have my suspicions but… yes."

"I'm sure that Potter and his friends are somehow involved in this… attack. But if I may, the reason for the three being absent from the feast has yet to be revealed. Please, go ahead. 'Harry'." Snape muttered. Harry's innards felt sticky with darkness as he burned his eyes into Snape's pale skull. He had no reason to explain himself to the shady professor, but for the sake of not being expelled, Harry truthfully recalled everything. "Hmph."

"Albus, I think that it's time for the children to go to their dorms."

"That would be best. You are excused, dear children. And Miss Granger? Please tell Theodore to come see me right after breakfast tomorrow. It is quite urgent that you tell him."

"Yes, Professor. Of course!" Hermione replied through the doorway. The three children left the office as the four adults began to speak deeper into the subject.

"Severus, Pomona has prepared some Mandrakes within the greenhouse for teaching purposes. I'm trusting you to create the restorative as quickly as possible." Dumbledore instructed.

"Yes, headmaster. I'll make sure to get right on it as soon as possible."

"You sure you don't want a helping hand, Severus? I've been known to cook up hundreds of the restorative with just a-" Snape held out an open palm to the babbling professor and snapped it shut to stop Lockhart from talking any further. Lockhart blinked multiple times and stepped backwards. "I'll be going to my quarters now. Feel free to use the office as long as you like, but not too long, eh?" Snape excused himself as well, leaving the office to the heads of the school. Dumbledore was lost in thought while McGonagall stared at him, waiting for anything to come out of his mouth.

"Do not look so sad, Minerva. Argus will be fine, you'll see."

"And what if it happens again, Albus? Then what?"

…

' _It can't be… not you… not you, dear boy…"_

The diary was fitted comfortably inside of his bag as Theodore sat contently within the Great Hall. The air was filled with rumours about what had exactly happened. Some were inaccurate, some absolutely far-fetched and others not too far off. Many people had created 'concrete' theories, causing Theodore to break down in laughter on the inside. Granted that he was not completely happy as he failed to do 'real damage' on the Squib, the Parselmouth settled for his current results as Filch was just as good as dead. At least, until the Mandrakes were ready. He knew that the second Filch would open his eyes upon returning, he'd scurry off, never to be seen again. Theodore quite liked that idea, although Tom still favoured the original objective to kill Filch. The younger Riddle secretly knew that he had let his anger get the better judgment of him but nonetheless, ignored it. Filch wasn't around and he felt amazing. Even Mrs Norris was nowhere to be seen.

"Theo, do you have a second?" Hermione turned over to face the boy, life slightly drained from her cheeks. Theodore gave her a smile but she didn't return it.

"Depends on what it is."

"Could you come with me to the library? I need your help with something."

"Like what?"

"Please, just come?" Theodore simply shrugged and took his bag. Hermione took this as a yes and did the same with her things. Over the past few days, Theodore was clueless to the two people that had watchful eyes on him, namely Hermione and Dumbledore. Every time he'd do something outside of his normal mannerisms, his watchers would take mental notes and would set it upon the side for later usage. The Muggle-born remained close, but at a reasonable distance, using her current knowledge about the boy to seek out the sudden barrier that he had installed. She was fully aware that Theodore was a Parselmouth, a term that she had picked up from a little reading. The headmaster would ask the boy's teachers to observe him carefully, reporting to him anything that looked out of the ordinary; anything that looked rather off. The extremity of these tasks was important to the two, as they feared that Theodore was somehow, involved in the attack. They were yearning for their suspicions to be proved wrong in the end.

The walk to the library was awkwardly silent and felt dragging to Hermione. Theodore seemed to be taking his time with his mind occupied on something else as Hermione was on the verge of yelling 'HURRY UP' to the boy. She clung onto her patience and walked side by side with the happy boy, constantly moving her hair away from her face. Better to make small talk along the way, no matter how unnecessary it felt to the both of them.

"How's Viripin doing?" Hermione asked 'curiously'.

"She's alright. Doesn't really come out of her basket these days."

"Maybe you could introduce me to her. You both look like you have a… 'special' bond." Theodore looked confused by the emphasis on the word 'special'. Wasn't it an ordinary thing for wizards and witches to be attached to their pets? Disregarding the fact that he was the Heir of Slytherin, disregarding even being a wizard, having a snake as a companion was not worthy of raising eyebrows. But, Theodore ignored this.

"I guess we do." Theodore and Hermione entered the moderately full library and managed to find a small two-seated table that was far away from the crowded ones. Hermione went deep within an aisle to begin her search while Theodore brought out the diary. He squinted through the aisle to make sure that Hermione was not able to sneak up on him, as well as anybody else. Nobody could know about this, Hermione especially. He brought out his quill and wrote again, inside of the living diary.

' _The entire school are still talking about Filch.'_

' _Good. You must build up the tension among the castle before piercing everyone with fear.'_

' _How do I do that?'_

…

' _Kill a Mudblood.'_ Theodore stopped writing. Kill a Muggle-born? Like an actual Muggle-born, who was in this school? The idea was… something. He only intended to use the Basilisk for Filch alone, not to carry out his ancestor's wishes. Even so, the thought of killing another person made Theodore feel timid, afraid if you will. When he struck down Quirrell, a pain beyond physicality tore inside of him, making him feel a bit unstable. Would it happen again, maybe even more overwhelming the second time? Theodore didn't want to find out.

' _I don't know if I can.'_

' _It'll be easy. You must be vigilant around the castle or otherwise-'_

"Theo, I'm back." Theodore snapped the diary shut and shoved it inside of his robes. Hermione stood over him with a stack of books, still looking unflustered and blank by the boy's clumsiness. "Okay… here. I wanted you to help me look for something that's been on my mind for a while."

"Is it an assignment?" Hermione brushed her hair behind her ears as she opened the highest book in the pile.

"No. It's about the…" Hermione leaned in closer and whispered so softly, "Chamber of Secrets."

…

"Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing," said the Parselmouth calmly. "Just nothing." Theodore grabbed a book and stuck his nose inside, ignoring Hermione's glares. He couldn't pinpoint it but something foul began to stir in his head. Paranoia, maybe? Hermione shouldn't have any idea that he opened the Chamber or that he was the Heir of Slytherin. She was smart, logical and nosy but Theodore could easily misdirect her given just enough time. Not even a single hair had been left behind to deduce that it was him all along. Theodore relaxed and quietly read through a passage about the Founders and their unique symbols. Absolutely nothing to worry about.

The two read in dead silence, one desperate to seek anything about the Chamber; the other desperate to talk with his father. Hermione would occasionally flick her eyes to Theodore, but would not say anything. Theodore felt that this was menial as he knew everything that there was to know. He had better things to do rather than revisit a 'myth' that he had already discovered. Soon, the bell for the next lesson rung in the library and the two children returned their books to leave for History of Magic, a subject that even the two smartest found dreadful.

The young Riddle walked alongside Hermione through the blackboard of the classroom, the only highlight that they would ever receive within the deathly subject. They both parted ways and sat in their seats on either side of the classroom, Hermione next to Harry and Theodore next to Lavender. An unfortunate and poor decision made on Theodore's part, the girl was more than overjoyed to sit next to him. Ten minutes in and the entire class were completely out of it. Everyone was either poking their wands with each other, staring straight through the dull teacher or just simply fell asleep. Even Theodore struggled to keep his head balanced while tilting Lavender away, who'd purposely lean towards him. He ignored it for the first few minutes but now she was doing too much. The girl swayed her head to the left then to Theodore's shoulder but was suddenly stuck in a single position with something holding her in place.

"For God's sake, stop! Stop pretending like you're tired!" Theodore said as he pushed Lavender away from him.

"I can't help it," said the girl 'sleepily', "if I'm tired. Binns is just so boring."

"Then lay your head on the table over there. I don't want your head anywhere near me, it's annoying!"

"Could you at least come closer so that we can talk about anything?"

"No!"

"Mr Rhythm and Miss Blouse, please stop flirting in the corner over there and listen. Thank you." Professor Binns stated in a monotone.

"I wasn't… I didn't…" Stares came from every corner as Theodore returned each one. Seamus was giggling madly in his seat while Ron and Harry were smirking. Hermione for some reason, didn't turn around but Theodore took no notice of this. The boy left his sentence unfinished and slumped back into his chair. Lavender craved for more people to notice that two were 'together' and did her best to aggravate Theodore into disrupting the lesson again. First time was the charm as the Parselmouth ignored her and sunk into his thoughts. Tom's words had ventured into his worryingly shaky conscience and found permanent residence within. Was he actually deciding on whether to kill his fellow students, based on his ancestor's prejudicial ambitions? Was he, a boy trusted by Dumbledore, considering using the-

"…Chamber of Secrets." It was like everyone was drenched with sharply cold water. The entire class turned their heads around to find the person that had mentioned it. Theodore saw Hermione poised and upright, looking straight through Binns' silvery eyes. The boy swallowed carefully. Internal panic, bones beginning to shake, Theodore was nervous. He suspected paranoia was the cause of this. Like the rest of the class, Theodore listened to the professor and Hermione's conversation quietly.

"Miss Grumper, I cannot tell you what I know about that for this is the 'History' of Magic, not legends or myths. Now-"

"I'm sure that it must've originated from something that was real. Isn't it still history all in its own?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Yes but-"

"And as we all know, legends are based around actual events and cultures from the past."

"I know that but-"

"So seeing that it is true, aren't we-"

"Enough! If I must tell you the ridiculous legend of the supposed Chamber of Secrets, will you all focus for the rest of the lesson?" Everyone nodded their heads wildly as they locked eyes with the ghostly professor. Secretly peering from across the other side, Theodore saw Hermione preparing her quill and some parchment, ready to write whatever Binns had to offer. He immediately turned away when Lavender decided to block his vision by shaking her head in front of him. All, but Theodore, were eager, excited to listen to every single word. "This school was founded by the four most prominent wizards and witches of their time, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. I will not go into such detail about them individually, but know that they all wanted children like them to thrive with their magical talents, away from Muggles. These were dark times for our community."

"So then what?"

"I'll get to it, Mr Thin-Thiggin. Peace had been balanced between the four until the divide started to form. It was believed that Salazar saw the school, only for those within wizarding families, pure-bloods if you will. Those born without magical blood, Muggle-borns, were seen as unworthy to him. He even felt contempt towards half-bloods as well. Soon enough, Salazar had left the castle after an argument among the other founders, never to return again."

"But what's the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I'll come to it, Mr Dongflottom! However, Salazar not only left his respective house behind but also his 'legacy'. Somewhere inside of the school, lies a hidden chamber, built by the defected founder himself for his direct heir alone. By using the Chamber, the Heir of Slytherin would cleanse the school of those who were unworthy to study magic. Those, in Salazar's eyes, were impure and… dirty." Theodore felt a sense of superiority that a legend so great and feared, had referred to him. He only wished that his story was as famous as Harry's, probably even more. How often was it that a founder's heir stumbled inside of Hogwarts? Not too often, wasn't it?

"But how? How would they do it?" Hermione asked curiously. She gripped the edge of the table tightly, waiting for the answer to escape from the professor's pale lips.

"A monster, my dear. A monster so terrible and fearsome, that we do not know of it. This monster would fall under the control of the Heir, and the Heir alone, used to commit the most atrocious acts, one couldn't possibly do on their own. Slytherin's Beast."

Theodore couldn't help but smile at everyone's reaction to the story. He inhaled slowly, intoxicating himself with the fear, excreted from his classmates. Lavender was trembling beside him as was Neville in his front. The disturbing unease that filled the room remained all the way until the end of the lesson, when everybody rushed straight through the blackboard. Theodore walked silently next to Ron, Harry and Hermione, listening to their take on his heritage. And he wasn't particularly happy.

"Batshit crazy! Fucking crazy! Who the hell would make him a teacher in this school? Hell, why does he even have a house here!?"

"Well it's not like he really did anything," retaliated Theodore in the most passive tone he could find. "The Chamber of Secrets is probably fake and Slytherin left. Not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal? Hello, Theo! He wanted his own family to kill Muggle-borns. Children, may I add. He's a fucking psychopath and you know it." Ron said harshly.

"Maybe he was just being cautious. There were a lot of witch hunts back then so I could see why he felt like that. He may have wanted what was best."

"I can't believe you're defending him."

"I'm not! I'm just… ahh, forget it. You wouldn't understand." Hermione pushed forward a little further to slow the boys down. It seemed that she had something to say about all of this.

"You know that he was pure-blood supremacist? He went so far as to use a terrible catalyst to kill Muggle-borns, for the supposed superior race. I don't know about you but this sounds awfully familiar."

…

"Did you just compare Salazar Slytherin with Adolf Hitler?" Hermione confirmed Theodore's question with a nod and carried on walking. An inferno was raging inside of Theodore as he pressed on, silent once more.

' _How dare she scale that filthy Muggle to the great Slytherin?! Salazar was a noble man, a man who cared for his people and sought to protect them. He only wanted to persecute those who were born from the enemy. I'm disgusted!"_

Theodore was sulking menacingly as they walked around the castle, waiting for dinner to start soon. He couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling when he was around Hermione. It was like something running inside of his blood urged the boy to… He couldn't describe it but he was feeling something towards the Muggle-born; he could sense that it was far from anything good. Theodore kept quiet as they walked across the Entrance Hall and up the stairs to the second floor. The leak from the bathroom had not been cleared up and filled the entire front of the entrance. Ron, Harry and Hermione halted to read the eerie message that was unknowingly written by their best friend. Theodore didn't know how he did it but when he attempted to carve the words inside of the wall, fire that looked cursed spewed out, seemingly uncontrollable. His instincts saved him from burning himself alive as he somehow managed to control the fire. It etched within the wall and to this day, still burned bright as blood..

"We should… get going, guys. It wouldn't look good if you're caught here again." Theodore said nervously.

"Maybe we should take a look around. Wouldn't hurt would it?" Harry asked as he walked towards the bathroom. Theodore became stiff. They couldn't go inside there. Anywhere but there. Theodore zipped in front of Harry and barricaded the boy from moving further.

"Last year, you 'took a look around' and almost got yourself killed. A lesson that should've been learnt from then, Harry. Let's just go back and- Hermione! Where are you going?"

"In!" Hermione slipped through the doors and disappeared. Ron reluctantly followed and Harry weaved around his unknowningly cousin. The Parselmouth felt the perspiration form on his forehead, slightly sticking his hair together. The diary shook for a second in his bag but Theodore ignored it.

"Aren't you coming?" Harry called from inside. Theodore looked side to side in the corridor, then rushed in to the others. The bathroom looked even more filthy in the daytime, heavily emphasising the dirty sinks and mould that leeched on the walls. He eyed the hidden entrance, praying that none of the others would stay around it too long.

"Theodore, say hello to Myrtle." Theodore spun around and looked at the ghost girl that floated above their heads. Not very attractive, Myrtle was pimply-faced girl, sporting glasses similar to Harry's, a slightly hunched body and a faded uniform which had the desaturated Ravenclaw emblem on her robes. And of course, the ghost girl had her eyes fixated on new boy, gawping at him without a single care.

"Um, hello, Myrtle. I'm Theodore."

"Hiii, Theo! Can I call you Theo?" Theodore felt a painful lump in his throat.

"Sure…" Myrtle swung closer to him, bringing her pale face to his own. Theodore could see the pimples in much more detail as a few had been clawed at and bursted. Even if she was a ghost, the boy was not comfortable by the minimal space between them.

"Hmmm… have I seen you before? You look awfully familiar?"

"Theodore is quite the ladies man. He's probably been in and out of here, snogging the lot of them."

"Shut up, Ron," hissed Theodore. Ron snorted and turned to Harry. The two were whispering about something but he couldn't decipher anything useful. He almost didn't notice Hermione brush up against his arm, shaking her hair underneath his chin. She looked like she was in a fouler mood than before.

"I forgot to ask you. Did you see anything on that night? Anything at all?" Hermione whispered.

"Other than Mrs Norris running across the courtyard, I did not see a thing." Hermione looked like she didn't believe him. The Parselmouth couldn't deal with this anymore. Theodore didn't want to resort to this but if it was a must, so be it. Theodore turned to face her directly and held her shoulders. He brought their faces so close that Hermione could see his hazel iris' wobble as the pupil expanded. The girl's face rapidly changed its hue, her blood rushing through her cheeks and forehead. She never got this close to Theodore, well not for so long. The intake of air was too much through her nose as she slightly wheezed through her mouth. He looked even more perfect up close. Truly an angel, who hid something terrible from her.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Ever since this morning, you've… I don't know, looked angry with me." Hermione looked down to his chest to stop looking at his face any longer. He was toying with her and she knew it. But the girl couldn't help herself from slowly getting caught within his web. She was taking the bait and she couldn't stop, even if she tried.

"I-I'm not a-angry with you. Just… worried. I told you that, didn't I?"

"Look at me, Hermione. Does it look like I'm in any sort of trouble?" Hermione lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. They screamed terror, destruction and latent bloodlust but all that she could see was the genuine sincerity and truthfulness that the boy falsely depicted. Falling victim to his charm, Hermione perked up and sighed. Her cheeks were still pink but she didn't mind at all. Theodore was far from any sort of trouble and was in no way connected to Filch's attack. She couldn't believe that she was on the verge of suspecting him. How foolish of her.

"No, of course not. How silly of me. You've been away for so long and rarely talk now, that I thought… I'm just glad that you're okay." Hermione replied through a smile. Theodore released her from his hold and relaxed. Hermione was the only other student that could've posed a threat to his secret and now that she was dealt with, Theodore needn't worry about her. Myrtle suddenly began to wail violently and dove straight into a cubicle with loud sobs following behind her. The four decided that their stay was overstretched and that it was time to leave.

"Wasn't she helpful?"

"Oh hush, Theo."

"He pisses me right off! I can't believe him!" Ron spat fiercely, his face burning right up. The brief encounter with Percy had left the red headed boy sore as he was stuck in a bad mood, all the way until the common room later that night. The quartet were huddled around a circular table, completing their Charms homework at the same time discussing who could've been the culprit. As expected from the intelligent boy, Theodore had already formulated an entire plan, devoted to his 'innocence'. Hermione was friendly again but he could not afford to give himself away. No, it was better to steer the others onto somebody else. It was the only way and Theodore knew who'd exactly fit in his ploy.

"Don't worry about him, we should be focusing on who opened the Chamber of Secrets." Harry said quietly as he flicked through his parchment sheets.

"Harry's right. We need to find out who this 'Heir of Slytherin' really is. Question is who would do such a thing? Attack a Squib and threaten the Muggle-borns at Hogwarts." Hermione added.

"I've got a pretty good idea." Everyone turned to Theodore, waiting to hear who he suspected. The Parselmouth cleared his throat before speaking. "It has to be none other, than Draco Malfoy." Hermione looked slightly confused but Harry and Ron swallowed it whole. Theodore didn't expect to convince them this quickly. "What do you think?"

"I think that I'm an idiot for not noticing it sooner. How could I not see that?!" Ron gasped.

"Malfoy as the Heir of Slytherin makes perfect sense," explained Harry as he put his quill aside. "Malfoy hates Muggle-borns and probably Squibs alike. Even his dad seems like the type to hate Muggle-borns as well. Maybe it's a family thing, where they hand the key down, father to son." Hermione rubbed her chin while Theodore sat back, rapturous. The sheer amount of satisfaction was indescribable.

"It… does seem plausible, given how he acts around school. But how would we know for sure? It's not like we can just waltz right inside Slytherin Common Room at anytime. We need to think this through, properly." Hermione said. Theodore suddenly stood up and walked to the dorm staircase without saying a word. "Somebody's jumpy. Where are you going?"

"I'll be back, watch." Theodore called from behind him. _'Just as I planned.'_

Theodore quickly rushed to his suitcase and emptied out its contents neatly to search what he was looking for. He had to thank his curiosity, the day he went through Knockturn Alley the first time as there probably wouldn't have been any other way. As Theodore continued looking for what he wanted, Viripin slunk slowly to his leg and brushed her head against the boy she missed for so long.

"Not now, Viripin. I'm doing something."

" _I haven't seen you all-"_

"I said not now!"

…

" _Oh…"_ Heartbroken, the Maibian Adder sadly slithered back into her basket, unable to cry to her distant friend. Theodore felt regret that didn't last long at all, and resumed searching. At last, he retrieved the object of interest and plucked it from the suitcase. This was all too smooth to be true. He ran to the doorway and stopped briefly as he looked behind his shoulder. He hardened his heart and returned to his three friends who were clueless by the boy's doings. Dropping what he had taken from upstairs onto the table, he stood proudly above them.

"' _Moste Potente Potions'_? What the hell does a Potions book have to do with proving if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Well, Ronald, this book can-"

"The Polyjuice Potion!" Hermione cried. Theodore put his finger to his lips as the other Gryffindors gave them a few stares. He sat back down in his seat and leaned in closer to whisper to them. It was crucial that nobody knew of this plan.

"So you know about the Polyjuice Potion. Excellent. Then you'll know what I'm getting at here."

"It's… brilliant! If we do this without any problems, then we could- oh wait. We'll be breaking a lot of school rules…"

"So?"

"We don't want the same thing to happen like last year. This is extremely risky, if not extremely dangerous, Theo." Hermione whispered.

"Then it's a risk worth taking. What if Malfoy really is the Heir of Slytherin and he attacks half of the Muggle-borns before the end of the school year?" Theodore replied with false intent. This girl was almost as stubborn as he was.

"He's right Hermione. None of us want you to be killed because we didn't take the risk," said Harry firmly. "I'm all for it, as soon as you explain to me what the hell is Polyjuice Potion." Theodore and Hermione briefly explained to Harry and Ron the properties and usage of the Potion, as well as the brewing time.

"One month? Are you sure?" Ron exclaimed while he took the book in his hands.

"One month it is. We just have to hold on until it's finished."

"Alright. So where are you going to brew it, Theo? Snape isn't going to let you do it in his office."

"I'm not going to brew it," said the young heir as he turned to Hermione. "We are." Hermione nodded firmly as Theodore felt something diabolical poke in his chest. Oh, he was too good at this.

After everyone had went to sleep, Theodore laid awake up until the proper moment, where he would go downstairs to write to his father. He'd certainly praise him for his natural cunning amongst his friends. It was only a matter of time before the Basilisk needed to be unleashed again. As for now, everything was going at their proper pace. Theodore carried the diary and his writing equipment to the common room and walked over to the table in front of the fire. He sat comfortably and dipped the quill inside of his ink bottle, then scribbled away, unaware that his eyes returned to their unnatural shade of red.

The Quidditch match was far less important at the current matters at hand, for Theodore decided to skip the game; talk to his father inside of the library. Most of the school were away on the fields, giving the Parselmouth nothing to worry about if anyone managed to catch him out. Just him and his father's diary, all alone in the library.

' _Do you plan on starting the potion now? If we are to avoid any suspicion then you must act at once.'_

' _I have it all under control. I've convinced somebody else to help me with the potion, making sure that it will be ready soon.'_

' _Good. I am proud of your tactical nature, Theodore. Truly, you are my own son.'_

' _I'm sure that it must've been easy for you. You were, are a brilliant person.'_

' _There was this one dirty half-breed, who I shifted the accusations on when I opened the Chamber myself. Foolish Dippet was too decrepit to see through me. I should've been more careful when I killed that Mudblood.'_

' _You killed a Muggle-born?'_ Theodore's hand was trembling along the pages as the ink from his quill spurted out a stream of black liquid. It was all soaked up and reused for his father's next message. A message which seemed quite haunting to the twelve year old.

' _It's what I was destined to do, no? I would've slaughtered the filthy lot when I had the chance but I was only successful in the one. You however, are capable of the greatest massacre within the wizarding world! Our ancestor would be proud, if you do as I say.'_

…

' _And that is?'_

' _You know, Theodore.'_

…

' _I will try my best.'_

' _That is all that I ask of you, son. There is no pain in doing the right thing. Forget any feelings towards any of your friends who hold impurity in their blood. Shut your hearts off, to those that do not comply by Salazar Slytherin's wishes! Finish off, what Slytherin and I, had intended for you, your one true purpose in your life.'_

Theodore closed his eyes, feeling something crawl up through his neck and spine, something… hateful. Every breath of air fuelled this feeling as he could not rid himself of it. This hatred for the lesser kind felt natural to him, like it was burned into his genes. Those Muggle-borns, those filthy Mudbloods. He didn't feel any regret thinking that. A word that he hated to his very deep core, suddenly came out like it was nothing. He ran it over in his mind, unaware that he was letting something destructive take over him like a parasite. It was overwhelming, exciting, euphoric. He lived for this, all of this. And nobody could tell him different.

' _I will not dishonour Salazar Slytherin, for it will be me to cleanse this school. It will be… me.'_ He thought to himself. The diary emitted it's alluring warmth once more until a single word emerged from the first page.

' _Purge.'_

Pacing quickly down to the dungeons, the new Heir of Slytherin gripped the diary tightly, inspired by his father's words. Everything was coming together now. No hesitation, no compassion, no mercy. Mudbloods and Squibs, all were underneath him, he was the heir. And it was time to proclaim his heritage by the death of a Mudblood.

Theodore reached the Potions classroom and pressed his palm against the door. The door recognised him as the owner's apprentice and swung wide open for the boy to do as he pleased. He opened up the Potions Professor's locked cupboard with a simple Unlocking Charm and emptied out all the things that he needed for the Polyjuice Potion. He could already see how it would all turn out. Fifteen Mudbloods dead at least, Malfoy blamed for the entire thing and Theodore would get away with it by the end of the year. And there were still more years to come. Who knew how high the count could be by the time he'd leave?

Everything had been accounted for and was safely stored in the boy's bag, all sealed in protective clear bags. He exited the room and made his way to the second floor, finally ready. He was more than ready, he was bloodthirsty. It was just like when he almost killed Filch, only it felt so much more forceful. Maybe this was how he was, a hatred for Muggle blood present, ever since he was born. The rain pattered on coloured windows of the corridors, firing like bullets. Theodore felt at peace listening to the echoes of the rain, only for it to be disturbed again. Running through the hallways were the rest of the Gryffindor second years. Hermione and Ron were the first to reach Theodore, absolutely soaked and smelling of rainwater. Theodore was livid inside due to the hinderance of his next attack, but displayed a false front of concern.

"You guys look terrible. Why is everybody going mad?" Theodore asked as Hermione squeezed her fuzzy hair.

"It's Harry! He was hit by this Bludger that only came after him and Lockhart messed his arm up, really badly and now he's going to the hospital wing and- oh just come along!" Hermione grabbed onto Theodore's right arm and pulled him up to see if Harry was okay. The Parselmouth oddly didn't feel any disgust when the girl clenched onto him tightly, briefly, just briefly, feeling content with seeing her. How odd.

The Gryffindor second years converged the equally drenched Gryffindor team and all spilled into the hospital wing, circling around the scar-bearing boy. Everyone barraged Harry with questions on his condition, praise on his victory and a whole lot of other nonsense. Theodore wanted to slip away to return to the Chamber but Hermione still held a firm grip to his wrist.

"So his arm is broken," said Theodore as he tried to get a look at Harry, "doesn't mean that we all have to… my god. What in the name…?" Harry's arm looked like a poorly made prop used by a fake magician. The way it bent and juddered when Harry would turn his body looked gruesome to Theodore. "Are… you okay?"

"Oh I'm fine, just great. It's not like I have any bones or anything that's BROKEN." Harry sarcastically remarked as he stared at Hermione.

"I was-"

"I have no bones in my arm, Theo! Do you know how it feels to have no bones? It's all because of that blonde haired prick!" Harry shouted.

"Malfoy?"

"Yes! I mean, no. Well-" Theodore turned to Ron as they both nodded at each other. Of course it was Lockhart. Everyone filled Theodore in on what had happened and asked him where he was during all of this. He simply responded with the usual 'I don't even like Quidditch so why should I watch', earning a few jeers from the twins. He ignored this and remained with the rest of his House members until they were kicked out by Madam Pomfrey. They all returned to the common room to dry themselves off and to soon, go to bed. Theodore was leading Ron on with useless chatter as they waited for Hermione to say goodnight.

"So do you think that Malfoy had anything to do with the Bludger?" Ron asked as he picked a scab off his middle finger.

"Possibly. Maybe he's trying to mess with our heads by scaring us. Remember, Hermione is a target for him, if he really is the Heir of Slytherin."

"Who's the target for the Heir of Slytherin?" Hermione walked down the girl stairway with her hair fixed into two frizzy bunches on either side of her head. They still looked relatively damp but otherwise held a lot less water than earlier on.

"Theo was just saying how Malfoy could be coming after you, you know, since he does kinda hates us."

"Well, the sooner we make the Polyjuice Potion, the better," said Hermione as she flicked a stray strand off her eyelash. "The real problem is getting the ingredients. I might be able to look where Snape keeps his things but it will be difficult…"

"No need. Look at what I've gotten." Theodore pulled out his bag from the first step of the boys' dorm staircase and opened it up to reveal everything that he had stolen from Snape's cupboard. Hermione immediately dove her head inside, rummaging through each ingredient, studying them so carefully.

"Lacewing flies… fluxweed, specifically picked in a full moon… and shredded Boomslang skin? Theo, did you steal all of this?" The boy nodded without regret as he watched Hermione look impressed and disappointed at the same time. "So this is why you weren't at the match. You knew that Snape wouldn't be in the castle so you went down into his cupboard to take everything we needed. Amazing! A disgusting amount of rules broken, but still amazing."

"You little deceiver, you. I like that, Riddle." Ron commended as he patted Theodore's back.

"You guys have no idea…"

Ron left the two alone as he said goodnight, yawning noisily while he ascended the steps. Hermione looked through Theodore's bag again, amped on the excitement of the rule-breaking.

"We need to find a place to brew this. I was thinking the abandoned bathroom as-"

"No! Anywhere but there!" Hermione raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips.

"Why not? It's the perfect hiding place to do it. What, is it Myrtle?" Realising that he was beginning to crack under pressure, Theodore rubbed his arm and nodded slowly. Hermione giggled while she covered her mouth. It was the Parselmouth's turn to raise his eyebrow as he asked her what was so funny about it. "Well, it's just that… nothing."

"Tell me."

"Shouldn't you be used to all of this attention by now?"

"What attention…" Hermione rolled her eyes and walked to the staircase.

"Someday, I hope that you'll see how truly crazy, girls are over you. Goodnight, Theo!" Theodore only blinked then saw that he was alone in the common room. His task was still at hand as a Muggle-born needed to die tonight. A Muggle-born, just like Hermione. Hermione…

' _Hmm…'_

The light-absent castle fell asleep while one of its students rose. To be more specific, said student left his House Tower and walked through the hallways without being detected. He made sure that his footsteps left no echo rebounding against the walls. He wouldn't know what to do by then. Hopping and ducking into every shadow in a corner, every pillar that hid him from plain sight, Theodore made it to the second floor, confident that nobody had seen him. He peered around the corner and saw that the bathroom was unguarded. Dumbledore was ignorant to not put up any defences. Smiling deviously, the boy entered to retrieve his Basilisk, his next victim lying around the halls as he descended down the Chamber of Secrets.

 _Thirty minutes later…_

The Serpent of Slytherin slid through the tight pipes that it had been absent from for nearly fifty years. It flicked its forked tongue, sensing her master's movements from the other side of the wall. She heard him hiss and command her, informing her that a Mudblood would die tonight. She was a simple creature, therefore she simply obeyed the boy, ready to serve the new Heir at his whims.

" _I smell it… it comes to us… let me rip it…"_

"Then come to me, serpent." Theodore said in Parseltongue. He closed his eyes as he felt the Basilisk heave through the walls, travelling upwards. The snake exited through a pipe hole above Theodore, slowly coiling her massive frame around her master. Her urge to kill a Mudblood hadn't been quenched ever since she killed the other in the bathroom. She had been sleeping for all this time. She needed to see blood. "Wait… I can hear someone. Wait here…"

" _Yessss…"_

Theodore crept along the corridor walls, closing in on his prey. Wonder and maliciousness filled his brain as he conjured a horrid image of a body, petrified to its absolute limit that it seizes up and falters. Blood for eyes and blackness for a heart, the boy pressed onwards, ready to pounce on whoever was there, and it sure came to him as a surprise.

"What the hell… Collin?" The timid boy spun around on his heels and nervously looked at the older boy. He was in his pyjamas but still had his camera hung around his neck. From what Theodore could tell, the younger boy was going in the direction of the hospital wing, probably to irritate Harry even more with unwanted photos. _'He is young… and so… annoying. You'll owe me a favour by tonight, Harry. I can guarantee it.'_ Theodore edged forwards to Colin, careful to not take larger steps, in case he scared the boy off. He didn't want to set the Basilisk on him through a pursuit. He want to see him drop in front of him, like a rag doll.

"A-are you going t-to see Harry too?"

"Yes," lied the Parselmouth calmly, "I came for Harry. Did you hear about what happened today?" Colin nodded, still obviously scared by Theodore's intimidation.

"I was there… I though that I could get a few pictures in but… maybe that's not a good idea."

"Go ahead! Fine by me! I'm sure that Harry will love to see somebody supporting him during the night, especially you."

"B-but… I thought that he doesn't really want me around," said the Muggle-born sadly. Theodore gave the impression that he cared for Colin, easily manipulating the boy with every word that he said.

"Colin, you need to understand how stressful it is to have a life like Harry's. After everything he's been through, don't you think that he wants to get away from all of that? Maybe you should treat him like a friend instead of a celebrity. Harry would want it this way, I'm sure of it!"

"D-do you think so," squeaked the younger boy excitedly. "Harry wants to be… my friend?" Theodore nodded as he walked closer through Colin's futile barrier of protection. He had caught the little Mudblood in his web. Now, it was time to devour him. "Okay! I'll go to him right now!"

"Before you do that, could you take a photo of me? I wanted to make a 'Get Well' card for Harry. It's going to have all of our photos inside."

"Okay! Okay! Let me just get ready! Takes time, you know. The camera."

"Take all the time that you need… 'Colin'." Colin foolishly fiddled with his camera, unaware that the elder boy's eyes were gleaming with red, channeling his newfound hatred for the Muggle-born's kind.

"Almost got it… let me just… alright! Okay, Theo. I'll count to three and you'll say 'cheese'. You ready?" Colin brought his camera to his eyes and aimed it at Theodore. He thought that the eyes were a trick of the moonlight shining through the stain-glassed windows. Foolish, foolish boy. "Okay! One, two, three…"

"Purge." Theodore hissed in Parseltongue. Through his camera lens was a massive figure, looming above Theodore in the shadows. Colin thought this too, was a trick of the light. Other than the slightly creepy noises that Theodore made with his mouth, the gullible and naïve first year clicked his camera, illuminating the entire hallway in front of him. He saw it entirely, full in detail and blatant terror. A grand snake poised its head above Theodore as the boy smiled wickedly, eyes still red. In that split second of the reflecting white light, Colin was drawn to its yellow eyes, his body suddenly shuddering violently in pain, unable to scream and cry out for help. He suffered in constant agony while all that Theodore could see, was a carcass no less than the filthiest animal…

Colin slumped to the ground, earning a bout of frustration from Theodore. The snake didn't kill the boy, just like Filch. He quickly commanded her to ravage at his body with her teeth, not caring if blood stained the floors. Blood needed to be shed tonight, he promised his father.

"Shit, oh shit! Go! Return to the Chamber at once!" Theodore hissed. The Basilisk obligated instantly and slinked away rapidly out of sight and into the pipe hole that she left from. Theodore sprinted away as he saw candlelights approach him from his left, along with a familiar whimsical mumble. Dumbledore. He dashed across the Entrance Hall and up the stairs, all the way until Gryffindor Tower. He bounded up the stairs and jumped straight under his sheets, breathing erratically with excitement and pleasure. He may have not killed anyone yet, but when everyone would find out what happened, Slytherin's name will be feared from every single corner of the castle, everyone will know… Slytherin's Heir has truly returned…

 _Purge…_

"I can't believe it. A Muggle-born was really attacked yesterday night," said Hermione nervously as she started a magical fire within a drained toilet cubicle. Ron and Hermione outvoted Theodore into using the second floor bathroom as a hiding place for the Polyjuice Potion. Theodore's heart rate sped up every time the other two would collect water from the central sinks, and did his best to not show it. All that mattered now, was the brewing process so that he'd be able to use the Basilisk more freely. It would come, all in good time.

"I mean this in the least offensive way possible, but what was Colin doing out in the middle of the night?" Ron asked as he poured some water into Theodore's old cauldron that was above the fire.

"Maybe to take photos of Harry in the hospital wing. He should've been in bed like everyone else." Theodore said. He opened the potion book and flicked to the Polyjuice Potion section, carefully laying it on top of the toilet for him and Hermione to see. "It is unfortunate though. He's only just a first year."

"Right? I'd be terrified to return here! I don't think anyone has seen anything so horrifying."

"Well, I did see Voldemort's face to- ow! Ron!" Theodore rubbed his arm and then turned to Hermione. "I'm sure that there's nothing to worry about, Hermione. We'll find out who's behind all of this, I swear."

"I know we will. We're 'practically invincible', right?" The girl replied with a smile. Theodore nodded and stirred the incomplete potion after dropping fluxweed and knotgrass inside of it. The first stage was almost done as they needed to wait for around one hour until they could resume. The three waited patiently, ignoring Myrtle's questions(or in Theodore's case, flirting), whispering about what beast they thought was inside the Chamber of Secrets. Ron, having surprisingly accurate intuition, stated that a large snake was the monster while Theodore tried to convince him that it was a murderous ghoul.

"I'm telling you, a giant filthy snake, slithering somewhere inside of the castle. It makes perfect sense!"

"Nonsense, Ron! If it was a giant snake then how comes nobody seen it before?" Ron rolled his eyes at the Parselmouth and firmly stuck to his theory. If the red headed boy was so intuitive about the monster being the snake that it really was, could he see through Theodore's act? It was not likely, but he had to remain watchful towards Ron. Another possible deterrence to his plans. Ron firmly stated that he needed to use the toilet and entered the cubicle next theirs, only to be sent to the boy's one by Hermione and Myrtle. As he grudgingly left the bathroom, Theodore was all alone with Hermione, both slightly embarrassed by Myrtle's presence above them. The ghost girl teased the two children while they turned their heads, wishing for her to vanish immediately.

"You are both so adorable together! Oh how I wished I had a secret love as handsome as Theo! I'm so jealous!" Myrtle squealed happily.

"I'm not- we're not in love…" Theodore grumbled as he opened the bags of lacewing flies and leeches. Hermione had her head turned away the entire time and was hidden underneath her hair. Theodore was right, the ghost girl was a nuisance. Myrtle continued to coo until she floated away, feeling unpleasantly happy.

…

"Are you going to stay for Christmas, Hermione?" Hermione nodded her head slightly. They didn't say a word to each other out of sheer awkwardness and were especially glad to see Ron slip back inside, albeit the fright that he had given to them.

"You should've seen Neville's Green Toe Ring! It's nasty but so wicked! And- what's gotten to the both of you? And why are your cheeks red, Hermione?"

"Ron, shut it."

"Theodore! Come in, dear boy." Theodore walked across the Headmaster's Office, not wanting to spend a single wasted second with the old man. Tom had told him all about Dumbledore when he was at Hogwarts; how he was unable to open it once more due to the close eyes of then Transfiguration Professor. No doubt would Dumbledore suspect Theodore opening the Chamber, just like his father had done. Theodore just needed to keep away from the old man for the remaining time that he had left. He wasn't leaving Hogwarts without a single Mudblood dead.

"Hello."

"Hello, son. Sorry for calling you up during your lesson although from what I've heard from your fellow students, Professor Binns is not the most excitable fellow around." Theodore forced a smile and leaned backwards in his chair. Dumbledore tilted his head slightly at the boy's sudden comfort. Theodore never leaned back in his chair so casually when he was in the office. "I've noticed that your faithful owl hasn't flown out for a while. A perfect view of the owlery, right from that window. Spectacular, really."

"Don't really have anyone to talk to beside my friend, and she's on a tour around the world. Sawer will be fine with the other owls, anyways." Dumbledore focused on the boy's eyes that masked something sinister and terrible. Something that Dumbledore had seen so long ago from another, by the name of Riddle. His plan was failing.

"Theodore, I've been thinking about your Christmas arrangements and would highly recommend that you return to Stuggle's, for Madam Gretchen's sake. She does-"

"Why?"

…

"You know of the attacks, Theodore. I've seen them before a long time ago and I think-"

"I'm hardly in any danger, Professor. The supposed 'Heir of Slytherin' wouldn't come after me." Theodore said as he cut the old man off again. Dumbledore narrowed his blue eyes through his spectacles and pierced into Theodore's. The Parselmouth felt intimidated by the sudden shift of expression and threw his smile away. Dumbledore was starting to see through him and he was just let him.

…

"Is there… anything you'd like to tell me, Theodore?"

A very faint red pigment flashed in the boy's eyes. Theodore's tainted heart felt pleasure in the headmaster's uncertainty, secretly trying to pierce in his own when it was his turn to be foolish, for Dumbledore had seen everything.

"No… nothing at all… Professor."

 **Now what exactly is happening to the little fella known as Theodore Riddle? Is it the diary spewing evilness inside of him or is it simply drawing out the darkness that is already present inside of the boy? And why the hell hasn't Myrtle recognised Theodore going through the bathroom? Find out on the next episode of POA, along with this shitty DBZ… thing! Later.**

 **beowolfalein: thank you. That was the first chapter that I needed to use notes and bullet points before writing it, since I literally write everything off the top of my head lol**

 **johnjohn1970: respect. Love that you loved it :)**


	16. Chapter 16: You Have Your Father's Eyes

' _How long before the Polyjuice Potion is ready for use?'_

' _Around three more weeks, maybe even two.'_

' _And your 'partners'? They are competent, to say the least?'_

' _Don't worry, father. I have the best working with me to create the potion. It'll all be ready, soon enough.'_

' _Excellent.'_

Theodore closed the diary firmly as he tucked it away into his schoolbag, away from prying eyes. The library was much less fuller than what it would've usually been, due to the tremendous panic that Theodore had caused secretly. Places that seemed too 'obvious for an attack' were kept well away from the other students, leaving Theodore to study in peace. One of the many benefits of terrorising a school. Of course, Harry, Ron and Hermione were the least afraid and would cautiously enter the deserted rooms that Hogwarts had to offer. This time, the four were spread across the library, still trying to find anything about the Chamber of Secrets without the constant barrage of the other students.

"I give up," said Theodore as he returned to their base table. "There's literally nothing. It's a dead end."

"Same here." Harry said defeatedly. Ron nodded too as Hermione was desperate for them to carry on searching. "Hermione, we've done all that we could in here. Let's just wait for the potion to get ready and then we will find out if it really is Malfoy."

"Fine. I was just so sure that it would be here somewhere but… let's just go."

"Thank god!" The boys said in unison as Hermione shot them dirty looks. Everything was running so smoothly. Nobody even batted an eye at the Gryffindors, let alone Theodore and it seemed like some pressure was pressed upon the Slytherins as people began to suspect them. Most would blame Draco in secret, but were too afraid to say it aloud. Theodore even overheard a conversation between Snape and McGonagall, about Aurors looking into the attacks soon enough. He didn't know if he was old enough to go to Azkaban but if he ever slipped up in the slightest way…

The quartet returned to the common room and relaxed on the free sofa. The rest of the Gryffindors were hushed, probably still coming to terms with Colin being attacked. Everyone would be lying if they said that they missed the constant clicking of his camera around Harry, but couldn't help feeling terrible for him. At the end of the day, he was still an eleven year old boy. Irritating, persistent, but an innocent one. His attacker didn't even feel any sentimental emotions towards Colin. He was just a dirty Muggle-born; nothing more.

"Guys, guys! I've got something to tell you!" Seamus came leaping over to the four, crashing into Neville in the process. He picked himself back up and ignored the winded boy to pass on his desperate news. "Guys!"

"Yes, Seamus, we heard you from all the way over there." Ron said.

"Guess what? Forget it, there's going to be a Duelling Club tomorrow evening! Isn't that cool?"

"A Duelling Club," said the Parselmouth curiously. "Why would they want to start a Duelling Club?"

"Maybe the Beast of Slytherin is a massive half-snake, half-wizard, troll thing that has a massive club-like wand, which it uses to-"

"Relax, Seamus. Where is it going to be? And who's leading it, anyways?" Seamus shrugged and turned around to help Neville, who was still sprawled along the ground. The four turned back to each other, wondering if the club was such a good idea. Theodore thought that it was absolutely foolish, seeing as nobody in his year had the courage and power to face a Basilisk. Whoever started this club was preparing everyone else for their awaiting death sentence.

Night time rolled around pretty quickly as the snow began to build rapidly outside. White, fluffy sheets laid upon the roofing and the school grounds, sending a brilliant sheen inside of the castle when the moonlight was reflected. All but Theodore was asleep in the dorms as the scribbles of a worn quill rapidly pressing against the worn diary, could be heard from the common room. The more the days came and went, the greater the obsession Theodore had for the diary as he couldn't draw himself away from it. It was a necessity to write everyday, pouring all of himself into it and gaining something else in return. Every time Tom would write back to him, any sense of compassion for others dwindled over time, replaced by anger and ruthlessness. But the boy knew better than to act on these newfound traits. Eyes will always be peering into his direction, especially Dumbledore's.

Theodore closed the diary and tucked it underneath his armpit as he left towards the boys' dorm. His time being secluded from everyone else was precious amongst other things but could not be squandered by anyone nosy enough to expose him of his suspicious actions. Had he stayed a minute longer, Harry could've caught him, then and there.

"What's got you awake," asked the Boy Who Lived, yawning while rubbing his lazy eyes in the corner. Harry's hair was even more messier than it usually was, and his glasses were nowhere to be seen. To Theodore, he looked several years younger, for some odd reason. Theodore was the eldest one of the two, after all.

"You know me. Can't ever sleep properly in this place. Maybe it's because of everything that's happening right now. What about you?" Harry scratched his belly and yawned again before answering his cousin's question.

"If I told you, then you'd think that I would've gone mad."

"I think we're beyond the brink of madness anyways. Tell me." Theodore had time to spare and wasn't in a rush to go to bed. He and Harry walked over and sat on the sofa, in front of the fireplace that burned brightly. Harry rubbed his eyes until they were fully open, and stared into the fire that licked the everlasting wood gently. Theodore could see trouble and fear in his green eyes but did not say anything.

"I've been hearing these… voices recently. I don't know who, what or where they are, but they all sound so real, so similar. Like, the first time I heard it, was upstairs in the dorm room. It sounded familiar but I couldn't… get a hold on it. And on Nick's Deathday party, we left to go back to the Great Hall when I heard it again, in the walls. Something wanted to… rip something… kill somebody. Right before we found Filch on the second floor. Not only that, but when I was in the hospital wing after the match, I heard them again. It was different from the last one though. One was human-like, and the other… wasn't. And that was when Colin was found as well."

…

"And you think…"

"I think whatever that… 'thing' is, is the one attacking the students. And call me crazy but, it sounded almost snakelike… You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Theodore shook his head as the diary shuddered a little in his armpit. This revelation was confusing, to say the least. How did Harry understand the exact words that the Basilisk said, when he set her on Filch? Theodore remembered her bloodlust clearly, but it made no sense as to how Harry knew anything. He was definitely no Heir of Slytherin, nor Parselmouth.

"This is probably all in your head," theorised Theodore. "Remember when you had nightmares last year?"

"Yeah, but that was when Voldemort was near the castle. Unless he's prowling around, hiding right under our noses, I seriously doubt it. Hermione and Ron couldn't hear it, so why could I?"

"I don't know."

"Figures… You still write in your dad's diary?" Theodore squeezed the diary as his nostrils flared.

"What?! What diary?"

"The one that's under your armpit?" Harry replied. He looked at Theodore, confused for a second. It was only a simple question. Theodore took the diary out and gazed at it, forgetting to answer Harry's question. "Theo. Theo? Theo!"

"Yes," said the Parselmouth softly, "I still do. It's like I'm talking to him, for real. Like he's really there. You feel that too, right? When it's like your mum or dad are almost… alive." Theodore felt Harry place a hand on his shoulder as he carried on staring at the diary.

"You feeling okay?" Theodore got up to his feet and tucked the diary away once again.

"More than okay, Harry. I feel amazing. We should go to sleep now. I can't wait to start at the Duelling Club. Come on, then!" Theodore led the way to the dorm as Harry followed slowly. His eyes were probably deceiving him, a trick of the fire maybe, but Theodore's eyes were scarlet. For almost three seconds. Theodore's face looked hollow and his cheeks were gaunt, like he hadn't been eating anything. Maybe everything was really all in his head and that he was just imagining things. But those eyes, he's seen those eyes before. But from where?

* * *

" _Vigilance is the key! You must all be at your best, at all times or it will be your downfall!_ A quote from 'Dastardly Duel Tips', available now in all bookstores. I live by this every time that I encounter the unlucky wizard or witch in a duel and I-"

"-don't seem to be able to shut the hell up." Ron muttered under his breath. Hermione told him to shut up and just like all the other girls, gawped at Lockhart walking up and down the large golden stage in the Great Hall. The Duelling Club had attracted the attention of multiple students from each House as they were all eager to learn from the very 'best' that was Gilderoy Lockhart. Theodore, along with Harry and Ron, however were downhearted to see the celebrity use the club as an opportunity to parade himself. Dumbledore seriously couldn't find a better teacher than this?

"Now! Before we start, Professor Snape and I will demonstrate the correct way on how your stance must be like. Look at- yes, Mr Riddle?"

"Sir, what if the person you're trying to duel wants to kill you?" Theodore asked aloud.

"I do not understand your question, dear boy."

"I mean, if it's not a friendly duel exactly, then wouldn't trying to find the correct stance be a waste of time?"

"Well, that depends. Your muscle memory must be-"

"What if you had one leg, or one arm," interrupted Seamus. "Isn't that like an unfair advantage?"

"Mr Finnigan, I-"

"Or is it a fair advantage? I heard this witch that had like no legs and arms, and she would duel with her wand in her mouth. She killed like, a million wizards in her prime!"

"That's bullshit, Seamus!"

"I'll prove it to you, Ron!" Everyone broke into a large chatter as they began to discuss their exaggerated stories about legendary duels from the past that their parents had told when they were younger. Ron and Seamus spiralled into an argument and almost a fistfight when Snape hushed everyone with a quick motion of a hand. Theodore could still hear the other two elbowing each other behind his back but ignored them.

"Thank you, Severus. Now that we got the questions out of the way- no Seamus, enough questions! Now that they're out of the way, we shall now demonstrate for you! When you're ready, Severus!" Lockhart braced himself stylishly by spinning around like a ballet dancer. The girls swooned and were entranced by the celebrity's movements. Snape however simply mimicked an ancient swordsman, his legs slightly bent and his wand held like a sword. Opposed to Lockhart's perfect smile, Snape was on the verge of growling viciously. The air became tense as nobody moved. Wisps of cold air rhythmically escaped from the noses of the children, hanging on to every twitch from the professors.

"Three…"

"This is going to be amazing! I feel so bad for Professor Snape!" Hermione whispered to Theodore.

"For Snape?!" Theodore whispered back.

"Two…"

"Did you even read his book? He once-"

"Forget the books, look at Snape's face! He wants to see blood!"

"I seriously doubt that."

"One!"

Lockhart flicked his wand quickly as he tried to mutter a spell but Snape was even quicker. The greasy-haired professor aimed his wand straight to his opponent and bellowed, " _Expelliarmus!"_ , sending a brilliant stream of red to Lockhart, blasting him all the way over to the other side of the stage. The Slytherins applauded Snape as he curled his lip slightly at the sight of Lockhart being completely dazed. Some of the girls screamed while the Gryffindor boys snickered.

"Stop laughing! He could be hurt!" Hermione said shrilly as she tried to tiptoe above the crowding girls to see if Lockhart was okay. Theodore, Harry and Ron retained their laughter just slightly so that they could talk to the overly-anxious girl.

"He'll be- haha- fine, Hermione," said Theodore in between laughs.

"Yeah," added Ron while he wiped his tears. "It's not like he's an amateur. Look, he's getting up right now." Hermione spun on her heels and clasped her hands together when she saw the knocked down Professor return to his feet, albeit wonkily.

"I-I'm alright, children. Oh, my wand! Thank you, Miss Brown… yes, yes, you all had your fun now let's simmer down, children. Thank you." Lockhart brushed the dust off his exquisite robes and fixed his hair quickly with a twirl of a wand. An unnecessary use of magic in Theodore's eyes. After a dragging speech of self-denial that he wanted Snape to attack him, Lockhart had decided to partner people up so that he could draw the embarrassment away from himself, as well as to let the children have some fun. And of course, that could easily be ruined in a blink of an eye.

"No. No. Definitely no! Weasley, get away from Riddle and pair up with Finnigan. It wouldn't be a fair duel, anyway." Snape had ignored the offended expression of the red head and continued to ruin all the wanted partnerships of Gryffindor specifically.

"Could I go with Hermione?" Theodore asked quietly.

"No." Snape replied with a dead tone. Hermione sulked when she was told to partner up with Millicent and Theodore was still being dragged around by Snape to find somebody else that wasn't in Gryffindor. "Here we go… Riddle!"

"I'm right here, Professor."

"Don't give me lip, boy! You will partner up with Finch-Fletchley, and don't you dare try and swap partners!" Snape started to glide away before he turned around to add one more thing. "And make sure you don't hurt him too much eh, Riddle?" Justin looked worried by Snape's words and was reassured by Theodore that he was only joking.

"So, Theodore. What do you think about the recent attacks?" Justin asked while he ruffled everywhere through his robes to find his wand.

"Why do you ask," replied the Parselmouth as he was already in his stance. Justin was the last person Theodore would think that would suspect him as the person behind the attacks, so there was no reason to feel paranoid. Most likely an awkward attempt of small talk.

"Well, it is quite scary knowing that there's a monster in the castle. I mean, don't you think that Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic ought to do something?"

"They're doing the best they can. If they couldn't find the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago, then nobody would expect them to find it now. The Heir of Slytherin is probably too scared to show his face again anyways."

"I guess. But isn't it obvious that the Heir is right here? Why haven't they interrogated all of the Slytherins to find the arsehole," asked Justin as he finally found his wand. Theodore shrugged and the two were prepared for the practice duel.

"Three… two… one!" Lockhart shouted. Justin attempted to hit Theodore with the same spell as Snape but Theodore narrowly ducked his head. He heard something hit the ground with a thud behind him, positive that Justin had hit someone else. Theodore wasted no time and pointed his wand to Justin, thinking of any spell to use.

' _The Disarming Charm! No, Justin already used that. Maybe the Tickling Charm? Nah. How about…'_

" _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " Theodore cried. An unfortunate mistake had occurred as Theodore actually wanted Justin's wand to float in the air, not the other way round. At least ten feet in the air, Justin was flailing wildly as he screamed to be let down. Everyone else stopped their own duels to watch the floating boy, some laughing at the boy's tears.

"Disarm only, Mr Riddle! What part of that do you not understand?" Lockhart said as he rushed to the scene, alongside with Snape.

"I tried to make his wand fly up but instead it must've hit him by mistake," justified Theodore. Snape shoved him to the side and swished his wand to bring Justin down to the ground. The frightened boy was clinging onto Lockhart as his eyes almost popped out from their sockets. He looked severely traumatised. "Justin, I'm-"

"Get away from me!" Justin cried as he hid behind Lockhart. The rest of the club pointed fingers to Justin as they cackled uncontrollably, the Slytherins especially. Theodore could see the embarrassment crawl upon Justin's face, desperately trying to wipe away the tears that he shed from being so high up. The young Heir attempted once more to reconcile with Justin but was a futile attempt on its own as the embarrassed boy zipped away to his friends around the corner.

"Well. That escalated rather quickly. Anyways, we should…"

"That was bloody brilliant, Theo!"

"Calm it down, Ron. I didn't mean to do that," said Theodore as he rejoined his friends in the crowd. Several of the Slytherins whistled and clapped for him as he walked past.

"Maybe you should be more careful next time. Justin isn't really the bravest sort of fellow around." Hermione said after rubbing her sides. Theodore was curious to know what happened to her, as well as Harry and Ron. "Millicent tried to suplex me and it half-worked. Sort of landed on my side." Theodore glared at Millicent who was busy chatting away with Pansy Parkinson, another Slytherin girl who's mouth was as foul as her husky friend. Saying her name was like poison in Theodore's mouth as he still remembered what she had said about him a few months ago.

"You should report her. Or give her a nice good hex. I know a few good ones that will really shut her up." Hermione waved her hands madly at the thought of her attacking Millicent. Not only was she not about to break school rules(because she wasn't doing that in the first place), but she had no intentions of confronting Millicent again. "Alright, alright. Let's just-"

"Potter and Riddle!" The two boys turned their heads at the calling of their names, and were beckoned to come onto the stage by Lockhart and Snape. Theodore looked to Harry with confusion as they had no idea as to why they were called up. They walked around to the little stairs on the sides and nervously walked side by side to the professors, who both had an odd amount of glee upon their faces. The boy's were especially creeped out by Snape's face and did their best to turn away from it. Lockhart patted both boys on their shoulders roughly and smiled to the crowds like they were his protégées.

"Now! Let us witness these two brilliant boys against each other, and see how they would act under the pressure of a crowd. I myself, have duelled thousands of times in front of many crowds, so I know how you're feeling, boys. It's okay to shake a little, Mr Riddle."

"I'm not scared."

"Sure you aren't. Now, proceed to go to your corners, children!" Theodore swallowed as he watched Harry and Lockhart walk across to the other side of the stage, while Snape loomed behind him. Everyone was whispering in excitement as they were about to watch a school highlight, one that they would never forget. As Lockhart gave Harry a pep talk, Theodore turned around to the shady professor.

"Um, Professor? Did you choose me to duel Harry?" Theodore asked as he rubbed his elbow.

"I'm sure that you're more than capable of taking on the 'Boy Who Lived'. Or are you afraid?" Theodore shook his head. "Good. Do not disappoint me out there, Riddle. Go on!"

The Parselmouth turned back around as Harry was all alone on the other side. He heard Snape hop off the stage as he left the boy to duel his cousin alone. His wand was firmly gripped between his pale fingers, his arm was still and not shaking, but his eyes were all over the place. He darted his eyes to Harry, Lockhart, Malfoy, Harry again, Hermione, then Lavender, back to to Lockhart, then to Harry once more. Theodore kept his eyes on his friend and made sure to not pull them away on the off chance that Harry would beat him in an instant.

"Alright, lets go! Three!" Lockhart shouted.

"Scared, Potter," muttered Theodore with a smirk.

"Two!"

"Oh, you wish, Riddle." Harry replied as he returned the smirk.

"One…" Theodore and Harry kept both wands at the ready, doing their best to imitate the professors. Theodore cycled through his known spells and tried to think of any until he found the perfect one.

"Go!"

" _Ebublio!_ " Theodore cried. A giant bubble formed around Harry as it lifted him up in the air. Harry didn't look at all terrified by the sudden change in altitude but was distressed that he couldn't pop it at all. Lockhart was scolding Theodore about sending another student flying in the air but was simply ignored. Theodore was having way too much fun with this. Harry used his wand to jab the bubble one last time and fell to the stage with such grace that Lockhart couldn't deny how majestic it was.

"You've got to try harder than that, Theo. I'm a little disappointed to be honest." Harry stated as he mockingly brushed his shoulders.

"Well if you're done doing ballet, hit me with your best shot." Harry immediately stuck out his wand and shouted, ' _Rictusempra',_ hitting Theodore square on the chest. Theodore could feel multiple hands tickle his sides as he bent over, trying to keep his laughter from expelling out. He heaved in every amount of air that he could take in until the tickling subsided. Harry was smirking proudly as he ignored Lockhart's warnings of not using any disarming spells. "Phew! Mark me impressed, Harry. But we're just getting started!"

"No, no, no," yelled Lockhart as he walked upon the stage, "you are not getting started at all! I said disarm only!" The two boys groaned and rolled their eyes. They nodded their heads reluctantly so that they could continue their duel without anymore interruptions from anybody else. But the second Lockhart had touched the stone floors of the Great Hall, Theodore went against the rules once more and conjured a snake as large as himself, in the middle of the stage. Several people screamed as they scurried backwards to hide behind each other.

The snake, which was an enlarged cobra, flicked its forked tongue out slowly, eyeing the terrified crowd with its black, beady eyes. After a hilarious attempt to get rid of it by Lockhart, the cobra became even more violent, baring its giant fangs to the professor. It slithered slowly towards him as he crawled quickly over the side, landing painfully on his back. Justin was underneath the coward as he tried to hide under the stage, away from the threatening snake. Justin was afraid of a few things: heights, fireworks, snakes. And today was just not his lucky one. The snake poised its head towards the two wizards on the floor, ready to jab its deadly fangs inside of the two when Theodore heard it.

" _Leave him!"_ Harry cried to the cobra. The snake obediently pulled away from Lockhart and Justin, and remained still as it fixed its eyes on Harry. Harry looked relieved that he stopped anything terrible from happening and smiled to everyone, only to receive shocked faces. Everyone looked at Harry with disgust and fear while it was only his three friends who gazed at him differently. All but Theodore couldn't understand what had just happened. He was so sure of it. The way Harry was speaking was like it was English but had a twist to it, like an accent. And Theodore understood every single word.

"Y-you're a… Parselmouth?" Theodore stammered.

"Wh-what? What's a…" He turned to Justin and hopped down towards him. "Justin, I-"

"This… this a sick joke! You made the snake and you forced it to attack me because I'm a Muggle-born didn't you?!" Justin accused. Theodore couldn't say anything as he was still frozen from the staggering revelation. He wasn't the only Parselmouth in the school. There were two of them. Not one, but two. This couldn't be possible, not a chance. He was supposed to be the only one here, nobody else was supposed to speak Parseltongue!

"We didn't… this isn't a joke, Justin." Theodore insisted as he hopped down from the stage as well. "I was just-"

"You're both sick! The pair of you! Get away from me! Leave me alone!" Justin sprinted away from the two boys as he left the Hall, along with his friends. Theodore looked at Harry with anxiety poking in his stomach. This was bad. This was very bad. Justin would surely tell on them both, which would buy the two multiple detentions that would last all the way until their last year. Theodore wouldn't be able to open the Chamber ever again. He couldn't frame Malfoy as the Heir of Slytherin and… A horrible thought crossed his mind. What if everyone thought that Harry and Theodore were in fact, the Heirs of Slytherin? What if Harry… really was an Heir of Slytherin?

Hermione tugged Theodore by his arm while Ron pulled Harry by his robes. The two didn't say anything as they dragged the Parselmouths to their 'supposed' common room, not giving a single chance of an explanation as to what happened. They reached the common room and threw the two boys onto the sofa. Ron had stern expression that was similar to his mothers and Hermione looked worried.

"Since when have you two been Parselmouths?" Ron asked harshly.

"I'm not a Parselmouth!" Theodore lied. "I didn't even say anything remotely close to Parseltongue down there!"

"Alright then, since when have YOU been a Parselmouth?" The question was directed towards Harry as he looked confused by the term. "Somebody who can talk to snakes?"

"Oh. I know that. I've been speaking to snakes for ages. Is that a bad thing?" Ron fainted into the armchair and quickly woke back up.

"'Is it a bad thing', he says… 'is it a bad thing', he asks…"

"Harry, this is a really, really bad thing." Hermione whispered. Harry was frustrated with cryptic atmosphere in the air and demanded the answer that would haunt him forever.

"Being a Parselmouth… could mean that you're related to Salazar Slytherin." Theodore said. For all he knew, it could be true. Maybe, in the weirdest of ways, his father's and mother's bloodline diverged greatly throughout history only to rejoin once more to create Theodore. It was quite sickening to know that he could be a product of inbreeding but knew that it was common for some pure-bloods to marry their cousins, all for the sake of keeping their bloodline 'clean'. Theodore still thought that it was disgusting.

"What? B-but how?" Harry stuttered as he gripped his robes tightly.

"There's a reason why the snake is the symbol for his House, Harry," explained Theodore. "Slytherin was a Parselmouth, he could talk to snakes. And now…"

"And now what?"

"And now people are going to think that you're the Heir of Slytherin."

"But I'm not!" Harry snapped, then fell into anxiety once again. "I can't be." Theodore wanted to say something to reassure that he wasn't the Heir of Slytherin when he caught Hermione's eyes again. That same look from when she was cautious of Theodore's actions had returned again. Theodore pretended to ignore her and said nothing to the others. This slip up from the Duelling Club might've severely thwarted his plan to frame Draco for the attacks, all because he lost focus in a stupid duel. What could he do now, when the whole school will point fingers in the right direction, and find the true Heir? What could he do?

* * *

"Theo… Theo… wake up, it's me!" Theodore turned to his side slowly as the blurry figure of a scar-bearing boy came into focus. He groaned quietly as he lifted himself up from the bed while he rubbed his semi-open eyes. The true Heir was having a dream about something vaguely familiar, something about the Chamber and a filthy Mudblood. Someone like Jus…

"Theo, could you come downstairs with me? I need someone to talk to." Harry asked quietly.

"What about Ron?" Harry turned to the sleeping red head and shook his head. Theodore followed the black-haired boy down the spiral staircase and into the common room where he slumped upon the sofa. Harry decided to pace up and down in front of the fire while he rubbed his temples roughly. Theodore's eyes followed him left and right until he couldn't take it anymore. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"I… I think I really am the Heir of Slytherin." Theodore held in the scoff and narrowed his eyes. "You don't believe me?"

"Well it's kind of hard to believe you when you're in Gryffindor."

"The Sorting Hat originally wanted me in Slytherin." Harry blurted out. He stood there, frozen by what he told Theodore. He never revealed it to anyone, so why to Theodore? Recently, Harry always felt closer to Theodore than the other two, unable to explain why. Something about him was just familiar.

…

"Well? Anything?"

"… okay. Okay." It could not be a coincidence that both Theodore and Harry, cousins, orphans, Parselmouths and were initially chosen to be inside the feared House of Hogwarts. There was no way that it couldn't come down to Harry being an Heir of Slytherin. And Theodore thought that he had already so much in common with the Boy Who Lived.

"Okay? Wait… do you have anything to say?" Harry asked as he blocked Theodore from heat of the fire. Theodore wanted to reveal himself so bad but he knew the consequences for he had foreseen everything. The disappearances, the friendship with Draco and the fact that he was a Parselmouth would all lead to him, and he couldn't have that. Harry may have been his cousin but to him, Theodore was just his best friend.

"We should get on it tomorrow, find out if you're really the related to Slytherin."

"But… but…" Harry sighed then gave up. It was too deep in the night to think about this, no matter how large it was. He was holding Theodore up for unnecessary time and needed to think through this himself before asking others. The two returned to their beds, both unable to sleep for they were the two Parselmouths of Gryffindor. How odd was that?

* * *

' _I have to kill him?'_

' _It's the only way, Theodore. He must pay for what he did, nobody can know of our plan.'_

' _But if I kill him, won't everyone suspect me and Harry?'_

' _Harry? Harry who?'_

' _Nobody.'_

' _Tell me.'_

…

' _Harry Potter.'_

' _Why would he be a suspect?'_

' _Harry's a Parselmouth, like us. He spoke it yesterday when I conjured a snake in our duel.'_

' _And does everyone believe that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin?'_

' _Well, yeah.'_

' _Tell me more about this Harry. What does he look like? What is his blood status? What makes him so special? And how do you know him?'_

…

' _He looks very little like me, he's a half-blood like me, he defeated Voldemort when he was a baby and he is my best friend. Why do-'_ Theodore's written words were completely absorbed as his father's resurfaced.

' _He defeated Lord Voldemort? How? When? How?!'_

…

' _I don't know how but I know when. He was around one years old at the time. Why are you so interested, father?'_

…

' _Father?'_

' _All will be revealed in good time, my son.'_

' _What does that mean?'_ The page turned empty but no ink emerged from the pages themselves as Tom gave no reply. Almost everything that Tom had said after he mentioned Harry was out of character, well to him. He couldn't have possibly known who Voldemort was, as well as Harry. They were well after his time, decades in fact. For a second there, Theodore could feel an obsession for Harry brew from the diary. He tried to write again to Tom but the diary remained blank.

The young Heir sighed as he placed the diary in his bag, and carefully manoeuvred his way down the marble head of his ancestor, cautious of how fatal the impact would be, had he fell. He splashed onto the large flooded puddle and flicked his shoes to rid any slime or half-decayed rat skin. Salazar could build an entire chamber under the school without anyone batting an eye, but couldn't afford decent plumbing? Theodore cared no more for his soaked trousers as he called the Basilisk to his side, after keeping his eyes firmly shut. A hiss, then a thud followed as he could feel the serpent wind her massive body around him.

" _Master… we kill tonight?"_

"We kill today. Right now. There's a Mudblood who I can't afford to keep alive. Do not disappoint me this time." Theodore hissed. He needed this death so that his father could truly see him as an equal. Petrified Mudbloods meant nothing compared to dead ones.

' _Where shall we go?"_

"Meet me on the fifth floor. Stay hidden in the walls and do not come out when I tell you to. Now go." As the behemoth of a snake slithered away obediently, Theodore waited until he could not feel the movement of the snake along the stone wet floor. He opened his scarlet eyes and paced towards the entrance of the Chamber, hatred and malice all riled up in the most abominable ways possible in the boy's infected heart.

The familiar stench of the girls' bathroom filled Theodore's nose as he climbed out of the entrance with much more difficulty than the previous times. The Basilisk would always carry him up there, saving him the trouble of slipping continuously down the deathly steep pipe, and possibly trapping himself down there forever. Fortunately, the Parselmouth managed to pull through as he threw off his robes and cleared away any cobwebs or slime that hung off him.

"He is so insufferable! How can somebody be so bigheaded over a game of chess? It's… it's- Theo? What are you doing here?" The second the central sinks had assumed their usual position, Hermione had flung the door open in annoyance, completely unaware of Theodore's presence till now.

"Me? Don't you remember? We're brewing the Polyjuice Potion. I just came in to check on it but some toilet water backed up and splashed all over me. Look." Hermione scrunched her face up when she saw strings of slime hanging from his cheeks and arms, and was reluctant to help him clean it off.

"Maybe you should go back to the common room to get yourself clean again. We have a free period so it'll be fine."

"Maybe I should. See you later then!" Theodore said as he rushed to the door, until Hermione held him back by his arm. _'What does she want now?!'_

"Aren't you going to stay and watch the Potion?" Hermione asked bossily.

"Why can't you do it, you're already here! And look at the state of me, I'm a mess!"

"It's supposed to be the both of us making the-" Theodore was already halfway out the door as he waved goodbye. "Theo! Come back here! Theo!"

The hallways were frightfully dark, spewing an ominous spirit which forebode the terrible act that would spill onto the castle's very floors. The 'victimless' Heir strutted along the empty corridors, ignoring the lessons that once interested him passing by. Nothing mattered now, only Justin. Justin with his ruined corpse being sent back to his family. Justin, another Mudblood that had fell under the wrath of Salazar Slytherin. Justin who was… right in front of him.

The Muggle-born froze in his steps as he was struck by fear for who he saw. Theodore was only an inch or two shorter than him, had a frame which didn't even whisper danger, and a face which would make you think that he was drowning in vanity. What made him so terrifying then? So horrifically fearsome that a boy like Justin, would dread to even have him cross his mind. Justin was no coward but he wasn't fearless either. Whether it was fear or bravery that forced him to do it, Justin stood in the same position, unwavering from his spot.

"Justin! Just the guy I wanted to see." Theodore exclaimed as he neared forwards to the frightened boy. Justin was ready to scurry away but still remained in his place.

"Why? So that you can surprise me with something else? Got an even bigger snake around the corner?" Theodore smirked when he said that. He loved it when people were right about him, even when they had no clue about it.

"You have no idea," muttered the Parselmouth under his breath. Justin stiffened as his face began to turn pale. His legs seemed to not work at all.

"I heard that. I heard that!"

"I was just joking, Justin."

"No you weren't. I can see it clearly, in your eyes. You're not normal like everyone else. I remember when you were almost put into Slytherin last year, how you were obsessed with why you were picked for Gryffindor instead. I know everything." Theodore twitched his right eye as he wanted to end the Mudblood with his own hands. How dare he try insert himself into his business!

"You might want to choose your words carefully, Justin."

"I'm not afraid of you, Theodore. Everyone else doesn't see it but I do. You're a monster, hiding and waiting until it's your time to strike. Hell, you're probably the one behind the attacks as well."

"Justin? Is that you? What did I tell you, you should be in the- what's going on? Why are talking with Justin?" Ernie stuck an arm out in front of Justin in a protective manner as he too began to draw sharp breaths.

"Aren't we allowed to talk with each other? I only wanted to apologise." Theodore said softly, though it came out more creepy than anything.

"Bullshit," hissed Ernie. "It's always like that with you Gryffindors. Always bullying the other Houses, going around and thinking that you're celebrities. It's good that we done you proper and reported you to Professor McGonagall."

"What?!" Theodore screamed. The two boys flinched and turned around to escape from the livid boy. Theodore was fuming beyond anger as he heard the hisses of Basilisk crawl beside him. He didn't care if Ernie was pureblood. It was a waste of a status anyways. Without a seconds hesitation, Theodore snarled then spoke in the cursed language:

"Kill!"

Theodore felt the Basilisk hurtle through the stone walls at such dangerous speeds, rattling the hanging photos that were vacant of any inhabitants. Anger still pulsated through his veins as Theodore wanted to see his work. He wanted to see the dead Hufflepuffs lie under his feet, correct in life but unheard in death. He wanted to see it so bad but he knew what it would cost him. Theodore ran back to the second floor bathroom, trying to shake off the rage that he had experienced right there. In that moment, it felt so… wrong. Like it never came from him but from somewhere else. From the past attacks, Theodore never had this sensation sit in his stomach like a painful, indigestible stone.

He pushed the bathroom door open and walked over to the central sinks, twisting the taps instantly to wash his face with cold water. No water escaped for he realised that it was the special tap that allowed him to enter the Chamber as he pleased. Theodore switched to a different one and splashed his face thoroughly, cooling himself so that he could think better. Inhale, exhale, he gripped the sides of the sink while breathing heavily.

' _What was that? I-I didn't want to… I mean I did but… I was so angry! Angry… for what? And the Basilisk… she probably killed them, for real this time... ARGGHH! Why can't I think straight?! And why… are my eyes red…'_

Theodore retreated quickly as he stared into his reflection that bore scarlet irises with snakelike slits inside of them. He continued to scurry backwards until he crashed into somebody from behind. Hermione groaned as she kneel down in pain.

"Hermione! What the hell is wrong with me, I'm so stupid!" Hermione didn't respond as she silently held her face in pain. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" The sounds of Hermione's tears pierced him with regret as he wiped his wet hair to the side to clear his vision.

"Hermione, please get up! Please! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I was… please, say something!" Silence. "Hermione? Hermione I- ARGGHHHHH!"

The pain had returned again. It had returned, and it punished the boy for feeling any regret towards harming Hermione. It tore through his mind and soul as it dragged him into the hellish depths of suffering and anguish itself. Every inch of skin, sliced and scorched till he couldn't take it anymore. _'I didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill anyone! I didn't… oh god.'_

Hermione came to his side and tried to console him while attempting to fight off her own pain which resulted in a bloodied nose, but all of that had been for nothing. The Parselmouth's screams were silenced as he slumped to the ground like a dead man, unresponsive to Hermione's screams of horror…

* * *

"Theodore, are you awake? Please wake up, you're scaring me!"

"H-Hermione… I… I'm... sorry…"

"It's alright, it's just a bloody- Why is that 'thing' here?"

"Huh? What… what thing?" Theodore turned his groggy eyes to where the Muggle-born was facing towards and saw the diary opened halfway on the floor, as it had mysteriously left Theodore's bag. The boy also looked at it with unease as he knew what had happened to him. The diary caused him to scream in agony as it realised who Hermione was. His father tried to punish him for caring about the enemy, being attached to a Muggle-born as he secretly plotted to slay others that were of the same status. Hermione carried on staring at it like it was the most foulest creature that had ever walked the Earth, until she turned back to Theodore.

"What is that diary doing to you?" Hermione questioned forcefully. Theodore wiped his sweaty brow tiredly as he could barely choke out his response.

"Nothing. It's just a normal diary."

"Stop lying to me! I see you with that thing everywhere, obsessing over it like it was… like…"

"I told you…," said the boy gravelly, "it's… nothing. Just a normal diary."

"Then you won't mind if I take a look." The girl snapped as she reached for Tom's diary. An unexplainable urge and power to move, gushed into Theodore's muscles as he leapt to snatch the diary before Hermione could take it. "Theodore, give me the diary."

"No…"

"I said give me the diary."

"And I said no!"

"Give me the-"

"NO!"

…

Theodore panted as the energy vanished in a near instant. The sounds of running taps only filled the second floor bathroom as the two stood in silence. Theodore was in trouble, Hermione was sure of it. The way his face looked paler than before, his cheeks had sunken into his skull a little and his eyes. His eyes didn't have any of Theodore left inside. This was a whole new person, anybody else but Theodore. Hermione swallowed painfully to stop herself from losing it. She didn't know if she would cry for him, curse at him, she didn't know what she'd do if she hadn't kept her composure. The Muggle-born walked up to the boy as Theodore took a few steps back until he came into contact with the central sinks. The diary was still clasped in his hand tightly as he was afraid that Hermione would try to steal it from him.

"Theo, I'm your friend. Please, tell me why you always have that diary with you, because I worry about you. I'm scared that you're…" Theodore looked at her intently, waiting for the words that he had hoped would come out. "You can't carry on like this. Leaving and disappearing before the attacks happen, it's-"

"So you think it's me behind the attacks," said the Parselmouth darkly.

"No! I just-" The hazel shade faded from her vision as they were replaced by solid scarlet. The pupils were slits and revealed everything to the Muggle-born. The disappearances, the Parseltongue, the secret diary, now the snakelike eyes. She slashed at the sudden realisation as it was too painful to bear. _'No… no! Not him, not Theo! He'll never-'_ Hermione rubbed her misty eyes to once again see Theodore's usual hazel. Theodore suddenly remembered that Hermione's nose was dripping with blood and offered to help her clean it.

"Don't try and change the subject, Theo."

"I'm not," protested the deceiving boy. "Look at your shirt, it's full of blood and I feel bad about it. Let me just help you with it. Please?"

…

"Tell me why you always have that diary."

"Hermione…"

"If you tell me, then I won't ask anymore. Tell me." He looked down to the diary and felt something spread into his body through his arm. It wasn't that warmth that he had usually felt from before. This felt like an infection that crawled and clogged his blood vessels, slowly creeping to his heart to cease its beating. He couldn't tell her that her father was really in this book. He couldn't.

"It was my father's, from when he was at Hogwarts. I found it in the library the week we came back. I didn't know what to think when I saw something that really belonged to one of my parents. All I ever had was a single note that had my name in my mother's handwriting. And this… I feel so much more closer to my father than I have ever been in my entire life… this… is all that I have left of him…" The bathroom remained silent as the boy hoped that his 'sob-story' would draw the Muggle-born away from him.

So much hesitation, the need to tell him that he was lying to her, tried to unhinge from Hermione as she gazed at the boy emotionlessly. He was lying to the brim of his teeth, but she didn't say anything. He was probably the real Heir of Slytherin but she didn't say anything. He was probably already thinking of her as his next victim, but she didn't say a damn thing. Why was she holding back? She could stop all the horror from happening within the castle right now, saving all the potential Muggle-born victims as well as herself.

"Just come back to-" A scream coming from the floors above echoed through the hallways and bathroom, wrenching Theodore's stomach by what he had caused. Hermione quickly closed the cubicle with the Polyjuice Potion and motioned Theodore to follow her up the stairs to where the scream came from. The two ran past the concerned portraits, soon joining the equally interested crowd to the fifth floor, where Theodore had set the Basilisk onto Ernie and Justin. And the sight was even more horrendous than what he had thought.

Three bodies and a frozen ghost, all stiff upon the cold stone floor without any sign of movement. The two boys were easily recognisable as Ernie and Justin, mirrored from their bodies to their fear-ridden faces. Theodore had no clue how they survived, knowing that there was nothing to stop the Basilisk from tearing their heads off. He rubbed his temples as he continued to observe the rest of his unfortunate victims over the overbearing chatter of the crowd around him. Nick's body remained still in the air, almost unrecognisable from his newly darkened shade. He hung in the air like he was held by a noose, fear etched onto his face as well. _'That fucking snake… what was she thinking, trying to kill Nick?!'_

But possibly the most detrimental to his being was not Justin, Ernie, or even Nick. The last body on the ground was hard to remember from a first glance, requiring Theodore to watch them even closer until it hit him. It was that same girl from the train, the blonde girl who oddly knew that Harry and Ron were flying the car to school. Out of all the others, she was the most out of place. Apart from the excessively large spectacles that obscured her face, the blond girl had a look of confusion rather than fear.

"Luna…" Theodore whispered before being barged from behind. The crowd began to panic as everyone frantically darted their heads around to see if the monster was lurking in the shadows, ready to devour the swarm of children. McGonagall arrived to the scene promptly, hushing the entire crowd with a swift swipe of a wand and ordered everyone to return to their classes. As he walked back to the common room with guilt stabbing at his heart, Theodore hung his head low in fear of what his father would say to him. Tom had delivered pain beyond horror from just a mere diary. What else was he capable of? The young Heir started to feel dizzy, trying to keep his balance to avoid crashing into floor for everyone else to see. Justin's and Ernie's mangled bodies painted horrific images in his mind, snapping his sanity, piece by piece, by piece…

"Jesus, Theo! I've been calling your name for so long!" Theodore bent over as Ginny and Hermione came to his aid. He held his chest as it became harder to breath again, his lungs unable to absorb the sufficient oxygen needed to stay awake. Theodore wheezed loudly, unable to keep focused for so long. Everything was spiralling, blurred and smudged. He felt like… he felt like…

 **THUD!**

"Theo!"

* * *

"Sleep, Mr Riddle! I won't tell you again!" Madam Pomfrey ordered as she tidied the boy's bedside table.

"I need to find my diary," said Theodore weakly while trying to get out of bed. Madam Pomfrey simply held him down and tightened the bedsheets to stop him from escaping. Theodore had only been awake for two minutes and he was already demanding for the diary. His father was nowhere to be found beside him and it was causing him overwhelming stress to his consternation. He remembered keeping the diary firmly inside of his hand before he passed out unexpectedly. Unless somebody took it, somebody who had already known about the diary's existence…

"Mr Riddle, I said sleep! Get back to your bed at once or I will call the headmaster myself!"

"I need it… I need it! I need the diary! Hermione has it and I need it! Please… I need it…" Madam Pomfrey watched the boy fall back into slumber as he remained still. He looked deathly ill, like he neglected anything edible for the past three weeks, and his skeleton was slightly starting to appear under his pale skin. A gash from when he fainted was covered by a bandage on his forehead, and a small cut beneath his eye was reddening the skin around it. Looking at him made her jerk on the inside. Something or someone in the castle was the cause of this and she could feel it, somewhere close. She quickly threw the thoughts away and tended to the Hufflepuff boys that where placed in the corner. Terrible, terrible things were brewing in the castle. Terrible things…

 _In the Gryffindor common room…_

Hermione dug her nails into the armrest of the sofa, unable to look away from the fire that seemed so cold. She would never usually stay awake at these times but the day had given her too much to sleep on. It had to be true. She didn't want it to be, she never did. But it had to. She tried to find alternatives to her suspicions, trying to find an outcome where she was proved wrong but it was no use. The Muggle-born knew.

The diary was lost out of sight when Theodore had passed out. It wasn't her main objective to take it for herself but it would've benefitted her greatly had she collected it before it vanished. Hermione could only remember Ginny scurrying off when Snape called for her and Theodore coughing up blood onto the ground. Something else was missing, something vital. Something…

"Hermione, he'll be okay." Harry said as he sat beside her without his glasses. By the look of it, Harry was also distressed by Theodore's condition so much that he couldn't sleep either. Hermione brushed a hair away from her eye and inhaled deeply.

"But he won't be. Don't you see? Theodore is not okay, he hasn't been himself at all. There's something that has been on my mind for a long, long time and I tried to keep it buried but now I can't hide it."

"What is it?" Hermione paused then thought to herself if she really wanted to say everything. By telling Harry what she had thought and known about Theodore, could she permanently destroy their friendship with each other? Harry asked again.

"I saw something in Theo's eyes today. I thought that I was going mad, but… I could've sworn that his-"

"-eyes were red?" Hermione widened her eyes shockingly at Harry. So he knew too?

"Yes! His face was… thinner and… pale. He looked like he was dying, Harry! And it's all because of the bloody diary, I know it is!" Hermione exclaimed as she rubbed her forehead vigorously. Harry placed an arm around her shoulders and looked into the fire as well.

"I've noticed as well. I've seen him leave with the thing in his hand. He told me that he felt like he was speaking to his dad, though he looked like he really meant it. I mean, I know what it feels like to have something from your mum and dad, believe me. But the way he was looking at that diary… it wasn't right at all. He… Hermione?"

The Muggle-born's eyes streamed single-trailed tears as she silently stared into the fire. Hermione made no attempt to dry herself off as she remained still, not answering Harry's questions.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Hermione?" Harry asked frantically before moving to become face to face with the silently-sobbing girl. Hermione was still looking into the fire, hypnotised by the way they danced gently before her attention fell onto Harry.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" She shook her bushy hair around as she kept quiet. Harry didn't want to force anything out of her but he would if he had to. "Hermione. If it's about Theodore…" The look in her eyes gave it away completely. "It is, isn't it?"

"Yes." She replied softly.

"Tell me."

…

"Please. Please tell me…"

…

"I… think…"

"Yes?"

…

"I think that Theodore… is the Heir of Slytherin…"

 **And here... we... go. Here is that key turning point which will change the entire story so much, and will hopefully differ from the original by still being its own thing. Sorry for uploading late, I was so sick for nearly a full week. But I'm here now so all is well. I want to thank all of you who have favourited and followed PoS, and everyone else who is reading as well. Means so much, guys. I hope you liked this chapter, some of what happens here will come full circle later on, possibly in like, the Order of the Phoenix, but I'm talking too much now. Love you guys. Later.**

 **Cloud4012: you'll just have to keep reading to know what I got planned :)**

 **johnjohn1970: oh she's watching. You may think that I've shoved her to the side but she's watching alright. Thanks for the support :)**


	17. Chapter 17: Riddle's Descent Pt1

"Eat up, Mr Riddle. That's it, nice and slow." Theodore brought a shaking spoonful of porridge to his dry mouth, barely able to enjoy the taste of it. After his recent episode, the boy could only feel pain throughout his entire body, from the stabbing stomach pains to his bones searing at every single movement. He was in complete agony, both in body and in mind. The separation from the diary felt damaging, like it was a part of him. And now it was gone. It was gone and she took it. Hermione had his father in her hands and she didn't even know it. Theodore needed it back. What he had seen, what he had realised was beyond her nature. He needed the diary so bad…

"I'm really thirsty," choked the boy as he tried to swallow what little saliva he had left in his mouth.

"Here, some Pumpkin Juice. I know that it's not exactly helpful but you look terrible, my dear. What caused you to become like this?" Theodore shrugged as he sipped the juice from the silver goblet. He knew exactly what had happened. The diary was gone and he needed it back.

"How long have I been like this?" Theodore asked weakly as he finished half of the Pumpkin Juice.

"Six days, dear boy. You're lucky that Christmas is tomorrow, seeing as how your friends must surely miss you." Theodore craned his neck to see his bedside table empty. No letters, no get well cards or sweets. Nobody had sent him anything.

"Did… did anybody visit me at all?"

"Yes, there was a ginger girl who was most likely a Weasley, the Malfoy boy and the Gryffindor girl in your year. Parvati, I think her name was."

"Draco came to visit me," asked the boy to himself, almost forgetting that Draco had existed. The resentment for what he did, still stuck with Theodore as he knew that he could not forgive him for what he said to Hermione. Hermione… Everything was coming back to him now. It all flowed back inside slowly, careful to not push the boy into the depths of insanity with his barely functioning mind. The diary was calling to him, yearning for his presence to connect entirely with the memory that lived inside of it. But he was punished for what he had felt to Hermione, and the four victims. All for something as simple as regret.

"Come on, Mr Riddle. You haven't got all day to finish that bowl."

"I-I don't feel so good." Theodore looked queasy from his pale, hollow cheeks. He looked thinner than ever with his eyes slightly sunken into his sockets, and his hair losing that sheen which made it look so healthy. Underneath his clothes, his rib cage was protruding oddly, further indicating the boy's lack of food. He didn't know how he could become so skinny in such a short amount of time. He was ugly, inside and out.

"Wait there, sweetheart. Here, drink some-" Vomit and blood spurted out from the boy's mouth as he lurched to the side, holding his stomach in severe pain. Madam Pomfrey refrained herself from shrieking in anxiety, and instead rushed to her trolley of medical equipment to find anything for Theodore. The Parselmouth groaned and felt his chest close in again, choking on the little air that his lungs allowed in. "Stay strong, Theodore! Don't you dare slip away!"

"Can't… breathe…" Madam Pomfrey came quickly to his side and placed something in his mouth before pointing her wand to the boy's chest. After she muttered a single word, Theodore felt his chest expand as the oxygen flooded into his lungs again. "What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. I mean, you're supposed to be getting better, not worse…"

"I'm getting worse? I'm dying?!" The nurse held the boy's cheeks gently to stop him from breaking down completely in tears.

"You are not dying. You will not die, Theodore. Listen to me. You will not die." Theodore stared into Madam Pomfrey's eyes as he trembled. He felt like he was dying. His heart would sometimes stop all of a sudden, just slightly before it would beat its unhealthy rhythm again.

' _I need it, the diary. I need the diary. But she has it… Hermione's got my diary. She has the diary and I need it back. She… She doesn't know what's she's doing… He's going to kill her.'_

"Theodore? Are you listening," asked the nurse worryingly. The boy had completely dozed off into the horrid abyss of his mind, not acknowledging the question asked before he was given a little shake. Theodore nodded his head before claiming that he wanted to go back to sleep. "Sure, darling. Anything you need."

As he laid over to his side, Theodore kept his eyes wide open as he planned on doing something disastrous, something that could easily go wrong. If he had gotten caught, then everyone would accuse him as the monster that he truly was, an actual killer hiding among innocents. The Aurors would come to take him away to Azkaban, where he would remain rotting away for his crimes. But he had to do it. He needed it back before he'd kill her for what she was. He had to save her before she too, would fall victim to the cursed Riddles. He had to…

* * *

' _Seek me, Theodore. Find me. I need your help… I need you, son.'_

' _I can't let you in anymore. Please, leave me… please…'_

' _You can't? But you already did, Theodore... I am a part of you, just like you are a part of me. Our bond can never be broken. You and I, are the same. And you can't deny it…'_

' _I'm nothing like you… I will never become like you! Y-you're a piece of vile, cruel filth just like Vol-'_

' _Like you…'_

…

' _Seek me, Theodore. Seek me…'_

He rose from his bed, completely silent in the dead hospital wing. Not even the whirls of the snow outside could penetrate the windows as the only noise that could be heard was the thunderous beat of Theodore's heart. Draped in his pyjamas and a thin white blanket, Theodore stepped away from his area, and stood in the centre of the wing. All six of his victims surrounded him like demons who had arrived to drag him to his damnation. Only they were still and silent. Each one displayed a permanent face of horror, probably petrified to the very soul that it was the only emotion that they could feel at that moment. He walked over to each one in order, gazing upon each moonlit face, somehow unable to feel regret. Theodore couldn't find anything near remorse to seeing Colin stuck in his petrified state. Not even a single shred. The diary had twisted him into such darkness, that he was incapable of feeling affection to others. A hollowed out boy, overdosed with hate and corruption. He needed the diary. He needed to find Tom before it was too late.

The doors of the hospital wing swung open just enough to let the boy through, without giving him away by the screeching of the metal hinges. The corridors were even colder than before. Some ice had crawled up to the portraits on the walls, spreading so profusely that it had even formed icicles from the ceilings above. They refracted the moonlight across the corridor where Theodore stepped, lighting his path like they purposely led him to where he wanted to. Theodore struggled to keep his balance while he covered his nose to stop the cold from entering. No matter how empty the hallways had become, something would always be lurking around the corner, a teacher, a prefect, a cat or even his best friends. Sleeping in Hogwarts seemed near damn impossible these days.

Theodore curved around every corner, stopping at each one to see if Snape or McGonagall would be on the lookout after what had happened last week. They'd be foolish for not having any teachers guarding the hallways when the castle slept, and even more foolish to allow prefects like Percy, to roam the castle like he was an officer.

"…you'll love it, I promise."

"I think you'll like my present as well, although you might want to open it away from your brothers. I know how they get around you, Percy."

"Don't worry, Penny. I'll keep them in line, after all," said the red head as he pointed to his prefect badge. Theodore watched them from the hidden shadows in the corner, confused by what were they doing there together. Sure, Dumbledore would have all of the prefects out and about like obedient policemen, but it was odd to see Percy and Penny, or whoever she was, here in an area far from any of the other's where Theodore had intended to kill the Muggle-borns. The two prefects babbled some more until they instantly smacked their lips against each other, practically sucking each other's faces. Theodore backed away quickly from the growing moans of Percy's 'friend', not wanting to see a second more.

' _Is that what it means to be a prefect? To snog in the corridors when there's terror in the castle? If it ever came to that then-'_

His knees turned weak instantly as he saw the doors of the haunted bathroom lie before his eyes. Series of whispers and hisses came from the inside, making the boy think that Myrtle was doing whatever the ghosts did during the night. Theodore fought and conquered the urge to return to the bathroom, and carried on down the frigid hallway. He ascended the multiple stairways of Hogwarts Castle, still feeling the icy air slice his skin, finally arriving to his anticipated destination. Gryffindor Tower. The password remained unchanged as the half-awake Fat Lady allowed the freezing Heir into the common room, replenishing him of the scarce heat that was full within the Tower.

Theodore set the blanket aside as he rubbed his hands while walking to the fire. Gryffindor Common Room had must've been the best place to be in the castle during the winter. Theodore couldn't think of a room better than here.

"I still can't believe that I'm in Gryffindor. It's funny, almost." Theodore whispered to himself. Now that Theodore was here, he had no idea how to get the diary from Hermione. He knew that the girls' dorm was inaccessible to all the boys, and that if he waited outside the dorm all night, he'd fall to sleep soon enough. Now he had to leave all the way back to the hospital wing in the cursed cold. Theodore was thinking to himself that it wasn't such a great plan to search for the diary this late at night. Surely, Hermione would take it with her to the feast tomorrow, giving Theodore the slim opportunity to save her.

"Harry? Is that you?" A voice from the stairway of the girls side, called out. Theodore dived behind one of the plush armchairs in the obscurer parts of the common room. "Harry! Harry, where are you?"

"We're the only ones here, Hermione. Relax." Another familiar voice replied. Hermione and Ron both walked out from their respective stairways, followed by Harry who was wearing a thick maroon jumper and striped pyjama trousers. Ron was clad in similar clothing and Hermione wore a short-sleeved nightdress with a red dressing gown. The three looked like they hadn't noticed Theodore, neither did they look like they were sleeping at all.

"I thought I heard something else… anyway. What are we going to do about our current 'situation'?" Hermione asked as she tied her hair back into a bun.

"I still think it's bullshit," muttered Ron as he rubbed his chin. "I don't believe it one bit."

"Come on, Ron. We've told you everything that we know, how could you not believe us?" Harry protested.

"Because! To think of something like that is… bollocks! Not only are we not doing Theodore's plan, but you honestly suspect him as the Heir of Slytherin? I won't believe it." Theodore's heart sank to depths of his stomach. They knew that he was the Heir of Slytherin? That's the reason why they didn't visit him in the hospital wing, because they knew that it was him all along. Everything that they went through for the past year and a half, had been obliterated. His friends hated him.

"He's been lying to us, Ron. Every time when we would ask what was wrong, he'd lie to our faces and would turn away from us. He did that to his friends, and now… it all makes sense, don't you see? It makes sense!" Hermione spoke through a suppressed flurry of wild emotions. Seeing her this way almost made Theodore feel timid. Ron looked angry at the accusations towards the boy, then looked hesitant to accept the truth that was shielded by his friendship with Theodore.

"Not him… it can't be him… He's supposed to be our friend…" Ron sadly stammered. Theodore wanted to feel something for Ron, sadness and regret that he had betrayed his friends' trust. But all of that was stripped away. He couldn't feel. His heart had nothing to offer as the boy watched silently.

"I… I wanted it to be so wrong. I really did. Theodore was the last person in my mind to ever do something like this."

"Yeah," mumbled Ron, "he was. But what do we do now? Do we tell someone? Nobody will believe that Theodore is the one behind the attacks."

"We could try and convince him to turn himself in." Harry suggested with hesitation.

"And let him attack us if he doesn't comply? Come on, think of a better one." Hermione said. Ron and Harry looked at each other, then to Hermione. The Muggle-born didn't seem to catch onto their sudden idea, despite her keen intuition. "What is it?"

"You should be the one to convince him, Hermione." Ron finally said in slightly grim voice.

"That's… a terrible idea!"

"It's the best one that we have! Out of all three of us, you're the one closest to Theo." Hermione couldn't find anything to say. Theodore was the Heir of Slytherin, tasked to kill the Muggle-borns of Hogwarts just like herself. There was no telling what horror he could inflict on her, if he was beyond saving.

"I really want to help him, but I'm- what was that?" The sound of a door closing came from the portrait door. All three of them were stunned by the possibility of their conversation being heard from unwelcome ears. While they decided to put forward their plan to uncover Theodore's horrific endeavours, the Parselmouth sprinted through the castle, ignoring the pain from his brittle bones.

' _How do they know? They couldn't possibly… I'm going to get expelled. They're going to send me to Azkaban and it's all his fault. I need that diary, right now. I need it…'_

Theodore slipped through the hospital wing doors and jumped underneath his bedsheets, forcing himself to go sleep. The turmoil prevented him from falling asleep, constantly reminding him that he had no friends as his psyche began to pull apart. Retribution was upon the boy now, as his short-lived life at Hogwarts would come to an end. He'd never graduate from Hogwarts to become the great wizard he was destined to be. He'd never reveal to Harry that he was Theodore's only living blood relative. He'd never even get the chance to see Madam, or Erveris and Ms Padalin, Tom, Viripin, Sawer, Elise or Louise again. The last name broke his heart when he realised how he hadn't talked to her in weeks. This was all his doing. This was all because of Tom Riddle, his own damn father.

' _I don't want to go…'_

* * *

The morning didn't feel a thing like Christmas when Theodore woke up from his dreaded slumber. The formation of ice on the windows didn't excite him at all. The decorations that Madam Pomfrey herself sprawled along the walls didn't once make the troubled boy feel happy in any sort of way. They barely even scratched the surface. While he still looked a bit thin on the bones, Theodore was allowed to go to the Christmas Feast, something that he used to look forward to.

There were only three presents that he had received and none of which came from Harry, Hermione or Ron. A full box of sweets came from Parvati in a neatly wrapped present with a red and yellow ribbon. Ginny had sent him a 'Get Well/Merry Christmas' card which had a detailed paragraph, apologising for something vague. Theodore had to admit that her gesture was sweet but it felt odd that Ginny out of all people, would send him a card. The final one was from Ms Padalin, another letter which was slightly soiled, but nevertheless heartfelt and slightly uplifting. Theodore only wished that his mother had given him some sort of inheritance so that he was able to give something to the Padalins. It was a shame to see foul people like the Malfoys, drowning in wealth when those who deserved it didn't even have three Knuts to their name.

Theodore hid his presents under his bed after taking a few bites out of the Pumpkin Pasties, then was finally excused from the hospital wing, after the multiple checkups which led to the afternoon. Despite the Great Hall's splendour with the glorious Christmas Trees, flying ornaments and the snowy enchanted ceiling, Theodore was still compelled by his paranoia to not feel joyous about the day. The amount of students were not as small as Theodore was expecting, having a decent amount of people on each table. Hermione, Ron and Harry were nowhere to be seen, allowing Theodore to pick a seat without feeling awkward. He sat himself beside Parvati at the very far end of Gryffindor table.

"Theodore, you're finally out! How are you?" Parvati asked quickly as she clutched the boy's right arm tightly. Theodore heard a few wolf whistles from the Slytherins and Ravenclaws alike, and managed to pull the girl away from him.

"Still feel like shit. I can barely keep my head on my shoulders. Feels like it's full of lead."

"Well I'm glad that you're almost okay. Did you see my present? I hoped you liked it." Theodore smiled a little as he replied to Parvati.

"Yeah. Thank you, Parvati. Really." Theodore scratched the back of his hair as he nervously looked away. Parvati tried to follow where his distant eyes led to, but gave up in the end.

"Is there something wrong? Wait… you don't like it, do you? Oh god, I'm such an idiot! Sweets are the most basic of presents, how could I be so stupid?!" Theodore held her shoulders firmly to stop her from drawing attention to themselves. After she become silent, Theodore leaned in to whisper.

"I do like it, I really do. I just… I don't really have… any money to buy you anything." Parvati simply shrugged and fixed her winter hat on her head as she spoke a bit louder.

"You don't have to get me anything. Although, a kiss under the mistletoe would be nice…" Theodore's cheeks became red as he frowned, embarrassed. Parvati giggled as she punched him in the arm. "It was a joke, Theo. You know, that thing when after it's told, you laugh? Lighten up, it's Christmas!"

"I guess so." From the very corner of his eye, Theodore saw the trio walk in together with the spirit that was lacking inside Theodore. Harry was wearing what looked like a hand-knitted sweater, as well as Ron, and Hermione also wore a sweater which looked store-bought. The Parselmouth had no clue if they had noticed him at all, and carried on talking with Parvati, who was much less annoying without Lavender. The teachers and the remaining students were all gathered in the Great Hall, ready to tuck in to the long awaited feast.

"A time where we join with friends and family, let us not forget of these times where we are together. Do not let these terrors shake you, for we are strong enough to fight our own… demons." Dumbledore spoke clearly, turning his eyes for a second to Theodore. "Now! Let us enjoy our feast! Dig in!"

Theodore piled his plate with all the things that he could eat. Turkey strips, turkey legs, mashed potatoes with gravy, roasted potatoes with gravy, boiled potatoes with gravy, you name it. Theodore took his time to chew, careful to not choke in the middle of the feast. If he was sent back to the hospital wing, he'd probably never leave. He ate alongside Parvati, who still managed to find a way to eat and talk.

"Are you coming up to the common room, tonight? The twins got fireworks which we're going to fire outside of the window." Parvati asked as she finished a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Maybe. I don't know. I'd rather just stay here or go somewhere else."

"Well, I can't think of a place where you can go besides up there. Don't you want to be with Hermione, Harry and Ron?" Theodore's face fell in colour as he didn't respond. He continued to eat the succulent turkey legs, still unsure on how to retrieve the diary. If he somehow presented it to somebody, like the Minister of Magic, maybe they will see what he- no. That wouldn't work. What would a simple diary have do with the reopening of the Chamber of Secrets?

"I'll come up. I promise." Parvati grinned then elbowed him gently. As stupid as the promise may have looked like, Theodore knew for a fact that his father's diary was in the Tower, and that there was no other way possible. If they tried to tell him to give himself up, he'd deny everything. All of this was because of him, so it had to be only him. They couldn't know, nobody could. The main dinner was finished off and the Christmas puddings took their places. The taste was unlike anything else. Theodore had just finished two when his eye alerted him of somebody coming closer to him. A familiar bush of hair bounced as Hermione walked closer from the other side of the table. Theodore shakily grabbed his goblet of Pumpkin Juice, as he drunk it quickly.

"Careful, Theo! You're going to drown yourself. Here, take a napkin." Theodore took the napkin and wiped his mouth as Hermione neared. She didn't even look like she wanted to come over in the first place. Theodore was ready to swivel out of his chair and walk straight past her when he heard his name from the front table. Professor McGonagall called out to him, saving him from what could've been the worst conversation of his life. He hurried over to her, not seeing Hermione having already turned back, to see what the Head of Gryffindor had to say.

"Good afternoon, Mr Riddle and Merry Christmas to you."

"And to you, Professor. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh no! Of course not, dear boy. It's just good to see you well enough to join the feast. After what happened last week, I dreaded to hear what could become of you. But I am glad that you are alright," said the Transfiguration professor, smiling once again to the boy.

"Well, I hope that you have a good one, Professor. Merry Christmas, again." Theodore said as he slowly backed away. Professor McGonagall nodded as the boy returned to his seat next to Parvati. Although brief, Theodore valued that McGonagall cared for him. Of course, she would as she was the Head of Gryffindor, but to Theodore it felt more genuine. Everyone ate and ate until they could eat no more. The stomach-stuffed children of Hogwarts all finished their wonderful feast to return to their beds where sleep would welcome them. Theodore was especially tired and was partially glad to receive news that Madam Pomfrey had sent his things back up to the dorm, from Sawer himself. The owl was beyond overjoyed to see his owner again, as it had been far too long since they had last seen each other. Before leaving with the rest of Gryffindors, Theodore snuck a few half-eaten turkey legs for the owl and Viripin, if she was even still in the dorm. Theodore had no qualms into thinking that Viripin would've left his bed after the way he had treated her. He hated himself for that.

Percy led the remaining Gryffindors up the stairs with Theodore trailing behind. Sawer was perched on his shoulder and Parvati made some effort to talk to him while making sure that she didn't accidentally fall off to the side. Everyone spilled out to different corners of the common room while Theodore went straight to the dorms. He had to know if Viripin was still up there.

"Viripin," asked the boy in Parseltongue, "are you here? Viripin? Viripin… she's gone, isn't she?" Theodore looked under his bed to see the shedding of the snake, but not her. The boy didn't even deserve her, anyways. She was probably better off wherever she was, away from him. Sawer hooted sadly from seeing the boy's face losing all the happiness and life that he once had.

"Theodore? You in here?" Theodore whipped his head around, expecting Harry or Ron but he wasn't that far off. Percy stood by the doorway, wearing his jumper with a smile on his face. "Oh, hello. Aren't you coming down? Everyone else is going to be awake for a while before they go sleep."

"I'll come down soon." Theodore said quietly. He hadn't forgotten about him and Penny in the hallways, sucking the life out of each other.

"Sure thing. See you later." As the elder Weasley left down the stairs, Theodore opened his suitcase and brought out his writing equipment. Viripin was probably long gone, further away than what he even thought. He couldn't do anything about that. But the least he could do was to tell the remaining people he cared about what they meant to him before he'd get locked up like a caged animal. They deserved better than to care for a monster like him.

Theodore walked down to the main room and towards the back tables, alone with Sawer. The Weasleys were playing Exploding Snap in the middle of the room and caught sight of the boy sitting by himself. The twins called him over to play but Theodore politely refused, wanting to keep to himself. The Parselmouth kept his head down and wrote away on three long parchments.

' _Dear Louise…'_

"Theodore?" After half an hour had passed so quickly, Theodore looked up to see Hermione standing on the other end of the round table. Her façade of an emotionless expression masked the hurt that dwelled deep inside of the girl. Theodore could read her just like that, and she could probably do the same vice-versa.

"Yes?" He replied in a monotone. Theodore made sure to not break under pressure, no matter how strong it was.

"Can I sit down?" Theodore only lifted his eyebrows. The girl drew out the chair from underneath the table and sat down in front of the boy. She sat there in silence, not knowing what to say after not visiting him for a week. She had her reasons to why she did that.

…

"Well? I'm sure you didn't come over here to stare at my face. You already had a nice angle all the way over there."

"H-how have you been?" Theodore scoffed at the question.

"How have I been… How have I been?" The boy could feel the anger trying to leak out from his tongue to curse her out when he regained his composure.

' _That isn't me. Relax, Theo. Relax.'_

"I've been better." Hermione nodded slowly as she kept silent again. The fear in her eyes was too blatant for even the most oblivious to miss. If she knew that he was the Heir of Slytherin, then why did she even care to keep his secret under wraps? Wasn't it in her nature to do the right thing? Shouldn't she save herself from him?

"The dinner was nice, wasn't it? I didn't expect it to be that good but-"

"What do you want, Hermione?"

…

"I know, Theodore."

"You know…?" Hermione's eyes were starting to go red. She was fighting tears but Theodore couldn't do anything about that.

"I know what you did, Theo. You don't have to hide it anymore, we know." Theodore looked over Hermione's shoulder to look at Harry and Ron.

"Did what? Killed somebody, stole something, what?" There it was. Silent tears. They streamed down her face as she watched him act clueless in front of her.

"You're doing it again…" Hermione muttered under her breath.

"Doing what?"

"Lying to me! I know that it's you who did the at-" Theodore twitched his neck as he closed his eyes. The bloodlust from inside of him was returning, but he couldn't stop it. Hermione froze upon her words as she expected the red eyes to emerge when he reopened them. But all that she could see was his usual hazel. "I… I know that you're a Parselmouth. I heard you speak it with my own two ears last year, in the Forbidden Forest. I know that you were… o-obsessed with Slytherin because you had some connection to him. I know that you're the Heir of Slytherin, Theodore… Theodore…?"

Theodore could barely hold back. The diary's imprint of its devilish nature was infecting him, killing the already dying compassion he had for Hermione. He didn't want to hurt her. 'He' wanted to kill her and 'he' was using him, like a parasite. Theodore didn't care that Hermione didn't visit him when he was dying in the hospital wing, or that she knew everything. He had to save her, but he couldn't. Everything good about him was dying, and he couldn't do anything.

"Leave… me…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Theodore. I don't want Dumbledore, or the Minister of Magic to find out later when it's too late. Just…" She didn't know what to say. Even if he admitted that he was the Heir, he'd probably still be expelled, maybe even to Azkaban. They weren't helping him at all.

"Leave… please…" The bloodlust was rising.

"I'm not leaving! Tell me! Please!"

"Hermione… help me…" It was almost funny how they truly spoke through their eyes alone. Hermione saw not evil, malicious intent or bloodlust. No, she only saw a broken boy who was heavily damaged. He looked tortured, fearful and destroyed. Hermione promised herself to not let the boy get to her. She promised that no matter what, Theodore Riddle wouldn't make her feel sorry for him again. She promised, and she broke. Hermione held the boy's thin hands as she leaned in closer, desperate for the boy to let her in, once in his life.

"Theo? Talk to me, please… Why do you need help, i-is it… what is it?" She whispered frantically.

"He's… going to kill… you. He's… going to kill you…" Theodore said through pauses. He tried to think of her soft hands against his own for they eased the influence of his father. Tom was growing, stronger and stronger…

"What...?"

"You don't have it? The diary?" Hermione shook her head and held his hand tighter than before. If he was telling the truth, then that diary must've been the cause of all of this. But who was 'he'? Did the diary warp Theodore's mind so much that he made such an attachment to call it a he? "I… I shouldn't have told you… stay away from me… before I hurt you…" Theodore released her grip on his hands and took everything away to the dorm room. Hermione watched him trudge weakly up the stairs and out of sight, changing almost everything. Theodore did open the Chamber of Secrets. But not because he wanted to, but because of something else. That damned… his father's diary. Theodore needed them to save him. They had to save him or otherwise…

* * *

' _You left me…'_

' _I was never with you in the first place! Get out of my head!"_

" _I won't."_

" _I SAID GET OUT!'_

…

' _I won't. You'll know who you truly are, Theodore. You will know what sacredness, what power flows in your very blood. And soon, you will know who 'I' am."_

" _This voice… I know this voice…_

' _Seek… me…'_

The Heir snapped his eyes open to the sudden change of balance and smell. That familiar stench which crossed his nose every time he left through the snake-door. He was inside of the Chamber. The wet floor, the half-sunken statue and the snakes on either side. This was no dream. The accursed dungeon was like his own prison, unwelcoming and cold. He didn't want to be here. He loathed the Chamber. He hated the Chamber, he hated his father, he hated Slytherin and anything to do with him, including himself. Theodore blinked as his eyelids scraped along the dry surface of his eyeballs. He went to wipe his brow when he realised that something was in his hand. Tom Riddle's diary. He threw as hard as he could down the middle of the pathway, and ran towards the Chamber doors.

' _No, no no no… please, save me. Anyone, save me please! Don't let him take me… Don't let him take me!'_

"Somebody help me, please!" He screamed as the door refused to open. He tried to hiss in Parseltongue but it all sounded like English to him. He was trapped in the Chamber, for it would be his tomb. His skeleton would lie in here forever, never to be found…

"Theodore?" An unfamiliar voice called out from the other end. Theodore began to panic as his breathing became harmful again. The air was too thick and he was already in so much pain. Whoever was there brought him down here, probably to execute him for what he did. He was an animalistic bastard, deserving to be cut down where he stood.

"I-I'm sorry! Please, I'm telling you that I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! I'm…" Somebody stepped out from behind the snake pillars, revealing themselves to the disturbed boy. It was a boy of about sixteen years old, draped in an old-looking Hogwarts uniform. The green trailings showed Theodore that he was in Slytherin, but none of his uniform intrigued the boy in the slightest. It was the face. It was as if Theodore was looking into a mirror that had aged him. The older boy didn't share the dark brown texture of the younger boy, but he had the exact same cheeks and eyebrows, chin and forehead, lips and eye shape. Even the way he stood told Theodore that this was his father. This was Tom Riddle, sixteen years old but not exactly in the flesh. He was somewhat faint, translucent and not solid. Theodore could see that clearly when he walked up to him. "Stay back! I said stay back!"

"With no wand?" Tom retorted. His smirk was exactly like Theodore's. Tom then softened his face and held his hands up. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. It's not like I could anyways."

"You're outside the diary," said the younger Riddle as he pointed a shaky finger to his father. "H-how are you doing that? Why are you outside the diary, and why am I here?!"

"You can thank Ginny for that. After your little… breakdown, Ginny merely borrowed the diary to keep it safe until later purposes. She knew how that Mudblood friend of yours would take the diary to Dumbledore and-"

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! Don't call Hermione a Mudblood!" Tom laughed in a high tone that hushed Theodore from how disgusting it sounded.

"Awww, my 'little boy' has got a little crush on a Mudblood! How… insulting. You almost killed two Muggle-borns, a filthy Squib and three others yet you still have a soft spot for Hermione. How pathetic." Theodore felt trapped in a corner. For some reason, he was unable to speak Parseltongue, and for all he knew, Tom could probably set the Basilisk on him. No wand, no protection, Theodore could only speak and nothing more.

"You… you talked to Ginny first, didn't you? That's why I found her in the bathroom with the diary. You were going to use her, like you used me."

"I never used you, Theo. I just brought out the me… in you. You and I are the same. You don't think that I haven't listened to those dreams that you have every night, always convincing yourself that you're 'good' and 'brave'? Ginny proved to be emotionally flexible and naïve, easy to manipulate. I was going to use her to reopen the Chamber when I crossed none other, than my own son. The next Heir of Slytherin." Theodore didn't want to hear anymore but he was tormented to give in. He wanted to die, quickly and painlessly, just to be away from here. "Finally, one of my many tasks that I wanted to pursue had happened after my time. I had a child who would carry on my work at Hogwarts, purge the school of the filth that walked through the halls. You made me realise that I must've accomplished wonders in my future."

"You're dead," said the younger boy bluntly. "You're dead because you were destroyed by the Dark Arts. There's probably nothing left of you now. Destroyed and broken. You didn't achieve nothing and you want to know why? Because NOBODY… knows who you are." Tom grinned evilly at Theodore's words. Theodore knew that smile. He did that when people said things that were true, but they had no idea what they really meant. "Why are you smiling?"

"I'll tell you later. I want you to hear everything. After you found the diary, I had to peek inside of your mind, searching to see if any of me resided within you. I had to scour through the filthy lies of Dumbledore and the pain you endured in the Muggle orphanage. I know that pain all too well. It wasn't until then I saw it. Deep deep down, was me. I was there, buried under everything and so I sought to bring it out, day by day. You let me in entirely, so I released me in you. You and I became closer every time your quill touched the diary. You became ruthless, hungry for power and worthy of carrying the name of Salazar Slytherin. I was proud of you, Theodore. We were going to do great things. Until the Mudblood came closer to you. Every time you'd talk to her or even thought about her, my influence was slipping. I couldn't hold on because something that you have, stopped me from entering in. Something that I can't fight. But it's alright. It's alright."

"What's alright…" Tom walked closer and closer to Theodore until he stood above. He was much taller than him, thin like him as well but much more threatening. He was like Theodore, an devil disguised as an angel.

"It's alright, because you're going to kill her."

"No…"

"You are going to kill that Mudblood with the Basilisk and you will do it because I command you to do so. Do you hear me, Theodore? I command you to kill that Mudblood for our ancestor!"

"NO! I WON'T DO IT! I WON'T! I WON'T!"

" _You can scream all you want but nobody can hear us down here,"_ said the elder Riddle calmly in Parseltongue. Theodore just thought of anything to make him go away. Louise, Hermione, Harry or Ron, he needed someone to save him. Why did nobody save him? "You're a fighter. Good. This will benefit me most when you release me from the bondage of the diary. Release me, Theodore. Release me." Theodore shook his head as he backed up against the snake door. He could only think about Louise, how she'd lost her first friend without knowing it. How the boy she knew died months ago. That was all who he could think about. Nobody else. He heard Tom groan in frustration as he backed away, holding his right temple painfully. "Clever! Thinking about that filthy Muggle to keep me out! I respect that. But you won't keep me out for so long. I will take you, Theodore."

"I won't do it. If I can't stop you, then Harry will. And if not him, Dumbledore." Tom's face lit up when he heard Harry's name. Suddenly strong again, the elder Riddle straightened his back as he walked up and down in front of Theodore, eager to tell his son what was on hanging off his tongue.

"Ah yes. Harry Potter. Ginny's told me a lot about him. Her bounded infatuation for the boy, the way he talks, the way he smells. She had given me so much in the past week that I knew everything there was to know about him. I knew what he had done that made him famous. The Boy Who Lived." Theodore caught on quickly.

"He defeated Voldemort, so what," spat the boy.

"Yes. He destroyed the greatest sorcerer in the world from when he was a mere baby. How is that, Theodore? I'd like to know." Theodore thought long and hard on how Harry managed to defeat Voldemort at such a young age. It was impossible if it had been of his own power. No baby could resist someone as powerful as Voldemort. He couldn't think through the pounding of his brain.

"Because he was a failure. He may have killed and inflicted terror within everyone but he was just a failure. He even tried to come back to power last year but we stopped him, me and Harry. He's just a filthy parasite, clinging onto life like a disease who deserves far less than to roam the earth like one. He doesn't scare me at all. Not anymore." Tom's grin became so wide that it stretched his cheeks unnaturally. Theodore wanted to run. The elder Riddle came closer to a frozen Theodore and leaned in to his ear to destroy what little will he had, with the those wretched ten words.

"Now is that any way," whispered Tom with such horrid nature as his eyes flashed scarlet, "to talk about you father?" Everything just froze. Theodore's body became limp as he slid down to the ground, holding his head in denial.

...

"You're lying," whispered the boy who's throat became hoarse. "You're a liar. Don't lie to me."

"When have I ever lied to you, my son? I've been honest from the moment you spoke to me. I have no reason to lie."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Tom moved backwards as his sincere face was unmoved. "Oh god… oh god… no," whimpered Theodore as tears ran down his cheeks. "No… No…" He couldn't hold back at all. Theodore cried in front of Tom, absolutely broken beyond repair. He was so utterly destroyed that he couldn't think about Louise no more. He gave himself completely up. There was no reason to fight back. How could you find the strength to fight back, when you carried the blood of the darkest wizard to ever live? How could he live with himself knowing that his father slaughtered his aunt and uncle in cold blood, all to kill Harry, his own cousin? Theodore didn't want to live anymore. He wished that death would take him where he sat, snatching him away from a life of suffering. He didn't want to be the Son of the Dark Lord. He didn't want to.

The tears became silent but the revelation had killed him on the inside. His body still limp against the snake door, Theodore hung his head above his knees, unable to speak. To move. To feel. All he wanted was death. Tom knelt and brought his son's face up by his chin to look at him with something resembling sorrow but it wasn't that at all.

"Look at me, Theodore. I will never… lie to you. That bastard Dumbledore has interfered with both of our lives for so long so we must fight back, the both of us. Be strong, Theodore. Be strong for me. Be strong for Salazar. Please. Please, be strong." Tom stared into the hazel eyes that was void of Theodore's spirit. He had taken the boy under control, ready to use as a medium to carry out his work. Or rather, to carry out his objective. The objective that his future self had suffered for nearly fourteen years. "Harry Potter…"

Within the depths of the broken boy's mind, Theodore was almost docile, barely conscious to his father's words. Voldemort was his father. Theodore Riddle was the son of Lord Voldemort…

" _Sleep, Theodore. Sleep…"_

* * *

The nightmares had turned into hallucinations in the daytime. Everywhere he'd look, there was Tom standing in the corner smiling or Voldemort perched in the shadows inside of the castle. No matter how far he'd run, his father was always there. No matter where he disposed the diary, it would always come back to him. It leeched itself onto him with such force that it was unshakable. Theodore was losing his mind and was quickly spiralling into insanity. He tried to destroy the diary many times, failing at every turn with the burning pain returning. He'd stab it, burn it, tried to rip it but it never succumbed. The diary was impenetrable and invincible, and Theodore was its slave.

The rest of the holidays was beyond torturous for him. Almost every night, he'd find himself waking up in the Chamber of Secrets, reminding him of what he was, a spawn of Voldemort. Theodore would always find a way out but it only meant that he'd return against his free will. He could never stay awake for so long that he'd resist his father's control, but was aware that he was lurking inside of his head. Tom was like a virus that he could not get rid of. He was always there.

"Riddle! Careful where you put the Baneberry, it's highly poisonous! Riddle! Do you not hear me?!" Theodore had his back turned to Snape who was busy rearranging the notes he had on his desk. The boy didn't say a word as he stuffed the Baneberry vial in the cupboard without that much care. In an instant, Snape swooped to his side and caught the falling vial in his hand, placing it carefully among the other ingredients while he closed the door firmly. Theodore stepped backwards, still unresponsive to the present anger that was boiling on Snape's face. "You do that again boy, and I'll make sure that you won't step in this classroom again. Do I make myself clear?"

…

"I said do I make-" Snape stopped in between his sentence to see the boy's face. Pale, distant and emotionless. Theodore looked like a doll who wasn't given their permanent emotion. If he couldn't move at all, he might as well could have been dead. Snape lowered his head, and for the first time, showed genuine worry for the broken Heir. "Theodore," whispered the Potions Master. "What's wrong?"

…

"Nothing, Professor. I'm… fine." Theodore forced a smile which looked all too fake to Snape. His eyes had no life to them as did his voice. Like a puppet.

"Theodore… tell me… what's wrong." Theodore shook his head, still dead in the eyes. Snake blinked as lifted his head. His black hair fell in front of his face as some hid his beady eyes that for a while, showed compassion in a long time. "Alright. You're excused. I'll finish up myself. Leave." Theodore quietly grabbed his bag and walked out of the room. Unbeknownst to Snape, the boy's father loomed above him like a spectre who haunted him. He spoke in his ear, hissing in Parseltongue, sometimes as Tom, sometimes as Voldemort. Theodore barely spoke a word to him or to anyone, pacing the castle like a zombie. He screamed for help, for Hermione or Harry or Ron or Dumbledore to save him but nothing came out. All that he was, vanished.

January punished Theodore by stretching out so thin, still enduring the horrid nights of waking up in the Chamber. Some days, he'd even remain down there for the night, desperate for sleep despite the murky slime on his pyjamas. Hermione tried so hard to break through to him, not knowing that he grew a little stronger when she was close, but he'd instantly falter the second she'd leave. Tom chanted _'Kill the Mudblood'_ in his ear multiple times, almost urging the boy to rip his ears out. He told her to stay away before she'd get hurt? Why didn't she listen?

February came along as Theodore couldn't take it anymore. The pain of clawing his sore fingers up the pipe every night, had driven him to the edge as he wanted no more. No more of sleepless nights, climbing back up to the girls' bathroom. No more pain. No more.

The worst of days had come around for it was Valentines Day. A day where everyone else felt so hopeful while others felt despair, all for different reasons against Theodore's. Everyone was gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast, heavily decorated with sickening pink flowers and heart-winged butterflies who carried letters to various people. Hermione watched Theodore, two seats and on the opposite side away from her, remain uncaring for the mountain of Valentine cards that towered in front of him. He only sat neutrally, eating spoonful after spoonful. The fact that he wasn't talking unnerved the Muggle-born. She removed herself from Lavender and Seamus and walked around the table to sit next to the silent boy. Theodore side-eyed her then carried on eating without a word.

"Looks like you're going to need help with opening all these letters, huh?"

"I guess."

…

"Will you open them?"

"I don't know." Hermione looked at the boy's handsome face, wondering what was going through his head. Something horrible, she was sure of it. Hermione placed her hand on the boy's own, feeling him tense up before relaxing again. He did this every time. Hermione sighed when she saw the boy still paying no attention to her.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, Theo." She whispered under the noise that filled the Hall. "None of us will. Alright? You don't have to tell us anything." Theodore's bottom jaw was quivering. Something was trying to get out.

"Message fer Theodore Riddle," shouted a dwarf in a white nappy, wearing golden wings and strumming a small harp. Five others were lined up behind him, eager to get their message across to the boy who wanted to be alone.

"Leave."

"Nope. Now listen. _'A-_ "Theodore whipped his head around and struck them a stare so terrifying that all six dwarves scurried off with their scruffy wings flapping behind them. He turned back around to his bowl of cereal but carried on rotating until he faced the Muggle-born on his left. He looked her up and down with his eyes only, somehow unable to take his gaze away from her.

"I told you to stay away from me. Before I would hurt you again." Hermione sighed again as she looked away, hand still clasped to Theodore's.

"You know I can't do that."

"I'm begging you. Please leave me al-" Theodore saw the elder Riddle stand right behind Hermione, using his hands to 'choke' Hermione while grinning viciously. He snapped his eyes shut as he locked fingers with Hermione under the table. _'Go away… go away… leave me…'_

"Theo, your hand is cold…"

' _Go away… just go away…'_

As he opened his eyes, Tom was nowhere to be seen near the two, vanishing only for now. Theodore unlinked their hands together and returned to eating his cereal. The bell rung for the first lesson as Theodore carried his bag out of the Hall. Numerous people pushed past him, chasing or escaping the dwarves but it didn't irk him like it usually did. Nothing really did now these days. Alongside with the other Gryffindors, Theodore aimed to Charms class when another dwarf, much more burly than the others, blocked him from moving any further.

"I already told the others. Leave me alone." The dwarf grabbed his ankle and stopped the boy from leaving. The grip was almost painful, if not uncomfortable. "What the fuck? Get off me!"

"Please get off him! Now is 'not the time'!" Hermione pleaded as she ran over to the sudden commotion. Theodore watched her trying to pry the muscled dwarf off his leg as he looked puzzled.

"Now's not the time? Time for what?"

"Time for yer Valentine, now stay still," grumbled the dwarf as he spun around to send the two children on the floor. Theodore's bag spilt out onto the floor as the dwarf sung the poem that was hidden underneath his hairy-ridden armpit. He ignored it all as he collected his things in a desperate attempt to run away.

"Theo, are you alright?" Hermione asked as she knelt next to him to help him with his belongings.

"Yeah. Stupid dwarves. I can't believe that idiot was even allowed to do this. Who the hell even sent me that stupid Valentines anyways?" Theodore caught her blushing as she collected his cracked ink bottle. He turned to his right to see the diary next to his feet, and snatched it up the instant Hermione looked over his shoulder. The Parselmouth discreetly tucked it in his robes, out of sight before being handed his things by Hermione. The two brushed themselves off and walked away, ignoring the fact that they were the centre of attention in the corridor. As Hermione stuck rather closely to his side, Theodore could feel just an ounce of himself return. An ounce. Nothing more. It didn't heal the damage that was inflicted by his father. Nothing could aid that. Nothing. As the two entered Professor Flitwick's classroom and sat beside each other on the third row, Hermione asked him the only question which he'd falsely reply to.

"Are you okay, Theo?" Tom/Voldemort was standing in the corner, eyeing the boy with a vacant expression, not uttering a single word. Theodore nodded as he gave her a smile.

"Yeah. I'm okay, Hermione."

 **Well. Who didn't see that coming right? Totally the story twister(sarcasm)! So he knows! Our little Theo knows who his father is and he is a little more than distraught. In fact, I'd say he's been magically lobotomised, if that's a thing. Because I wanted to write so much more than this, we're having another three parter with the next chapter starting straight off at the end of this one.**

 **Also, if you guys are ever just wondering(not saying that you are or should) about the OC pairing, just know that it's obvious yet not really at the same time, if that make sense. It will be far from now anyways, so you don't have to worry(again, not that you should). That's all I'm going to say for now. Look out for the next chapter guys. Later.**

 **johnjohn1970: thanks. Love the support :)**

 **Pattonatom: For a second I got scared there, lol. But thank you man, really made my day. Hope that you're enjoying the story (and I am a bro) :)**


	18. Chapter 18: Riddle's Descent Pt2

"She is quite pretty, you know."

"Who?"

"That Muggle who you have in the back of your head. Louise, wasn't it? And just when I thought you liked Mudbloods, you gone and had yourself a dirty friend. This, I wasn't expecting, Theodore."

"Don't call her dirty."

"Salazar Slytherin's own heir, and he sides himself with a Muggle. Pathetic."

…

"Aren't you tired of climbing out from the pipes every morning like a rat in the gutter? Don't you want to end that pain, Theodore?"

"I'm not going to kill her."

"Sure. We'll see. You'll fall eventually. I know that you can feel me wherever you go. You cannot run away, Theodore. You can't leave me because I will be there. Every. Single. Time."

"Theo!" The boy rotated his body robotically to see the endangered Muggle-born running towards him with two books in her arms. Charms was exceptionally dull and did not draw the possessed boy to even take part. Theodore's mind was so dampened, that he didn't even notice the books that he had left behind. Hermione panted as she handed them over to Theodore before leaning to catch her breath.

"Thanks." Hermione then got up from her knees and held her chest to ease her lungs back to normal. The Parselmouth was silent for the entire lesson, eyes stuck to the desk, not even muttering a word. A definite puppet. It was like there was nothing left to save. Empty, hollow and cold. A mere shell. Looking around to make sure that nobody would see the two, Hermione took the boy's hand into hers once again, seeing if she could break through this time. The boy tried to let her in but he was too strong. Tom was hacking away at the attachment Theodore had for Hermione, soon to be completely severed and unrepairable. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"I just wanted-" Theodore pulled his hand away and walked off without saying a word. He left the girl alone in the corridor for the fear of slaughtering her against his free will was destroying him. He was dying on the inside, and she couldn't help him. They were losing Theodore to his own father, trapped within his mind, unable to escape.

Theodore kept his eyes stuck to the floor, refusing to even glance at the spectral manifestation of his father hanging by his side. He wanted to lash out to Tom, wanting to rip him to shreds but what would it amass to? Everyone would only see the insanity that was driven across the boy's mind like a knife. It was killing him slowly, but he couldn't let it out, no matter what. Theodore didn't want to close his eyes ever, only for him to see the mangled bodies of his friends upon opening them. He needed to keep away from Hermione. He needed to keep away from Ron, and Harry… Harry was in far more danger than anyone else in the castle. If it meant to use his body like a braindead slave, Tom would not hesitate to have Theodore kill Harry as well. But the boy was doing the right thing. He was saving his friends. He was, right?

"Miss Brown, have you seen Mr Riddle anywhere? It is urgent that I find him." Theodore overheard the sickening voice that needed silencing from around the corridor bend. He pressed his back against the wall and stuck his head just so slightly that he was hidden well enough to watch whoever had spoken his name. Lockhart, still clad in pink, was occupied with taking and signing multiple photos from the swarm of girls surrounding him. Lavender was stuck in the middle, swooning over the fact that he had said her name, despite being in his class for almost five months.

"Oh, Theo? I saw him in Charms right before it ended but he was already out of the classroom. Why do you ask?"

"I- no problem, Miss Clearwater- have a proposition to make with the lucky boy. Now everyone here must keep it a secret. I plan on taking a protégée as a 'successor', if you will." Lavender and some of the other girls began hopping on their toes while they giddily flailed their hands.

"Theodore and Professor Lockhart? Together?! I can't breathe!"

"He's so dreamy," whispered a girl closest to Theodore.

"More than dreamy!" The diary felt like it was carving a hole in the boy's chest as he turned to the opposite hallway. Lockhart using Theodore as leverage for his soon to be, dwindling attention, only made the boy feel even more contempt to the counterfeit teacher. But to think about him at the current time was a waste of mental energy. The pain was driving him mad, if he weren't already, requiring his space away from anybody else. Tom was twisting the knife inside the salted, gaping wound and it would only get worse by every single step. Theodore staggered along the flooded corridors, ignoring the concerns of the passing people, screaming on the inside.

' _You're all not safe… you were never safe with me around… he's taken control and I-I can't fight him. You hear me?! I can't fight him, and I need your help! Somebody help me, please!'_

Theodore hadn't even noticed where he was blindly heading to as he pushed the doors of Myrtle's Bathroom before tripping to the ground. Too weary to break his fall completely, a prominent cut on his bottom lip instantly leaked blood to his chin, some dripping to his partially wet jumper. The boy merely wiped it off with his sleeve, and brought himself up to his feet. He had done enough blackouts during the past two years. Stumbling to the sinks to clear his face with cool water, Theodore was still unaware of his current location, only fixated on cooling his burning skin.

"I remember this place. Of course, I did. This is where the hidden entrance to the Chamber is. How foolish of me." Theodore didn't even bother to spin around foolishly. He knew who it was. As the water cleared away from his lashes, Theodore saw Tom in the mirror staring back at him, completely purging the boy's reflection. The elder Riddle had a face of false empathy, lying through the dark scarlet eyes which Theodore now feared. But he didn't cower back. He wouldn't leave. "But no. This place was truly special. It was here where I truly became distant with my former name, a name so disrespectful to be even connected to the great Salazar Slytherin!"

"Our existence is disrespectful to Slytherin," muttered the boy emotionlessly. "How could you possibly think that he would look at us with pride in his eyes? When we carry the blood of a 'filthy Muggle'?" Tom's nostrils flared as his pupils thinned.

"I did what I was destined to do! I killed a Mudblood in this very bathroom!" Tom bellowed from behind Theodore. The younger Riddle tried to scoff but it only came out as a sickly cough.

"And what was stopping you from killing another?"

…

"That's right." Theodore turned around to face his father in his eyes, who shifted into the form Theodore saw a year ago. Voldemort looked livid to the point of wringing his thin fingers around the boy's neck, but did not comply with his urge. "Albus… Dumbledore."

"You think he cares about you? You think that he doesn't know what you are? The old fool is probably watching you closely like he watched me all those years ago. He won't save you from what you'll truly become. Only I can show him what I created, and that creation is you. We will take from him. You and I."

"But you'll lose." The boy's father cackled dryly as Theodore's body began to quiver.

"No, Theodore. It will be Dumbledore to lose. He will lose you to me when I'll take you for my own. He will lose you when all the short-lived faith that he installed in you, will be ripped away when I rise again…"

"Shut up…" Theodore muttered as he covered his face with his damp hands.

"He will lose when I tell you to kill the Mudblood with the Basilisk…"

"Please… shut up!"

"He will lose, Theodore! When you will claim your birth right, when you have the Mudblood dead by your feet, he will lose. He will lose you, and when my powers will return… you will lose Harry." Theodore screamed as loud as he could, squeezing his ears to block out his father. No more, no more! Tears ran down his face as he slowly dropped to the ground.

"No more… no more…" The boy chanted to himself as Voldemort slowly faded away with horrific glee upon his face. Theodore wept on the floor, desperate for his suffering to end. He couldn't take it anymore. If he lived any longer, if he kept on clinging to life then he'd die. Theodore would die as something else would emerge. Something he never wanted anybody to see. His 'true' self.

* * *

Theodore remained locked inside of the cubicle for the rest of the school day, the phrase _"Kill the Mudblood"_ ladled into his ears for what felt like an eternity, lingering through his mind before embedding itself firmly deep within. It wasn't until the final bell did Theodore exit the bathroom finally, darting around the castle to evade his teachers who were surely aware that the boy was missing from their lessons. Being set a plethora of detentions was the least of the boy's problems. There was going to be another attack on a Muggle-born soon and this time, the Heir of Slytherin would succeed. Hermione was going to die from his own hand.

The Parselmouth trekked the magical stairways to Gryffindor common room, and gravelly spoke the password to the singing Fat Lady. From the looks of it, almost the entire of Gryffindor was swarmed inside of the main complex, naturally filling the room with overbearing chatter. Wiping the trickling sweat from his forehead and nose, Theodore tried to casually walk through to the boys' dorm without gaining a single glance from anybody else, but he couldn't even manage to do that. The conversations that once filled the room was instantly killed by the boy's sudden appearance. The glares that were aimed to Theodore, forced him to look back, momentarily locking himself within eye contact before moving to the next one. The more he remained surrounded by everyone there, his desire to slash each and every person's insides only grew with more intensity. He needed to be on his own, away from them. Far away.

They all paved way for the boy to escape to the dormitory, not even whispering as he passed by. Theodore remembered this all too well before at his time at Stuggle's. Wizard, witch or Muggle, no matter, everyone could see through Theodore without the slightest obscurity, he was sure of it. From the corner of his eye, right before he ascended up the stairs, was Hermione, Harry and Ron. The two boys stood behind the Muggle-born, who he could see, was desperate to say something to Theodore. Another attempt to try and pry the entire truth from his fractured mind. Alas, the girl held her tongue as Theodore walked up the spiral stairway without halting mid-step. He heard the noises of the other Gryffindors booming from below, changing into his normal clothes before tending to his sliced lip. A soft scab was slightly loose and sore as the Parselmouth rubbed against it. It wasn't so serious that he had to use magic to heal himself. He sat himself on the edge of the bed, and shakily plucked the diary from the messy pile of his school uniform. Dirty, filthy warmth travelled through his arm as he twitched his neck. Sitting beside him was Tom as a sixteen-year-old, mimicking the clothes that Theodore was currently wearing, only with a darker hue that made it look murky.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to the Mudblood? And Harry," asked the elder Riddle mockingly as he scratched his neck. Theodore kept a blank stare to the windows on the far end of the dorm, watching the orange and purple swirl in the most magnificent ways. He remained quiet as Tom attempted to test his son. "Surely, you want to say goodbye to the two of them, you know? Soften the blow before you show them who you truly are."

"If you're so adamant on killing Hermione and Harry, then take over my body and do as you please. I know that you won't because you're scared."

"I feel fear, but it isn't coming from me, Theodore. No, it's coming from you," said the sadistic manifestation of Tom Riddle as he stood up to prowl around the room. Theodore didn't watch him as he continued to gaze at the sunset. "Why can't you understand what I am doing for you?"

"You're crazy..." A false sensation of air brushed against the younger Riddle's ear, feeling Tom centimetres away from his skull.

"You… are the Heir of Slytherin. You are born from such nobility yet the fact that you don't want any of it confuses me, Theodore. Have I not been kind to you? Have I not accomplished my duty as a father, to help you grow and flourish? Have I not?!" Tom backed away slowly as Theodore twisted his neck to gain full vision of his father. Scarlet to scarlet. The words did not leave the boy's mouth, but they didn't go unheard. Tom had melded with Theodore's spirit and mind, completely aware of the boy's thoughts. He saw the hatred and rage that Theodore had for his father, and feasted on them to gain more control. The more the boy stayed within the short vicinity of the diary, the stronger Tom became. Theodore was fighting a losing battle and he didn't even know it.

"Let me be…"

"Don't you understand? I can't leave you, Theodore. I need you. I need you to become what I always wanted you to be… Me." Theodore immediately tightened his fist to a ball and swung it with as much force as he could possibly deliver at his father. Tom evaporated into a cloud of black smoke, grinning devilishly before vanishing back inside of the diary. The Parselmouth threw the diary to the floor and stamped on it repeatedly with such ferocity that his heel began to ache. Why couldn't he destroy it? Why did he ever write back to the diary? Why did he even care for his cursed heritage in the first place? He should've listened to Hermione when she said to forget about Slytherin, but now she was going to die. Theodore didn't listen and because of that, she was going to die. Through the clenched teeth and watery eyes, Theodore finally gave the diary one last stamp before kicking it underneath the Viripin-free bed.

" _Kill the Mudblood… Kill the Mudblood…"_

"What's going on here?" Harry's voice came from the open doorway of the dorm as the Boy Who Lived stared at the Heir, who had his back turned to his cousin. The tears were quickly wiped away before Theodore turned 90o to show half of his face. He was in no mood to convince Harry to stay the hell away from him. Theodore sniffed sharply before ridding the extra fluid in his eyes as he walked over to the other side of the bed.

"Nothing."

"That's it? You're up here making a racket, but it's just nothing? And you just expect me to believe that?"

"If you're going to say something, Harry, then just say it. Otherwise stop wasting my time and leave me the fuck alone." Theodore said harshly. _'No, I didn't mean to say that.'_

"We already did that. And now look at you. You don't even look alive. Your cheeks are still thin, and you look like you can barely stand let alone walk. And you're skipping classes. What's the problem?" Harry asked sternly, closing the door behind him in case things got heated in the room.

"Why do you even care," spat the Heir. Harry scoffed.

"Why do I even- for a smart guy like you, that is the most stupidest question that I have ever heard. I'm not going to answer that because you know what I'll say."

"Indulge me."

"Why is it so hard for you to trust us? To trust me? Don't you remember what we did last year, together? We took a bullet for each other yet here you are, strutting around the corridors like you don't mean anything to anyone!"

"Well, when you've been stuck inside the hospital wing for more than a week, feeling fucked up everywhere and your friends don't even give a shit, you tend to rethink if some friendships were even worth having." Theodore spitefully added. Harry clenched his fists as his face became flustered with anger. Theodore didn't mean to say any of this, it was all Tom's doing. Theodore couldn't control himself as every ounce of negativity experienced during the past two months, spewed out against his will. He was just so angry.

"We had our reasons." Harry gritted through his teeth. Theodore started to walk towards his cousin in such a threatening manner that Harry was almost considering using brute force to push him back.

"Don't ever give me that bullshit again. You didn't visit me because you knew. You knew what I did but instead of trying to help me, you left me alone."

"You pity yourself so much that you can't see the people that you hurt, next to you. You lied to us, Theodore. What did you expect that we would do?"

"I expected you to be there!"

"You know why we didn't come! Stop playing the innocent card because we know what you did, Theo! We know!"

"This is the boy who became my hindrance," hissed the wispy image of Voldemort appearing next to Theodore. "This is the famous Harry Potter?! KILL HIM NOW!" Theodore ignored his father's contained screams as he only focused on Harry.

"Then say it," stated Theodore grimly. "I want to hear it come out from your mouth. Say it."

…

"Say it."

…

"I said say it!" Theodore shouted unintentionally in Parseltongue. Harry started to back off, truly worried that his best friend had turned deranged over the edge, possibly beyond helping. Theodore's eyes were scarlet, and shone brightly in the barely lit room. They looked so familiar, yet it was nothing of Theodore. _'I'm sorry, Harry…'_

…

"Let me help you, Theo. Please."

"As if I would need your help," sneered Theodore as he lowered himself to reach for the diary. "I didn't come here as a celebrity. I'm just a nobody, a poor orphan who's got nothing. Better off on my own like I always been." The infected Parselmouth stood up and hid the diary behind his back as he left towards the door. Harry said nothing as he watched Theodore brush past him, and exit the room swiftly. Whatever was taking over Theodore, was killing him on the inside.

Theodore strutted menacingly down the stairway, and stood still at the archway of the staircase, observing each of his fellow Gryffindors to make that nobody had their eyes on him. Everyone seemed invested with their own problems, giving the boy an opportunity to leave undetected. He just had to make sure that he wasn't seen as suspicious. A mistake on his part. For a fraction of a second, he and Hermione were locked in eye contact. Knowing her, she'd probably bound off the sofa to try and stop him from leaving. Not this time. He wouldn't let her.

The Parselmouth instantly paced towards the portrait door without looking back or sideways. He finally reached the portrait hole and pushed through it, briefly hearing the first syllable of his name before the portrait closed behind him. He took the risk of jumping onto a moving staircase, almost tripping over the edge. Luckily, he grabbed onto the marble banister before suffering a relatively gruesome death. As he descended two floors, he could see a ray of golden light bursting from the seventh floor above, the entrance of Gryffindor Tower. Somebody was following him. He jumped onto the third floor platform and briskly walked along the said corridor, still cautious of the teachers and prefects that patrolled the hallways.

Just like it had always been, the abandoned girls' bathroom smelt like ancient sewage and the rotting carcass of mice. Theodore stood facing the moonlit central sinks, expecting the Basilisk to burst from the ground at any second. The boy assumed that he was alone as the usual whimpering of the ghost girl could not be heard from any angle. Tom walked out from behind Theodore, and had his hands behind his back, pale face gleaming from the refraction of the moonlight. The elder Riddle decided to keep his usual attire by wearing the Slytherin uniform instead. The teenager was silent for a while, until he spoke softly.

"I never did tell you how I killed the Mudblood back then, did I?" Tom asked casually.

"I didn't come here to listen to you gloat about one murder." Theodore responded coldly. It was probably the only emotion he could truly feel.

"Right! Right, of course! How could I possibly compare myself to you, dear boy? I mean, slaughtering a man at the fresh age of twelve? I wasn't even seventeen when I first killed somebody! Like father, like son, eh?" Theodore said nothing and walked to the sinks with the diary in his hand. "Why are we here? A change of heart, perhaps?"

"Maybe. It's not like I have anything to lose."

"You may have nothing to lose, but you have so much to gain. Our pride of our heritage, carrying out what Salazar had forward for us. So much to gain, so much power! We must do this. You must do this." Theodore sniffed as he brushed his nose with a sleeve.

"Yeah… I know." The younger Riddle found the snake-tap and hissed in Parseltongue to separate the sinks. As they shifted to reveal the large pipe in the middle, Theodore took the diary in both hands and opened it up in the middle. Tom was standing on his right, peering into the black hole. If one could listen so carefully, the sounds of scattering rats could be heard from down below.

…

"What are you waiting for, Theodore? Jump."

"You said that I should close my heart to those who did not comply with Salazar's wishes. You said that, right?"

"I did…"

…

"Why bring up something that I already know?"

"So by being half bloods, the both of us, don't we represent the one thing that Salazar despised? The unity between wizardkind and Muggles? Isn't our existence against his wishes?" Theodore spoke blankly as he traced his finger against the empty pages. Tom became agitated that Theodore had not jumped inside of the pipe yet. His former friends were coming to 'rescue' him as they spoke, father and son. By the time that they'd get here, the Basilisk would be ready for them. It was the perfect trap but the boy wasn't moving. Why?

"I have been cleansed by the power of Slytherin's blood alone! My filthy father means nothing to what I am!"

"Doesn't make you any purer. We're just filthy half-breeds, and nothing more."

…

"My heart's been closed, Tom. Ever since I picked up this diary from this bathroom, you used me like a pet. A naïve animal who you manipulated to do his bidding. I haven't felt true happiness in weeks, all because of you. You ripped me apart, took me away from my friends and kept me as your own. I… I don't feel the same anymore. I-I never wanted… I never should've opened the Chamber. I should've thrown the diary away when I had the chance. I should've listened!" Theodore raised the diary above the pipe, ready to let it flutter into the abyss. Tom looked furious but remained still as the slightest of movements could mean his entrapment in the Chamber forever.

"You think that they'll forgive you for what you did," sneered the elder Riddle. "You think that Harry, Ron and Hermione will welcome you back with loving arms as you rid me from your being? You think they'll care?!" Those words hit Theodore hard in the stomach. His father was right. Even if he explained to them what had happen, nothing that he could do after would redeem him. He'd have to run away, no matter how far he'd go as long as he was just away from… everything.

"That's fine… they don't need me. I was only just a burden to them. They deserve better…"

"Deserve better?! How can you say that?!" Theodore closed his eyes and sighed. Why couldn't he just drop it? He was so close but he just couldn't do it…

"I-I told you already, Tom. My heart has been closed. To everyone that I cared about… and now to you."

"Don't do it."

"Since you love Salazar so much…"

"Theodore…"

"…then you can bury yourself with him."

"Theodore!" Tom shouted.

"Goodbye… Tom." Theodore said mundanely as the diary began to slip between his hands. He was going to be free from the shackles of Tom Riddle. The diary would be lost forever, never to resurface once again. Tom Marvolo Riddle died here.

"NO! STOP!" Suddenly feeling something heave against his back, Theodore was thrown behind him violently as he smacked the tiled flooring hard against his ribs. He was painfully winded, and was struggling to breathe, holding the area from where the pain originated.

"…saw him go down this way, I swear! Maybe he's in here- Theo!" Ron, followed by Harry then Hermione, rushed into the bathroom to witness the boy laying upon the floor in pain. The trio came to the boy's side at once as he groaned, not because his rib was probably cracked, but because they were right where Tom wanted them to be. Theodore groggily spoke as the other three helped him sit up. "He's trying to say something. What is it, Theo? Why are you down here?"

"You… go… before… kills you…" Theodore uttered as his head twirled anti-clockwise in a dizzying motion.

"Who's trying to kill us," asked Harry.

…

"Theodore, you have to speak properly. Who's trying to kill us?"

"Me…" The trio looked perplexed and anxious by the boy's single word. They knew that he was the Heir of Slytherin, and that if he was really trying to kill them, whatever he used for the victims could be inside of the bathroom at that very minute. Harry blocked it from his mind as he told Ron to help support the Parselmouth to the hospital wing. Theodore was making far too many frequent stays in there.

"We'll just say that he passed out in the common room. If they know that we were out of bed this late, then- Hermione? Come on!" The Muggle-born was standing over the open entrance, facing into the black pipeline. Or rather, she was staring at the thing that was barely hanging on the edge. She nervously bent down and picked up the damp diary that had almost fell into the hidden hole. It felt vile in her fingers, like it contained pure bloodlust and hatred. Hermione had no idea as to why Theodore would be so obsessed with such a thing, but whatever it was had to die. It didn't matter if it was seen as a 'family heirloom', Theodore needed to come back to them.

"Hermione…" grumbled Theodore, still hurt from his rib. The girl didn't reply. "Hermione… throw it away…"

"W-what…" Theodore stood on his own and walked one step towards Hermione, who still kept the diary in her hand. A horrific thought crossed the boy's mind as he thought to himself what had just happened. Tom was now leeching off her. The younger Riddle knew what hatred his father had against Hermione, and knew that he'd use her like a piece of unwanted meat.

"Throw the diary down, Hermione. Please!"

"I… I can't!" Theodore threw his vision all over the place, looking for the wretched boy he called a father.

"Let her go, Tom! Don't do this, she's innocent! Don't kill her!" Theodore screamed. Hermione was slowly shuffling closer to the pipe, almost forced to plunge her way down headfirst until all that would be heard from above, was the fatal snap of her neck.

"Who's Tom," said Ron as he shook Theodore by the shoulders. "Who's- Hermione! Get away from there!"

"I can't," sobbed the Muggle-born as she was struck with fear. Her own body was moving against her will. She couldn't let go of the diary and she was going to kill herself. "Help me! I'm going to fall in!"

"Let her go, now! Now, Tom!" The elder Riddle formed next to Hermione with her back turned, grinning madly. Hermione wasn't stopping as she started to cry. Her tears were poisonous to Theodore's ears as he was beyond begging. He was his father's puppet, no more. "I SAID NOW! LET HER GO, NOW!"

"What was that about me only killing one Mudblood?" Upon pure instinct, Theodore leapt to Hermione, who had one foot already off the ground, and tried to catch her by the hand to pull her back away from the pipe. Ron and Harry had the same idea as they were half a metre behind the Heir, ready to catch the possessed girl, only…

As he grabbed onto Hermione's arm to pull her back, Tom's diary instantly latched itself onto Theodore own, clamping down on him like a leech spawned from Hell. Writhing in pain, Theodore swung his arm in a desperate attempt to dispose of it once and for all but he just couldn't. His ribs were in far too much pain to even muster the sufficient strength needed. Theodore slammed it again and again next to the sinks but its hold only grew stronger. The trio tugged onto it as well, but they too were futile to its strength. Thoughts on slicing his arm right off were clear in the boy's mind but none of that started to matter. A new sensation coupled with the pain, grew on the trapped boy's arm as it almost felt like he was being sucked through something small.

"Harry," muttered Theodore as he saw the golden glow coming from the diary. Harry noticed this and panic drove across his face as he knew that something bad was going to happen.

"Come on, pull! We have to get this thing off, before-" The golden light instantly spread across the boy's body as the diary began to shake. To the other three, Theodore looked like he was fading away like golden ash.

"Theodore! THEODORE!" And he was gone. Only the three children, the hidden ghost girl and the Diary of the Dark Lord was all that remained in the bathroom. Devastation was all that they could feel and show as they saw their friend crumble away to nothingness, right before their eyes. Hermione and Ron were frozen in their places, but Harry just dropped to his knees. He had just watched Theodore die right there, and he couldn't do a thing about it. He couldn't save him.

"H-he's not- he can't be…" Ron stammered, too shocked to say anything calmly. He then frantically turned around, searching to see if his best friend had only vanished to a different area of the bathroom. "Theo? Theo! THEO!"

"Ron, stop." Harry said quietly.

"He can't be gone! He was just here and- oh god! Theodore…" Hermione still hadn't said a word. Maybe there was too much to feel that she couldn't possibly say anything. Theodore wasn't dead. That wasn't dying. She never saw a person die right in front of her, but she didn't need to. She refused. Theodore wasn't dead.

"No. He's not dead." The Muggle-born firmly stated.

"He just turned into dust, Hermione. How could he not possibly be dead?!" Ron shouted.

"He's not dead. He can't be dead," said Hermione as she bent over to pick the diary up from the floor. Slimy water dripped off the flaking spine, pattering on her shoe. "I… think that he's in here." Ron looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"Inside the diary? Are you mad?! How could he be inside of the diary?!" Hermione tried to look certain of her assumptions but even she had trouble convincing herself. Had the guilt of carrying the diary and putting herself in danger arrived? Was this going to be her way on coping if Theodore was actually dead? Convinced that he was stuck inside of the shady diary?

"Throw it away." Harry said grimly.

"What did you say, Harry? Throw it away?" Harry nodded, causing the girl to look appalled by his sudden choice. "We can't throw the diary away, Theodore's inside it!"

"Theodore wanted the diary inside of that pipe over there. If he knew that it was dangerous then maybe that was the reason why he was down here. We have to throw it away." Hermione shook her wild hair and clutched the diary to her chest.

"No. I know that he's in here, we just… please, guys. Believe me when I tell you that he's inside of the diary, I know it." She looked to Ron, who was disheartened and pale to the nose. Harry also looked pale, his scar even more visible than before. They didn't believe her one bit. Hermione shakily opened the first page of the diary, hope draining out of her so rapidly. Maybe he was dead. She had so much to tell him, but it all meant nothing now. She promised to help him, but she failed. And now… The saddened Muggle-born let three teardrops run down her face, splashing onto the diary's page. She didn't notice that they were instantly absorbed, for she felt the pain of a heartstring twang inside. How… strange…

* * *

" _Tom? Wake up, Tom! It's morning!" The black-haired boy sighed heavily as he lifted his slim body from his bed. Usually, he'd get up much earlier than the current time but last night was… exhausting, to say the least. He stood up from the right hand side of the bed stretched, twisting his neck and arms._

" _What did I say about shouting into my ears in the morning, Theodore?"_

" _S-sorry, Tom."_

" _It's alright," said the handsome sixth year, although his comment came across as more snide then meaningful. Tom walked into the bathroom with his things to clean himself before leaving for lessons. If everything went according to plan today, it would be most rewarding. He could feel the satisfaction lying inside of his veins, bursting to come out. But he needed to wait. He couldn't expose his motives when he had done so much. Yes, he need to wait just a little bit longer._

 _Cleaned and dressed in his usual uniform, Tom walked into the main part of the common room, watching his 'friends' chat amongst each other with joy and excitement. The end of the year was dawning upon them and summer was around the corner. That meant that he'd have to go back to the utter filth-bag of an orphanage for nearly two torturous months. Oh how he loathed it there. But that wasn't in the present for he was here now, in Hogwarts. Where he truly belonged._

 _Sitting on the sofa with an arm wrapped around a pretty girl of the same age, was the same boy that had woken Tom up from his slumber. The boy known as-_

" _Theodore Lestrange, I can't believe you!"_

" _I said I was sorry! You didn't honestly expect me to remember, did you?"_

" _Yes! That's the entire point of an anniversary, you remember the time when you first get with somebody! How dense could you get?" Theodore shrugged and attempted to kiss her on the cheeks multiple times, ignoring her squirms and pushes._

" _Terly, I'm sorry, alright? I'll make it up to you, I promise." Terly scoffed and turned her head away as she flicked Theodore with her golden locks of hair. Tom watched them with a vacant expression on his face and shook his head in disapproval. To think that one of his own had problems with a mere girl. However, Terly was of pure descent so it would make sense for procreation purposes. Tom had those ideas in mind as he would sought to create a child that he would command under his bidding. Any child from his bloodline would surely be of use to him. Tom walked over to the bickering couple and pulled Theodore away from Terly to speak with him in private._

" _You've seen enough of her for thirty minutes, now listen. Tonight, I want you to tell Slughorn why i won't be there. Do not let him be interested."_

" _Where are you going?"_

" _I need to run an overdue errand that could cost me a few hours. Remember what I said. If I find out that somebody knew where I was then-" Theodore widened his eyes in a quick flash of fear before nodding his head. The shorter black-haired boy scurried off to his girlfriend and kissed her straight on the lips before leaving through the main door. A sense of power surged through Tom as he knew what was going to happen today._

"Where am I?" The faintly greyish-green hue of his surroundings, plastered everywhere in the unfamiliar room. All faces, hair, ceilings and windows held this consistency, making Theodore think that he was looking through permanent lenses. The confused boy had taken a backseat to the events that had just passed, having to go through so many things. That boy who woke up his father was called Theodore, and his girlfriend was called Terly. Ms Padalin was in Slytherin?! How was this possible, all of it? How could he see this me- Theodore inhaled deeply as he knew what happened. The diary. It was somehow showing the memories that were preserved inside of it like a movie, only that he was inside of it.

The area where he was standing was most likely the Slytherin common room, almost exactly like he had imagined it. Seeing the form of his father infuriated the boy to the point where he wanted to kill him, right there. He already tried, using his hands to strangle him but they only went through like he wasn't there. He was a prisoner inside of the diary, unable to find a way scene started to melt away as golden ash from nowhere, constructed a different area. An area where Theodore was all too familiar with.

"Oh no…"

 _Tom felt slightly foul for parading in and out of the girls' bathroom, just to access the legendary Chamber of Secrets. Not only would people decipher that it was he who had set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods, but it could also tarnish the reputable image that he had worked up on for so long. Nobody would trust 'Tom Marvolo Riddle, Hogwarts Pervert'. But, that wasn't his name, and everyone would soon know that. Deciding that it wasn't the right time, the Heir of Slytherin cautiously exited the bathroom and walked to the Great Hall where everyone else was eating. Being a prefect meant nobody would suspect you if you suddenly arrived at dinner at the oddest of times. Sitting next to Theodore and Eldon Rosier, he tucked in to the breakfast that outmatched the food at Wool's Orphanage._

" _Hey, Tom. Had any updates on your secret admirers recently," said Theodore as he held back a laugh, so settled with a smirk._

" _What?"_

" _Over there, sitting on the Ravenclaw table." Theodore pointed at a girl with acne and round spectacles, who spun her head around the moment Tom looked straight to her. He knew who she was, or what she was, to be more specific._

" _Are you talking about the Mudblood." Tom asked grimly. Theodore nodded his head and turned to Terly, who was in much higher spirits than before. Tom looked at her with such disgust that an idea came to his head. Tonight, it would be her._

"Myrtle? Myrtle was here when…" Theodore had heard every word his father and his namesake spoke for an evil sensation stabbed his stomach. If this was true, then he had to leave. If his father did what he thought he did, then…

The scene shifted again as the Great Hall faded from the boy's vision, replaced by an area in the castle which was slightly familiar to Theodore. The corridor adjacent to the one of the Potions classroom had Tom talking with a teacher who, in Theodore's eyes, looked obese and strenuous against the buttons on his shirt. Theodore forced himself to listen to the conversation between Tom and the unknown professor while trying to wrap his head around how he was inside of the diary.

"… _quite a beauty, wasn't it? The students caught it a few hours ago. A Maibian Adder, one of the last ninety of his species." The fat professor remarked as he wiped his sweaty forehead with an already damp handkerchief._

" _I was certain that it was a female," muttered Tom under his breath._

" _Pardon?"_

" _Nothing, Professor. Just something else on my mind. Are you going to keep in your classroom, or is it worth a few Galleons?"_

" _Now Tom, I can't let you know about that! It's not particularly… inviting of a boy such as yourself, to involve himself in the basic trade of the world."_

" _Well, I guess so. But a snake with such rarity must be worth something." The professor patted the boy on his shoulder before he started to walk off._

" _If you are interested then I could indulge you with the market trade, my dear boy! How to use your charm to get the reasonable prices. Anyways, I must get going. See you later, Tom!"_

" _Goodbye, Professor Slughorn."_

So it was he who had Viripin locked in the classroom for almost fifty years. Slughorn. Theodore instantly assumed that he was just as cruel and vile as Tom, no matter how jolly he made himself out to be. He held the snake dear to his heart and now that she had left him for good, Theodore wanted her back more than ever. All of this, because he picked up his father's fucking diary. He hated himself.

"Aren't you going to tell me why you brought me here, Tom?!" Theodore shouted as he rotated, knowing that nobody could hear him. "Get out here, now! Show me why you brought me here, you fucking coward! Show me!"

…

"As you wish, Theo."

The scene changed once more as the wisps of the surrounding area took on black and green shades, slowly solidifying to create the cursed Chamber of Secrets. Theodore began to tremble as all those traumatising nights of climbing outside of the Chamber, flooded right back in. It felt even more sickening to see how much cleaner it was in the past compared to now. Watching and listening to his father facing the grand statue of Salazar Slytherin, he heard the words, _'Come to me, Serpent of Slytherin'_ , he backed away in fear, desperate for someone, anyone…

"Help me… please…"

* * *

"If he really was inside of the diary, then we should get Dumbledore to-"

"No, Ron. We can't tell anybody about this. If they found out the truth about who did the attacks then what would happen to him? They could… throw him into Azkaban for all we know!"

"That is, if he's really inside of the diary. How can you be so sure, Hermione?"

"I… don't know. I just know that he's not dead. People don't die from turning into golden dust, it's unnatural!" Ron stopped himself from arguing back and did his best to remain calm and sincere. He sat next to the Muggle-born, who had the diary in her hands, and placed his hand on her shoulder. Ron didn't think of himself as the best person to come to for consolation, but it didn't mean that he couldn't try.

"I want to believe you, Hermione. I want to believe that he's alive, but… it's a diary. His dad's diary, and it killed him. What else are we supposed to think? Please, don't go crazy over this. In fact, you have to get rid of that thing before it takes you too. We can't have you gone as well." Hermione gripped onto the diary tighter as she refused to give it away. Ron pulled back and after a minute of silence, stood up. "Or maybe I'm wrong. You and Theo both know each other the best anyways. I can't deny that." Hermione looked up to the red head, and then back down to the diary.

…

"I'm not going to stop. You know that, right?" Ron sighed then nodded his head. .

"Neither will I. I- we, can't give up on him. If you say that he's alive then… I believe you." Hermione smiled with an air of sadness being pushed aside temporarily, hugging Ron before they said goodnight to each other. Harry was so distraught that he didn't want to stay with the others, so it meant that she was the one to keep the diary. Knowing how he felt, the Muggle-born decided not to say anything, and kept herself to herself.

"Come on, Theo," whispered Hermione as she opened the first page. "Come back to us. Come back to me…"

* * *

" _Let us go, beast. Let us purge."_

" _Let's… rip… kill…"_ hissed the Basilisk as she spilled out from Salazar's mouth. Theodore saw the blatant image of the feared serpent, luckily unable to succumb to its deadly gaze. It looked exactly identical to how it was now, and was a little more greener, due to the diary's effect on everything he saw. Tom beckoned the Basilisk to wait at the bottom of the main pipe while he himself, went up first.

 _Tom had reached the opening of the Chamber above with a simple charm, and slightly stumbled upon landing. He cursed as he suffered a minor slash against his hand, but did not worry about that at all. All that mattered was finding the Mudblood scum and ridding her from the place where she did not belong. His first kill. Not a pet bunny or a hungry fox. A real Mudblood. He was going to kill her, and he was going to love it. Everything was prepared. The diary, the book, all of it. All except for the Mudblood._

" _Who's there," wailed a meek voice from the cubicle. Tom whipped his head to where the voice emanated from and hissed in the pipe quickly, to tell the Basilisk to come to him slowly. He had to get this perfectly._

" _It's me, Tom. I know that voice. It's… Myrtle, right?"_

" _You know who I am?"_

" _Yeah, of course! I know exactly who you are, Myrtle. In fact, I've had my eye on you for quite a while now."_

" _R-really?" Tom put on his best to manipulate the doomed Muggle-born with his deadly charm. A mere fly in the grand spider's web._

" _Really."_

" _B-but why would you look at me for? I mean, look at me. No boy has ever said that to me." Myrtle nervously stuttered behind the cubicle door._

" _Well, I can't really look at you if you stay in there. Come out."_

" _I… no. I can't." Tom glided to the cubicle door, diving into the false role of comfort and attraction to the girl. He couldn't leave here without her body dead on the ground._

" _Please, Myrtle. I've seen beyond your exterior. I've seen everything on the inside and I… need to have it. Please, Myrtle. I need you. Please. I can't hold back any longer."_

…

" _Myrtle?" The sounds of the door-lock sliding came from the inside as Myrtle opened the door ever so slightly, at the minuscule chance that her dream of a boy was lying to her. "That's it. Come out."_

" _There isn't anybody there? This isn't some sort of sick joke."_

" _No. Just me and you. That's what you wanted, right? You and I, together?" Myrtle creaked the door a little further, revealing most of her face to the blood-hungry Heir. Tom felt internally sick that she was even so close to his presence. Even to the regular wizard, Myrtle was below average-looking, nothing exciting to Tom. Of course, women never really excited him so much as the thought of a relationship seemed utterly useless. Oh well. It was time._

" _Tom? Why did you come into this bathroom? It's only for girls."_

" _I heard what Olive had to say about you, and I'm sorry. I only came here to rid you of your misery. Would you like me to do that?" Foolish enough to fall for his alluring voice, Myrtle complied as she swung the door open, tears in her eyes. Somebody noticed her. Somebody cared for her and it was Tom, the boy who seemed otherworldly and beyond her. Tom Riddle cared for Myrtle Warren. She felt happy, overjoyed, loved. She felt… she felt…_

" _Purge."_

 _She felt cold. Yellow eyes and a pair of scarlet to go with them, and she felt cold. She tried to breathe but nothing was coming in or out. She wasn't even dying. How could she when it had already happened? Myrtle seized up but then after that, she felt… cold. And that was it. Floating a few feet into the air, the spectral Muggle-born looked down to the sight of her own body being dragged by the boy she claimed was her everything, and the body of something large slip away into the separated sinks. It was all so horrible. She was dead and her body was being taken like a prized animal. Why was she dead? Why did he do this to her? She thought that…_

" _Tom," asked Myrtle in a whimper as she floated above her limp, lifeless body. "What happened? W-why am I like this? What did… what…" Tom's eyes were flashing with red as he gave her malicious stare that silenced her. Beyond timid and frightened, Myrtle backed away as the boy walked closer to him._

" _If you ever… EVER tell anybody that I killed you right here, death will not even save you from me. Do you understand, Mudblood?" Myrtle broke on the inside when he said that. A Mudblood. A taunt that she only heard from the other Slytherins and now from her one and only. "Good. Now if you will be so kind…" The ghost girl remained shocked and almost completely petrified by what she saw. She saw what Tom had done to her body and now… she was nothing. Nothing in life, nothing in death. Her sickly obsession for the boy, cost her life and a body which had been vulgarly violated to beyond evil. Tom Marvolo Riddle, had killed the Muggle-born Myrtle Warren and made his very first…_

* * *

Eyes barely able to stay open, Hermione flipped through the book multiple times, rubbing, writing, ripping and burning but none of them worked. She was getting nowhere. Hermione had spent the past three hours, desperately trying to free Theodore from the diary but nothing helped. Trial after trial, but nothing worked. Swallowing painfully, Hermione pushed down the tears and plucked her quill again from the ink bottle and began to scribble in the middle page.

' _Theodore? It's Hermione. If you're there, please tell me.'_ The words sunk into the pages but nothing came back like the multiple times before. He was there, she knew it but she just couldn't get him out. How could you exactly free someone from a possessive diary? Hermione tried again and again until she snapped. Dropping the quill onto the table, she placed her head in her hands as tried to fight the tears who conquered her in the end. She cried too many times today for him. Hope was lost as she didn't know what to do. In the morning, they'll realise that Theodore went missing. An innocent boy controlled by the diary's malign nature but they would never know. Not even her. A buildup of tears slipped through her quivering fingers and blotted against the pages of diary.

It shook. It jumped, then shook again. Hermione removed her hands from her face and wiped the tears away as she was no longer infected by guilt. Her red eyes showed confusion as she stared at the rabid diary. It spun and writhed like a tortured animal, twisting, rolling in apparent pain. The Muggle-born instantly grabbed it and slammed it on the table flat, so that she could see what she had suspected all this time.

"Theodore?" She faintly whispered.

' _Help me, Hermione! Help me!'_

 **Part 2 is here, people! Mind you that these are like one massive chapter split into three bits so keep that in mind. I currently have three different endings for this arc and I want to make sure that it's the right one because it could literally change the entire story. Let's just hope that you'll like it anyways. A few more chapters and it's almost over. Let's keep on going guys. Hope you liked this one. Later**

 **War Sage: Thanks and you just sit back:)**


	19. Chapter 19: Riddle's Descent Pt3

"That filthy… Mudblood! What… is she doing to the diary?!" The false scenery around the writhing teen smouldered and withered slowly as something powerful was corroding it away. Tom clutched his chest and fell to his knees, filled with confusion and such anger at the current situation. How could an underling with no true extraordinary power could possibly affect a Horcrux? It made no sense! Theodore had his eyes closed, trying to reach out to Hermione, but it was proving to be difficult above the screams of his father. The younger Riddle too, felt his father's pain but had partially numbed himself to focus.

' _Hermione, you have to destroy it! Destroy the diary, right now! Please!'_

"I don't understand… my soul and your own, had become one… I should be more powerful! Yet a filthy Muggle-born is destroying me! How? HOW?!" Tom screamed. Theodore's focus and thoughts were slipping away, unable to speak to his friend on the other side. "This isn't right… this isn't right…"

"Whatever you did, do it again…" Theodore muttered.

"No. I will have you. They won't save you, boy. We have merged, and to kill me means your death as well. Save yourself before she kills us!"

"Shut up…"

"Listen to me!"

' _No. Not ever again. Come on, Hermione. Come on…'_

Theodore suddenly screamed when Tom formed into a black/green mist, and forced himself into the boy through his nostrils. He felt his father stabbing him on the inside, desperate to reclaim control over his resistant son. All thoughts about Hermione helping him were instantly ripped out of his mind. Tom was right, they really had merged. Theodore could feel everything of his father's memory. He saw and understood the true nature of Tom Riddle as he witnessed the creation of the ungodly Horcrux. The foul, unloving and pure wickedness of the elder Riddle, all poured into the boy's mind. He'd surely go insane.

The walls around him healed from their unexplainable damage, slowly rebuilding the boy's prison as he laid on the floor, thrashing against his father. He was slipping, further and further away…

 _On the other side…_

"Harry! Ron! Get up, quick!" Both boys shot up instantly, indicating that they weren't sleeping in the slightest. Hermione was stood between them, clutching the diary while her hair looked wilder than before.

"Is it Theodore," whispered Ron as he left his bed. Hermione nodded her head frantically, tightening her grasp on the diary.

"I wrote something in the diary and he replied! I knew that he was inside, I knew it!"

"What? Inside? What are you talking about, Hermione?" Harry asked as he placed his glasses on his nose. Hermione then dragged the two downstairs and slammed the diary open on the fireplace table. She squashed herself between the two, to show them her extraordinary discovery.

"What's supposed to happen now?"

"Wait… just wait," said the Muggle-born. Hermione plucked the quill from the ink bottle and hurriedly wrote the trapped Parselmouth's name on a page. They watched the words vanish in silence like they did before, expecting something in return. Nothing. Hermione quickly dipped the quill in the bottle and tried again but, nothing. He wasn't responding. "No… no no no… he was… Theodore wrote back to me, I swear!"

"Well we know that this ain't no normal diary, but how could be so sure that-"

"I know what I saw, Harry," snapped Hermione before pulling back in regret. Harry wasn't shaken by this and understood her desperation to believe that it was Theodore. He would've, had he seen the message. But nothing was happening. Theodore didn't write back. Hermione was wrong.

"Hermione, please. Don't go crazy over this." Harry consoled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, underneath her mane.

"Theodore wrote back," said the girl quietly. "He wrote back to me when I… you have to believe me, Harry. Please." Harry stared into her eyes, reading the certainty of the boy's survival. He wanted to believe so bad, but he couldn't. He saw Theodore break down into dust right in front of him yet he was expected to still think that he was alive. How? How could he?

"Maybe it's the diary just playing tricks on you. If it could kill Theodore then-"

"Theo's not dead… He can't be dead. I refuse."

"You refuse? How- am I the only one who saw what happened?" Harry asked, sounding a little more louder than usual. He and Ron stood up, ready to butt heads.

"We get it. Theodore was your best friend. But sorry to burst your obvious bubble, he was our best friend too. IS our best friend. This isn't no time to be moping around when we know that Theodore's in there!"

"So you believe it too?" Ron nodded his head, serious and unmoving. "Did you see the writing?"

"No."

"Then how could you believe it then?"

"Guys, stop fighting." Hermione pleaded. The boys ignored her as they came closer towards each other.

"It was wrong of us to abandon him when he needed us. We should've been there but we weren't. Instead, we were cooped up here like cowards, scared of our own best friend when we should've been helping him. I don't know or care what you think, Harry. We're getting him outside the diary." Harry was hesitant in his own words but still stuck through with them. Something was blocking him from seeing the truth but he didn't know what. Yet.

"Don't you think I feel that? That we didn't help him when he needed us? I felt that every single day from the moment we knew. And yeah. I was scared of him. How else would you expect me to feel, knowing that your best friend is not only the actual Heir of Slytherin, but also attacked six people because of it. Theodore would never do that on his own, I'm sure of it. I know that he wouldn't. It was a mistake to leave him but I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry for fucking him over, for being such a shitty friend to him. Theo was like… like a brother to me. And I failed him. He was probably the only person in this school, in the entire world perhaps, who I really understood and he's gone because of me. I couldn't save him. He… only person… I want to believe you two, so bad. I really do. But…"

Harry tried to let out every bit of grief and guilt but they were replenished at every released ounce. He thought that if he admitted to feeling terrible about everything, the weight would be taken off his shoulders. So then, why did it feel so much heavier? Harry slumped back down to his seat and rubbed his face with his cold hands. His burning skin overwhelmed his hands as he was too hot with the turmoil boiling inside of him.

"Um, guys?" Hermione spoke nervously.

"I'm sorry for lashing out like that, Hermione. I just… I wanted..."

"Guys."

"…because I know that he wouldn't do that. Theodore is a-"

"Guys!" Harry and Ron flicked their heads to the direction where Hermione was pointing. The scar-bearing boy's doubt was slowly drawing away from his body as he saw it. The diary's open page was spread flat on the table but the pages themselves grabbed their attention. Something was pushing out of the diary, like a face plastered in paper. It groaned and writhed, resembling the possibly possessed book that resided in the library(as if this book wasn't possessed already). The groans turned into screams as the trio bounded to the diary to stop it from waking the other Gryffindors. Explaining why they had a screaming diary, on top of the whereabouts of the missing boy, was not on their agenda. After two minutes of struggling against the juddering diary, the screams lowered into cries of help, the voice easily recognisable to the others.

"T-Theo? Is it really you," stammered a reluctant yet hopeful Harry.

"Yes! It's- you have to help me! Tom i-is… trying to… trap me…" Theodore choked. "Whatever you… did, Hermione… do it… again!"

"You want me to write in the diary?" Hermione asked. She was just as frantic as the boy trying to escape from his father's powerful grasp.

"No, the other… oh god… no, NOO!" The face vanished as the pages flattened again. Harry firmly placed the diary on the table and held it down with some effort but managed.

"Theo! Theo, talk to us! How did he… so he really was-"

"In the diary, yes. But that doesn't matter, we need to get him out of there!"

"How?"

"I-I… I don't…" The diary gave one last shudder, bringing the eyes of the three children to its pages, displaying its haunting message to the trio.

' _You have lost him. Theodore is mine.'_

The words disappeared as the diary became still once again. Ron was gripping his hair in silent frustration while Hermione sat back down with her face in her palms. Still standing with the diary now at hand, Harry could only watch the flickers of light from the fire, spit onto the wretched diary that had taken his best friend.

"Theo…"

"I was so close… I was this close, but you pulled me back. Why can't you understand? I'm nothing like you! I hate you, so much… I-I hate being the Heir of Slytherin, I hate that I ever thought that you were a great wizard, I hate… I hate that you made me this way and I hate that out of all the wizards in the world… it was you who had to be my father… why you? I hate… everything about you… do you hear me, Tom? I HATE YOU!

…

The smokey setting circled around Theodore in response to the boy's words. They clumped and separated until they formed another area that Theodore was familiar with. The stone flooring, pillars and ceiling, he knew. This wasn't Tom's memory. It was his. From one year ago. He was really going to do it. Theodore had buried this so deep that even he couldn't reach it yet Tom plucked from his mind like a stone in the shallowest reef. Everything solidified to recreate the scene from when he and Harry ventured underneath the school to protect the Philosopher's Stone. When it wasn't Snape but Quirrell who deceived everyone. When he truly met his father for the first time. When he truly killed for the first time… How could he forget?

Theodore watched his eleven year old self bellow the fatal charm which slew the traitorous teacher. The image was even more horrid than what he had remembered. The ghastly remains of Quirrell fell into a pile amongst each other as the younger Theodore screamed in pain. That ripping pain which teared through him so fiercely that Theodore couldn't take it. He watched himself slump to the ground, unresponsive and unconscious. The pain, the guilt, it all came back to him. And it was destroying him.

"No more… please. I'm not… I didn't mean to." Theodore whimpered as he held his face in his hands. He felt Tom's hands on his shoulders, easing him into false self-hatred. The more he broke him, the easier it was to slip right through all the unrepairable cracks.

"But you did. I know that you did," whispered the corrupted Riddle in his son's ear. "You didn't bring that wand out because you wanted to protect Harry. You killed that man because it was in your nature to do so. Acted upon instinct. And that was only a glimpse of who you really are."

"That's not me. That was never me. I did that to protect Harry. Not because I'm a monster. I… am not a monster."

"Really? Then let's take a look… here." Everything morphed into smoke again as they created a new image that Theodore recognised. Stuggle's. Before he left for Hogwarts. He remembered that day so perfectly that none of this was necessary. But it still made him feel the same way.

 _"If you're not going to talk then I'll ask your stupid girlfriend. Maybe she won't act as much of a bitch as you are now."_

The former bully then began to scream in agony from the fury of the younger boy. Theodore still had no clue as to how he did it. To make a person feel so much pain was beyond anything a wizard or witch his age could possibly be capable of. If he could do that at the young age of ten, the monstrosities that he could do in the future was near endless. It almost scared him. The image of Gretchen dragging the small boy from his wrist painfully made him tick with anger. By god, he wished that it was her instead. If he could've gotten so livid to the point where he couldn't control himself, he could've ended the pig-skinned bitch where she-

"Stop it! Stop it! I'm not a monster, I'm… Stop getting into my head. I don't want to see any of this. Please, I beg of you. Please…"

…

Stone and faces turned into smoke as Tom brought on the next haunting memory of Theodore's past, wearing him down by every passing second. Theodore was losing a bit of himself, and he couldn't do anything about it…

' _Stop it! Leave me alone, Tristan!'_

' _It's just a rat! Come on, don't be scared. I said don't be scared, pussy! I squashed this one just a few seconds ago around the corner. Look! There's baby bits hanging out from it's stomach!" Tristan flicked the dead rat onto the four year old Theodore's face, guffawing horridly as the younger boy yelped. Theodore brushed the dried entrails and the unfortunate unborn rats from his shirt, whimpering in fear and disgust. The boy was the main target of bullying in the orphanage, and would suffer terribly from it. This wasn't the first time they smothered Theodore with dead animals. Two weeks ago, Theodore was forced a half-decaying squirrel down his back and was too scared to retaliate. What could he do against the older children? Something. Right now, it was something._

" _I'm going to tell Madam Geoffrey on you." Theodore said meekly. "S-so leave me alone!"_

" _Or what?" Tears of sadness flowed out of the younger boy's eyes as he gritted his teeth for he was feeling true anger. Anger that could not be described at all. Anger that completely overwhelmed him to exhibit magic for the very first time…_

"Four years old and you were able to curse a Muggle. You didn't turn him into a simple frog, made him go bald or even twist his tongue. You tortured him like it was nothing. Why would a boy with such extraordinary power and latent talent, show such a horrid act as his first usage of magic? Because you are like me. There's no denying that, Theodore. You and I are-"

"Louise…"

…

"What?" Tom hissed.

"Louise," repeated Theodore, a bit more loudly. Tom spun back around to the sight of the crying bully and a worried Theodore scurrying away.

 _Theodore rushed away from the scene, thinking that a snake or an animal must've bit Tristan on the leg. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to stay any longer. Why should he even deserve his help? He's sick, vile, a waste of human life who wasn't worth a single-_

" _Theo? I mean, Theodore?" A four year old Louise came from around the corner, with curly hair and fading freckles. The girl was like a little angel, despite her wild hair. Her massive green eyes was unique among the average browns and blues that scampered around the orphanage._

" _Oh. Hi." Theodore said melancholically as he brushed off extra rat bits off his shirt._

" _Do you want to play on the swings with me? No one else wants to play so…"_

" _I don't feel like playing. Maybe later." Louise looked hurt but sucked it in._

" _Okay! Okay."_

…

" _Just for five minutes." Louise grabbed the boy in a tight hug, quickly pulled back in slight disgust from his shirt then pulled him by the hand to the swing set. Even though they only been friends for two weeks, Theodore felt like he knew her forever, despite his age. His first true friend. Louise Free, his first true friend…_

"ARRGGHHHH!" Tom screamed as he staggered through the smoke, clutching his head in pain. The memory dissolved as something loosened within the younger Riddle, only just. In this brief moment of pseudo-freedom, Theodore gave in to his thoughts, processing why his father was in such pain. Like he was almost weak. This wasn't the first time that something like this happened. In the Chamber, when it was just the two of them. Theodore remembered when Tom was pushed back by the thought of Louise, only for a moment. It didn't save him back then so why now?

"You… that filthy Muggle… no matter. I will… have you," panted Tom as he brought himself to his feet. He lunged to Theodore, squeezing the younger boy's head brutally. Theodore gritted his teeth and held back the screams. Tom was digging deeper into his mind, seeking the horrific memories that dwelled within the boy. Deeper and deeper he went…

 _"Is there… anything you'd like to tell me, Theodore?"_

 _A very faint red pigment flashed in the boy's eyes. Theodore's tainted heart felt pleasure in the headmaster's uncertainty, secretly trying to pierce in his own when it was his turn to be foolish, for Dumbledore had seen everything._

 _"No… nothing at all… Professor…"_

"No… that wasn't me…"

 _"You… you won't tell anyone?" Dumbledore held the boy's hand tightly between his own._

 _"Not a soul." Theodore gave him a small smile. Dumbledore was many things in this world, but he was by far, one of the greatest men that he had ever seen before…_

"Argh… you still attempt to resist me? I will have you, boy!" Tom exhaustedly grabbed another memory from the boy's psyche, desperate to find the single one which would make Theodore submit to him.

 _"Stop lying to me! I see you with that thing everywhere, obsessing over it like it was… like…"_

 _"I told you…," said the boy gravelly, "it's… nothing. Just a normal diary."_

 _"Then you won't mind if I take a look." The girl snapped as she reached for Tom's diary. An unexplainable urge and power to move, gushed into Theodore's muscles as he leapt to snatch the diary before Hermione could take it. "Theodore, give me the diary."_

 _"No…"_

 _"I said give me the diary."_

 _"And I said no!"_

 _"Give me the-"_

 _"NO!"_

…

 _Theodore slightly turned his head to see if the girl had left. All he saw was Hermione red-faced with misty eyes. She tried to hide them underneath her mane but it was obvious that she was about to cry. She was acting just like Louise when he would rub her in the bad way. Hermione wiped her tears with her sleeve before she felt a nudge on her arm._

 _"Well you might as well be my friend, seeing as you have no others." She immediately took that as a compliment and gave a little smile towards him. If that was his way of apologising to her then it was good enough..._

"That isn't… going to work anymore, Tom." Theodore said, the strength that was stolen from him for so long, returning. He didn't know how it worked but it just did. Every memory that he'd regretted or hated would only crumble against those he treasured. Every moment of hatred, bloodlust and anger was purged from the times that he held close to his heart. He couldn't understand it but he didn't need to. Theodore had all the power that he needed. Tom was losing.

"No… no! This isn't possible! H-how can you resist the influence of a Horcrux?! That's impossible!" Tom furiously snatched memory after memory but each one was countered. Theodore could feel Tom dwindling away gradually, like ash to the wind but his persistence was commendable.

 _"Viripin," asked the boy in Parseltongue, "are you here? Viripin? Viripin… she's gone, isn't she?"_

…

 _"I was scared, master. I thought that you were going to leave me."_

 _"But I did leave you," muttered the guilty boy._

 _"But we're here, together. Whatever you did, I'm sure that there was a good reason for it."_

 _"No, there was no good reason. I was just being stupid. I thought that I was better off in the wizarding world with everybody else but it turns out, I'm supposed to stay at Stuggle's."_

 _"Well, at least you'll be there with me, Master Riddle…"_

Feeling the chains snap off his mental being, Theodore pushed his father's weak figure back, feeling more powerful than he had ever felt. As long as he thought about the people that he loved, Tom simply couldn't touch him. The taste of Theodore's memories scorched the tongue of Voldemort, severing the link between boy and father. Tom was losing.

"No matter… what you'll do… you will never be… like them. You… have the blood of the darkest wizard of all… time," spluttered the dissolving memory of Tom Riddle. "Y-you think that they… they will accept you for who you are? Son of Lord Voldemort… that is who you… are."

"You continue to resist," mocked Theodore, feeling filled up to the brim with vibrancy. The diary was losing its power over him. Tom was losing his power over him. "I don't know why you can't fight me like this, Tom. A mere boy stands up to the 'great' Lord Voldemort, and has defied him twice. A true testament to who you are. And I wasn't even referring to me."

"Get away from me…" Tom slurred.

"You've lost, Tom. Can't you see? I'm rid of you and you'll never have me."

"I said get away…"

"And you know why? Because you'll never come back. Ever." Giving one final lunge to the strengthened boy, Tom tapped into his last desperate attempt of victory, reaching for Theodore's most deleterious memory possible, the one that could snap him in an instant…

 _Within the depths of the broken boy's mind, Theodore was almost docile, barely conscious to his father's words. Voldemort was his father. Theodore Riddle was the son of Lord Voldemort…_

 _"Sleep, Theodore. Sleep…"_

…

"Yes! No more resistance, no more fighting! You belong to me now. You serve the Dark Lord, and the Dark Lord-"

 _"My darling… I love you so much. I love you so, so much. I'm sorry for what I have to do, to leave you here. But it's all for you, my baby boy. All for you. I want you to be strong. Be strong for yourself. I wished… I wished that it'd never come to this. I love you my boy. Please do not hate me for what I've done…"_

His mother's voice. He could hear her so clearly but… how could he possibly remember something so pure but distant? Theodore could never remember anything about his mother. Not her voice, not the smell of her hair… not even her face right next to his own. But now, he could hear…

By his own doing, Tom obliterated himself from the boy, reaching for Theodore's most detrimental memory only to inadvertently draw out his most powerful. It utterly destroyed the once impenetrable bond between father and son, ultimately releasing Theodore from his father's hold. Even in death, a mother's love would still coat her baby from his father. Only a mother's love…

 _On the other side…_

He smacked the ground with such force that he wished that his body would give way like it always used to. The back of his head felt a horrid pang throbbing continuously, probably worsening every passing second. Brown, red, yellow and green swirled entrancingly before his eyes, lulling him to sleep slowly before he felt the abrupt change in balance. Theodore felt his torso being dragged up from the ground and was crushed by multiple arms, entangling him in his confused moment of daze. He had no clue as to what was happening, if this was all just a sick joke from his father or if he was really free of him. Almost all of his senses went haywire from the moment he hurt himself but the aromas that smelt familiar to him, focused his mind to realise where he was.

"Am I… is this…"

"I told you… I knew that he was alive." That was Hermione's voice near his left ear. It felt like he hadn't heard her in days.

"Theo, you're okay! Wait. Let me see his face." Ron's voice. The pressure against his body was lessened as he saw himself staring into Ron's blue eyes, attentive to any change in colour. Theodore struggled to keep his eyes open but nonetheless kept on staring at the red head. A few seconds more…

"He's okay, Ron, leave him alone!" Hermione snapped.

"Alright, alright, lay off me! I was just checking, that's all. He looks alright but he isn't speaking at all. You don't think that-" Hermione instantly cupped Theodore's cheeks in her hands and turned his head to her's rather quickly. The boy's head was still burning from the pain.

"Now Theodore, this is no time to lie. You have to be truthful with us. Is it really you this time? Not the diary, you. Because we need to know, otherwise…"

…

"Theodore?"

"Where's the diary?" Theodore asked quietly, fully regaining his stability. Hermione frowned and drew her hands away from his face.

"Again with the diary? You want the diary after what it did to you? We almost lost you, Theo! And you expect us to… to give it to you!? You've seriously lost it!" Theodore had to ignore the Muggle-born for just a short while as he needed to know where the diary was. There, in front of the fire. It looked withered and ancient, like the life within it was riddled with disease. He had to act, now. Sprinting to his feet, the Parselmouth leapt to the diary, avoiding Hermione's attempt to pull him back. Without a second's hesitation, Theodore grabbed the accursed book and instantly threw it into the fire, watching the red flames lick the surface of the broken diary. He done it. He was free. No image of Tom, no voices in his head, no warmth. Tom Riddle's diary was no more and he was free of him.

Hermione and Ron slowly came to his side to watch the diary burn slowly. How something so simple as a memory inside of the book, could cause so much destruction was terrifying. Only it wasn't just a simple memory. It was a Horcrux. A Horcrux made from the murder of Myrtle. This was why he was still alive, lurking in the shadows like a being barely tethered to Earth. Voldemort couldn't die. No, that didn't matter right now. The lies, the secrets, all of it had to stop here. It almost cost him everything that he had, almost stripping him away from the boy he used to be and that was true. Even though he was no longer underneath the diary's influence, he wasn't the same.

"I… I think I might go to sleep now," murmured Theodore as he slowly backed away from the fire. The red head and the Muggle-born followed him as he walked to the boy's dorm stairway, initially objecting for him to leave.

"You were sucked and trapped inside of a diary belonging to your dad," said Ron sternly. "Don't you think that we have something to talk about here?"

"There's nothing to talk about. After everything that I did… I don't deserve forgiveness. Even Harry hasn't said anything." Everyone looked at Harry in the corner who tried to divert his attention somewhere else. Theodore felt the pure disappointment coming from his only cousin from the other side of the room. Harry remained silent, still looking away forcibly. Theodore turned around and made it up the stairs before he felt her warm hand hold him back. Why did he stop?

"You'll tell us, right? When you're ready?"

…

"Sure." Hermione released him as he walked up to the dorm and straight to his bed. He just defeated his father's Horcrux. This was the second time that he faced the Dark Lord yet he didn't feel victorious at all. Maybe because Harry didn't want to talk to him. Or maybe the diary wasn't destroyed like he had thought. All these thoughts flooded in as he felt none of what he wanted. He wanted the four of them to move on and to forget everything that happened during the past five months. To be best friends again. He wanted Viripin to come back to him so bad. He wanted forgiveness for his attacks but they never came. It all just felt so wrong. As he settled into his comforting bed, the self-renounced Heir of Slytherin recycled those words that saved him from his father. The words he last heard from Valerie Potter. His mother's last words.

 _"My darling… I love you so much. I love you so, so much. I'm sorry for what I have to do, to leave you here. But it's all for you, my baby boy. All for you…"_

The Parseltongue fluttered his eyes open from the movements of the other boys in the dorm room. He heard Neville scuttling past his four-poster bed, worrying over something that he had lost as he lifted his leaden head from his plush pillow. His slumber was neither amazing or terrifying. Just blank. Nothing. He couldn't even remember his dream, if he had one that is. Just nothing.

Theodore yawned and stretched before he got ready for the new day. So much had happened in the past few months, hell, the past few hours. It all happened so quickly yet he felt like it wasn't over. That somewhere in the darkest corners of his mind harboured Tom Riddle. His father. Voldemort. Theodore's spine crawled with pure detest for his father as he trudged down the stairway with his uniform on and his bag hanging off his left shoulder. Most of the third, second and first years were crowded around Fred and George who displayed a family of friendly Bowtruckles for everyone to see. Not wanting to draw attention to himself again, the young Heir sat down on one of the armchairs and sighed deeply.

' _The diary's gone for good, Theodore. No need to worry. He can't get me. Not ever again… but maybe I should check it, to see if it's really gone.'_

The bell for breakfast was heard in the common room as everyone left for the Great Hall. Theodore was trailing behind the clumps of Gryffindor students, feeling like the black sheep of the House. It wasn't false. The Great Hall was filled quickly as Theodore sat near the middle of Gryffindor table when he felt somebody slide and slightly squash him against Seamus on his left.

"Sorry, Theo."

"It's okay, Harry." Theodore said in a relaxed manner before he reached for the plate of eggs and bacon. He chewed on his breakfast for a little while longer before Harry spoke up.

"I couldn't sleep yesterday, you know." Theodore stared into the plate of egg and bacon fat while nodding his head slightly. Theodore still remembered what he had said to Harry yesterday. They were surely none of his words but they felt so true at the time. A few more seconds of silence. "I just wanted to say that-"

"Don't."

"Huh?"

"Don't apologise. You didn't do anything wrong." Harry watched the regretful boy chew half of a piece of toast, unsure to where this conversation was going to lead to. Maybe he should've talked to him before. He had the chance yet it passed by, squandered.

"Theo, I was just… I was just so scared because I didn't want to believe that it really was…"

"Harry? I have something to- Theo! Hi!" Hermione walked alongside the opposite side of the table as she sat in front of the Heir, quickly followed by Ron. Anxiety was slowly starting to overwhelm him completely, certain that the trio would try and force the real truth out of him. But instead…

"Hi…"

…

"Snape's doing practical season for the next two weeks. Want to partner up?" Ron asked happily. Theodore looked at him half-confused then answered back.

"O-kay? I mean, yeah! Sure." The red head beamed before he dug into the breakfast plates. Theodore looked at him one last time before he returned to eating his breakfast in silence. From the very corners of his eyes, the boy could see the trio staring at him momentarily before they turned away. It was like that for the entire morning, Theodore having to constantly stare into the other three's eyes for them to turn away while they were in lesson.

Snape was ruthless to everyone within the class, even to Draco, detracting points for such minor accidents. The usual. The lesson ended with everyone secretly cursing the professor as they left the room, and Theodore being held back for his usual routine in the classroom. To the boy's surprise however, Snape excused Theodore thirty minutes earlier before expressing the strange amount of concern that he showed before. Theodore didn't hesitate to leave the room and briefly walked up the stairs to enjoy his free period in the common room. It would be much more silent and lonesome without the Adder to keep him company but he enjoyed the silence. Some of it. Theodore walked up two flights of stairs and turned into the second floor corridor where the bathroom was. Moaning Myrtle's tomb. An innocent Muggle-born that was slaughtered for the creation of something so horrid. His father, her murderer. To think that history would've repeated itself again with Theodore killing his own friend for his ancestor. It made him feel sick. The boy closed his eyes and brushed past the haunted bathroom when he saw somebody slip out from the half-closed doors.

"Ginny," said Theodore. The small Weasley almost yelped at the mention of her name and spun around to face Theodore. She was acting much more timid than before. "You still go inside of that bathroom?"

"Yeah." Ginny squeaked as she brushed her robes with her hands. They were slightly damp with dirt mainly covering the fingertips. Almost looked like ash.

"Well, I wouldn't go inside there again. It's a… just stay away from there, alright?" Ginny nodded then skipped away out of sight. Theodore still kept his eyes trained on the door, still remembering what Tom did to Myrtle's body in that memory. It mirrored the inside of the book perfectly. "I have to tell somebody. I wish I could, anyways…"

Theodore spent the next few weeks visiting the petrified people in the hospital wing quite thoroughly, not able to give them gifts with his empty pockets so he decided that it was best to just sit beside them. He usually found himself sitting next to Luna, still wondering how she could possibly look confused upon seeing a hulking Basilisk. Luna was an odd girl after all. But she didn't deserve to be attacked by him. None of them did, even Filch. Maybe by staying with them until they returned would count as some form of redemption for the boy. Just maybe.

"Ancient Runes… or Magical Creatures… Ancient Runes… or Magical Creatures… hmm." Theodore was locked in thought from the choice of his second elective that he would take for his O.W.L's. Although it was sprung on him out of nowhere, Theodore was careful to not make the mistake of choosing a regrettable class. And right now, Care of Magical Creatures was opposed with Study of Ancient Runes, two subjects that sounded particularly interesting to Theodore. Arithmancy was already out of the picture as he wasn't looking forward to the mountains of homework that were awaiting him. Professor Vector did not take the class lightly at all. The boy carried on contemplating in the corner of the common room while he saw Hermione walking up to him quite briskly.

"Have you chosen yet," asked the Muggle-born quite brashly. The two had slowly reconciled during the past few weeks, along with Harry and Ron, but it wasn't exactly the same. Theodore was quieter and a lot less snappier than usual which did raise a cause of concern from the other three. But now wasn't the best time to discuss about Theodore's unwillingness to tell them what really went on during the year.

"I'm deciding on my second one. I don't know whether I should try Ancient Runes, or Care for Magical Creatures. Maybe I should do Ancient Runes…"

"So you're going to do Arithmancy and Ancient Runes?" Theodore raised an eyebrow.

"Arithmancy? No, I'm not doing Arithmancy. Divination was my first." Hermione then pulled her head back in dislike, almost disgust, for the said subject.

"That's all a lot of balderdash, Divination. It's much less accurate than Arithmancy. Choose it." Theodore shook his head. Hermione sat down the table and started to pester the boy. "Come on, choose it! No one else here's doing it and I don't want to be the only Gryffindor there. Please?"

"Sorry, Hermione," said Theodore as he returned to his choices. "I'd rather take two subjects where I know that I'll get the best grade. Stressing throughout three years is just not worth it. You watch, some lunatic is going to pick all four of them."

"You think I'm a lunatic?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Oh… well I'm sure that you'll manage. You're the smartest one in our year, remember?" Hermione said nothing, not out of pride for hearing Theodore admitting that she was a tad better than him, but the fact that he admitted it at all. It was almost scary to see him change in such a little amount of time. Hermione remained quiet for the next five minutes until she gave one last go at convincing Theodore to choose all four, failing in the end. Slightly annoyed but glad that he was still stubborn, the Muggle-born felt like she was getting somewhere with finding out the truth about Theodore.

The news that the Mandrakes were almost mature enough to revive the victims made Theodore feel joyful and scared at the same time. The victims would come out unscathed but would they remember him? If they did then it was straight to Azkaban for the rest of his life. He read about the Dementors that guarded the gruesome prison, beings straight from Hell. He'd shudder from the memories of flicking through the book of the darkest arts.

March was nearly over as Theodore was reminded that his birthday was in two weeks time. Being at Hogwarts for so long made him forget the normal things like the day he was born. Still, the boy wasn't overly invested as he was content with a simple 'Happy Birthday' and nothing else. Of course, he'd get owls chasing him down as they were eager to present to him the multiple birthday cards from the multiple girls in his year(probably some in the year below, unfortunately), just like last year. But it wasn't all that bad. Lavender went the extra mile to get him a box of suspiciously nice-smelling chocolates which weren't drugged with a Love Potion. And they were good chocolates.

"Is it me, or does the fireplace look a little bit… empty?" Theodore asked as he looked over to area of the diary's demise. He couldn't explain it but something was missing from the ashes of the fireplace. Like there was less than what it should've been.

"Why would you think that?" Ron asked with a broken wand in his mouth.

"I-I don't know. It's nothing. Just nothing." He and Ron returned to their assignment on Potions which was due the next day that it was set. Theodore still felt the distrust between him and the red headed boy but for the sake of not upsetting Snape, he forced himself to ignore it. Soon, the Mandrakes will be ready and fate will decide if the boy rots in a cell for the rest of his life. Optimistic, am I right?

 _"My darling… I love you so much. I love you so, so much. I'm sorry for what I have to do, to leave you here. But it's all for you, my baby boy. All for you. I want you to be strong. Be strong for yourself. I wished… I wished that it'd never come to this. I love you my boy. Please do not hate me for what I've done…"_

"Theodore… Theodore…? Wake up, Theo!" Theodore groaned, refusing to open his left eye. The sunlight penetrated through the windows, allowing the boy to barely make out the image that was blocking the sun. But he didn't need to, for her voice was enough.

"Hermione… this is the boy's dorm… go back to your bed…"

"We couldn't forget your birthday!" His eyes snapped open as he sat upright so quickly that Hermione almost fell backwards. Standing on the corners of his bed were Ron and Harry, faces bright and happy.

"What's this?" The three reached under the bed and brought out each of their own presents for the Heir, who almost expected them to haul Viripin out of nowhere. Alas, the snake was really gone. Never to come back. He braced his hands to refuse the gifts but the other three weren't listening to any of it.

"Just take it man," said Ron as he shoved his gift onto Theodore's lap. "It's your birthday!"

"But I can't-"

"And I kinda… used up my half year allowance on this…"

"Ron, why would you-"

"Enough talking! Open them up, let's see what you got!" Hermione said excitedly.

"Guys, I'm-"

"I think you'll like my one, though. I got it from-"

"Guys!" They all became silent as Theodore finally managed to get their attention. He was the last person on Earth who deserved anything near a birthday. The fact that they all gave him presents was ludicrous. "We can't just act like nothing happened."

…

"We know," responded Harry quietly. "We just didn't want you to be alone for your birthday. After Christmas…"

"It's your birthday, Theo. Aren't you happy?" Theodore scratched the back of his head, sighing.

"I mean… yeah. I'm happy, but… it's like you're ignoring what I did. I… I opened the Chamber of Secrets. I almost killed six people, minus a ghost. You guys should be… I don't know, angry?"

"But it was the dairy's fault. Right?" Hermione asked as she placed her present on Theodore's lap. "You didn't do it because you wanted to." Theodore's already saddened face fell slightly. The diary didn't work by infecting its evil nature into the boy. It only evolved what was already lurking on the inside. Theodore's hidden nature. And it all made sense. To be capable of brutal torture and murder at such a young age was to be expected from the Dark Lord's spawn. Theodore shook his head and twiddled his fingers.

"Oh! I've got Quidditch practice in about ten minutes so you have to open it now. Here!" Harry spoke quickly as he placed his present firmly among the other two. Not wanting to drag the conversation longer than it needed to be, Theodore lifted and unwrapped Harry's present first. A small glass box that held a model of a glinting Golden Snitch, reflected the sunlight onto Theodore's face. "I know that Quidditch isn't your thing but I thought that it was cool. You like it?"

"Yeah," said the Heir truthfully. "I like it a lot. Is it a real one?"

"I think it is. Probably an antique. Cost me nearly 150 galleons, that did."

"150 galleons?! Are you crazy?!" Harry was already halfway out the door as he said goodbye to everyone. Theodore carefully placed the box on his bedside table and opened Hermione's present. Hopefully, this one wasn't overpaid for. He stripped away the wrapping paper to reveal a hardcover of the book _'Rune Dictionary'_ , a textbook that he was eager to buy, despite his lack of money.

"I was going to get the book for myself but I realised that it was your birthday soon. You'll probably read it more times than I will."

"Sure, Hermione." Theodore sarcastically remarked. Ron sniggered and Hermione cracked a half smile. Sarcasm, along with stubbornness. Maybe the boy was really okay. "But thank you, seriously. I really appreciate it." Hermione beamed in satisfaction that he received her gift well, and allowed him to open the final present from Ron. A freshly-scented orange jersey with a shield holding two golden cannons in the centre, flopped out onto Theodore's lap.

"Personally, I had no idea that Harry was going to get you the Snitch but at least you'll have the best team in the league, all across your shirt!" Ron stated proudly. Theodore held it up and inspected the cleanliness. It was very pristine, not saying that Ron wasn't.

"Chudley Cannons… are they any good?"

"Ye-"

"No," interrupted the Muggle-born. Ron gave her a dirty look, ready to argue the second she'd open her mouth again.

"What do you know about the Cannons?" Ron asked, rather annoyed. Lifting her chin to pronounce her well known snottiness, Hermione folded her arms and replied.

"Well Ronald, I know for a fact that the last time they won, was in 1892. Bit of a long time ago, don't you think?" Ron mumbled something under his breath and turned back to Theodore who was folding the jersey neatly next to his other presents.

"Well?"

"It's a nice jersey, even if the team is terrible." Theodore joked.

"They're not- I'd like to see you coach a team full of dunderheads, Riddle! You'd crumble in an instant."

"I was kidding, Ron. Thanks. I'll wear it when I'll see them play." Theodore thanked them again one final time, not worrying about Christmas, his time trapped inside of the diary and even the diary itself. It was destroyed in the fire, burnt into a fine crisp. The victims would soon wake up and hopefully, the year would end with without anyone mentioning the Chamber again. It was foolish to just push it to the side but what else could he do? He would just have to hope for the best.

The trio left the boy's dorm and soon, made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Theodore received numerous birthday wishes from his fellow students and just as he expected, several owls loomed over him while they held letters in between their beaks. Ron and Hermione had to wait patiently for the boy to finish collecting the letters, seeing how he'd rather not walk into the Great Hall with a swarm of birds trailing behind him. After he was handed a bagful of birthday cards, the three walked into the Hall and sat on their table to finally eat. Oliver was busy gathering the team into a massive bunch, insistent that the twins sat far away from each other.

"Lavender, Parvati, Pansy, Alice, Lily, Sophie and Sally, and… this girl's in the third year!" Ron exclaimed as he went through Theodore's cards. Theodore snatched them away and pushed them to the side. It was embarrassing to be the only boy in the year who had to go through all of this. Granted that the boy two years above Theodore, Cedric Diggory, received similar attention, Theodore was still not use to all of it. Maybe it was an age thing.

"What should we do today," asked Hermione as she flicked through Theodore's book.

"I don't know, to Hagrid's? There's not that much that we could do. Hermione, if you go too fast, you'll rip it."

"Sorry. Where are you off to, Ron?"

"To the toilet. I think I drank way too much Pumpkin Juice for the entire day. I'll see you later on the pitch." Ron ran off with desperation upon his face, earning a few laughs from the Slytherins, especially Draco. Theodore's face grew dark. He still couldn't let it go. Hermione noticed this and elbowed him gently in the ribs, knocking him out of his sudden loss of focus.

"Don't, Theo."

"I wasn't going to do anything." Theodore said while he turned back to his plate.

"Well, good. I can't stand him either but we shouldn't do anything to him."

"It's not like we could. He'd get his father here so quickly that I wouldn't even be able to say Sly-"

"Hey guys," cut off Harry as he arrived by the two. "I'm going to go get my broom and uniform upstairs. Where's Ron?"

"Toilet. He said he'd meet us on the pitch. Hey, we'll come with." Harry nodded his head and the trio had set off to the common room once again. Theodore was starting to feel himself again as he joked around with Harry about the Muggle-born's electives, just slightly rubbing the girl the wrong way. But she didn't mind it that much anyways.

"… so rather than just sticking to something that barely holds a flame to Arithmancy, I'd highly recommend that you choose otherwise. It's not too late to change, you know."

"I think we're set, thanks. Not everybody can be like you, Hermione." Harry said as they walked up the first floor staircase.

"Well, I'm sure that if you focused hard enough, you'd pull through. Theodore's not doing the same and I don't know why."

"Because I'm not a lunatic, remember?"

"Doing the best you can in school is not lunacy, Theodore!" Hermione shrilly snapped. The boys snickered as they reached the top of the stairway. They were about to enter the diverging corridor to reach the moving staircases when that voice, that morbid, fearsome voice that Theodore knew all too well, reached Theodore's ears. The Basilisk.

" _Kill… rip… purge. I must… purge for master… dirty blood… dirty, dirty blood…"_

Theodore remained frozen, in fear and shock. He had to be hearing things. He heard the exact same voice as the giant serpent coming from within the walls but that couldn't be true. The Chamber couldn't be reopened because the only two Parselmouths in the school were standing in the corridor right there. Unless… there was another. Another Heir of Slytherin that Theodore had no clue about. Hiding in shadows, waiting to bide their time before they'd strike at the appropriate moment. No, no no no. There was no other Heir of Slytherin in the school. Only one Heir and two Parselmouths. The Chamber is not open, the Basilisk is not going through the walls at that very moment and the diary was destroyed. Nothing left. Theodore felt a slight surge of relief at his reassurance, turning to the other two to only have that relief vanish. It was all over Harry's face. He heard it as well.

…

"Did you hear that as well, Theo?" Theodore couldn't nod his head. He knew it. He knew that the diary wasn't gone for good, how could it? It was a Horcrux, unable to be damaged by the likes of a mere fire. He should've known better than to throw it into the fireplace. Theodore began to panic as he wheezed quietly, kneeling to the floor as he held his chest. Harry and Hermione came to his side as they too, started to panic. "What's wrong? Did you hear that voice as well? Theodore, what's wrong?"

"He's back," whispered the boy as he caught his breath. "He's back. I didn't destroy him and he's back. He's going to kill somebody."

"Kill somebody? Who is it? Theodore, what was that voice, you have to tell us!"

" _I smell… I kill… I kill…"_ Theodore heard the behemoth slither upwards through the pipes in the walls, sensing and feeling each contraction of her gigantic muscles. He lifted himself to his feet quickly and began to frantically stare at all the pipe-holes in the ceiling. It was probably coming for him, ordered by his father to drag him into the Chamber where he'd be viciously killed for his betrayal. Theodore's paranoia only grew until Hermione held him by the shoulders and stopped him from moving.

"Theodore! Calm… down. Now, tell us what was that thing." Theodore hesitated but knew of the consequences if he said nothing. He opened his mouth to tell them that it was a Basilisk but he was cut off again by the sudden appearance of Oliver, who had Harry's broomstick and kit in his hands.

"Come on, Harry! I know that you're not scared of facing Hufflepuff! Sure, they have Diggory but we have you, so let's go!"

"Oliver, wait-" The Boy Who Lived was ignored as the Gryffindor captain dragged him by his arm down the steps to the Quidditch pitches. The team suddenly gathered around the reluctant boy as Theodore and Hermione followed behind him. There was a deadly snake awake inside of the castle and all he cared about was Quidditch. How foolish. As they left the castle, Hermione was walking on her tiptoes, searching for a certain missing red head who was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't see Ron anywhere. Where is he," asked Hermione nervously.

"He's probably already up in the stands." Theodore reassured. "You know how he is with Quidditch." But the Parselmouth was also feeling a little nervous about Ron's absence. The two made their way up to the Gryffindor stands, feeling even more worried when they couldn't see Ron there either. Theodore asked Seamus and Dean whether they seen the red head anywhere, and was only given the answer that he went up to the fifth floor bathroom. Something didn't seem right about that. Hermione trembled at the thought of what could've happened. She'd even occasionally brush her little finger against Theodore's, probably wanting to hold on to his hand but she decided against that. "Maybe he's just late, that's all."

"Yeah… late…" The two teams shot out from the locker rooms and soared around the air, ready to start the match when they heard a booming voice emerging from far below the stands. Everyone peered over the edge to see a small figure of the deputy headmaster holding her wand to her neck as she spoke to everyone in the amidst of confusion.

"Everyone leave the playing grounds promptly! This match is cancelled, I repeat! This match is cancelled!" Almost everyone booed and jeered at the news while Theodore's heart made a pang in his chest.

' _Oh no…'_

Everyone made it down the towering stands and onto the ground level to understand the meaning of the cancellation. Crowds of angry supporters yelled at each other, but did not have the nerve to shout at McGonagall herself. Theodore witnessed Oliver complaining to the professor that the match needed to happen with her only ignoring the burly boy.

"Everyone please return to your common rooms! No questions will be answered until then. Students return to your common rooms, please!" As everyone moaned while they returned to the castle, Theodore, Hermione and Harry were called over by McGonagall who looked pale and shocked. Theodore prayed that she was going to say anything than what he was thinking.

"Professor? What's happening?" Harry asked as he squeezed his broomstick tightly. McGonagall swallowed before she spoke but nothing came out. "Professor…?"

"I-I think that the three of you should come with me." McGonagall said gently. Theodore's eyelids fluttered anxiously, dreading to see what was the reason for all of this. If it really happened, if it was him…

The three followed the witch into the castle and up the stairs on a recognisable trail. The Heir's heartbeat was thunderous, almost deafening as he walked alongside his friends. Up in the hospital wing, laying upon a bed was a victim of the Basilisk. Whoever released it from the Chamber had used it to attack somebody, probably to even kill. He knew that. But who was it? Theodore didn't want to find out. He'd feel so much guilt even if it wasn't by his hand. He didn't want to see.

McGonagall opened the infirmary doors and allowed the trio to walk in the slowly. Theodore, being the last one through, stood by the doorway, unable to find the strength to walk in there anymore. But somehow, he did. He followed McGonagall to the far end of the wing, looking side to side to the victims of Slytherin's Heir. The professor stopped right in front of Theodore, obscuring his vision from the last few beds. She turned around slowly and placed her thin fingers on the boy's shoulders, having grown even more pale.

"There's been another attack… a triple attack."

…

"Triple," replied the boy with a croaky quiet voice. McGonagall nodded slowly then allowed Theodore to walk behind her. He wished that she didn't. It would've been much better if she hadn't. Three beds, three males, all three distinguishable from each other. The first boy was someone that Theodore knew by name and face but not of nature. The other Theodore, Theodore Nott from Slytherin House. His arms was sticking out oddly, like he was trying to reach for Theodore's neck with the intent of death. His face? Fear.

The next boy almost made Theodore's blood crystallise within his vessels. Out of everyone who had been attacked by the Basilisk, this was by far the least expected. Draco's pale grey eyes expressed the very fear that the Basilisk intended to inflict onto the Muggle-borns of Hogwarts. His left arm was snapped to the side, his right arm covering his mouth. He must've tried to block his vision with his hands.

' _But Draco is pure blooded… why would anyone try to… this doesn't make sense. Two Slytherin's, three pure bloods. Who tried to kill…'_

The third and final boy cracked the Heir's heart as he saw who it was. The red head's hair was tussled and unkempt with his palms being firmly pressed together like he was ready to dive. Theodore stood in between the equally broken Harry and Hermione, unable to say a single word other than…

"Ron…"

 **I'm done. I can't take it anymore. There are way too many mistakes in this story after reading it through. I'm not illiterate guys, I promise. After CoS is over I'm going to update the chapters as well going on a short break due to exams at school. Hope you liked this. Later.**

 **MCJB Echo: Thanks for that. I hope that you'll like my twist on this certain chapter:)**

 **P.S. WE HIT 100 FOLLOWERS! THANK YOU GUYS, SO MUCH!**


	20. Chapter 20: Just The Two Of Us

_Theodore,_

 _I wanted to apologise for what I said earlier in the year. It was uncalled for. Even if we're in different Houses and we talk to different people, I hope that we can be friends again. Also, Happy Birthday._

 _Draco._

The card was sticking out of the blonde boy's pocket when he was found by a first year in the toilets, along with Ron and Nott. It was slightly crumpled, damp on the corners but otherwise in perfect condition. Theodore opened and closed it in his hands, reading over Draco's words again and again until it became perfect within his memory. All he wanted to do was to give the boy a card with an apology inside, but even then that couldn't happen. Draco was petrified inside the hospital wing with the news of the attack sure to spread within hours upon the next morning. Hell, Mr Malfoy would probably cause an absolute thunderstorm by the time the news would get to him. It was only a matter of time. But right now, Theodore was sitting in the total darkness underneath his bedsheets with the tip of his wand extruding a single ball of light, reviewing the latest attack from the 'Heir of Slytherin'.

' _Whoever opened the Chamber of Secrets could be in any House right now. It could literally be anyone… it's that fucking diary, I know it.'_

Something poked Theodore on his temple gently, prompting the boy to extinguish the light and throw his bedsheets off his head to barely make out the scar-bearing boy. Theodore could tell that Harry was just as disturbed from the recent news of Ron's attack. Knowing his cousin, he probably wanted someone to talk to and the someone now happened to be Theodore.

"You woke up?" Harry whispered as he sat near the end of Theodore's bed. Theodore swivelled himself around to sit on the edge of his bed as well while he whispered back.

"Never went to sleep. Were you up all this time?"

"Yeah."

…

"Do you have a minute, Theo? Downstairs?"

"Yeah. Of course, Harry." The cousins placed a temporary hold on their conversation as they both exited the silent dorm room to the main part of Gryffindor Tower. The light from the fire faded when it reached the far ends of the common room, barely illuminating the tables and shelves back there. The boys took their usual place in front of the fireplace and seated themselves on the sofa. It felt a lot more rigid for some reason. Harry wasn't wearing his glasses but didn't squint at the fireplace for there was nothing to see. At least for him. Theodore was completely locked, not wavering until Harry spoke up, rather gravelly.

"Do you know what happened?"

"What? Of course I know what happened! What kind of question is that?"

"I mean, do you really know what happened? Like what really happened to Ron." This wasn't happening again. If he was accusing him of using the Basilisk to attack his own friend then that was an entirely different problem on its own. Theodore pressed his bare feet against the carpet as he stared to feel tense, even angry.

"If you think that I did it…"

"You're one of the last people who I would suspect right now, Theo. I know that you didn't do it." Theodore relaxed, feeling foolish that he ever thought that Harry would be against him after their reconciliation. "Thing is, we don't know who it could be. Literally anyone else, not just a Slytherin. Someone else in this castle knows where the Chamber of Secrets is."

"But it would be impossible to know who," argued Theodore. "So far, only one person knows the entrance to…" Theodore kept silent.

…

"Should we wake up Hermione?" Theodore asked.

"No."

…

"This is all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Theo. You weren't the one who put Ron in the hospital wing."

"It might as well been me. If it wasn't for me… if I had just thrown away that diary when I had the chance, none of this would've happened. Hogwarts is going to get closed down and it's all because of me." Theodore lamented. How could he have fallen for his father's tricks and charm, to follow through a massacre of Muggle-borns, all for a lost cause? The fact that he willingly allowed his father to take over him without resistance made Theodore hate himself even more.

"It wasn't your… Look. I can't imagine what that diary did to you. When you were trapped inside, I thought that you were dead. I really did. But you escaped. Not only from the inside but from the whole diary itself. Yeah. It made you do things that wasn't in your nature and it was taking over you for so long. But despite everything, despite Ron and everyone else in the hospital wing, you broke free because you were stronger. You are stronger. You can't beat yourself up when it was never really you. Not when Ron is petrified and the attacker is hiding in the castle. Don't do this to yourself, Theodore."

The Heir listened to Harry's words so carefully, taking in every grain of the genuineness that Harry had to offer for the boy. In actuality, it was them who saved Theodore from the diary. Every precious moment that he ever experienced, held Tom at bay from assimilating the younger Riddle until his mother delivered the final blow. Valerie Potter, the woman who he wished could be by his side to hold him forever, saved him. What was a boy without his mother to hold him in his darkest time? A shell encasing a monster buried deep within? Theodore couldn't forgive himself for any of this. Not until he knew for certain that the diary was just ash inside of the fireplace.

"My dad."

"What?"

"The diary. My dad was inside of the diary, or at least a memory of him. That's the reason why I was so obsessed with it. I was speaking to my own father. He felt so real, like he was really there and I believed that. Every word that surfaced onto the pages drew me closer to him, making me listen to everything that he wanted to tell me. I poured all that I had into the diary because at that moment, Tom Riddle meant everything to me. I thought that he cared for me but… I was so wrong."

"Theo…"

"Harry, if you saw the things that he did… if you knew who he really was, you'd hate me forever." Theodore said with a shaky voice.

"I could never hate you."

"But you will. My dad… was beyond horrific. H-he used me to open the Chamber of Secrets like he did all those years ago, a-and he was going to make me kill Hermione! Just like when he k-killed Myrtle in the bathroom! He killed an innocent girl in the bathroom, Harry! He made me do all of those things and... and…" Theodore was panicking as he couldn't keep his composure any further.

"That was your dad, not you," said the Boy Who Lived as he held Theodore by the shoulder gently. The Heir closed his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Theodore didn't destroy the diary. Tom had moved on from his own son to possess another, consumed with the dead ideals of their dead ancestor and because of that, Ron was attacked. All because of 'him'.

Theodore stood up rather slowly to announce that he was worn out from talking about the subject and it was true. Leaving Harry in the common room, Theodore entered his bed and brought the sheets up to his neck to fall asleep immediately. Even if he kept himself locked away in the Tower, he knew that his father would find him. No matter where he'd escape to, or where he would hide, no boy could ever run away from his own father.

* * *

"Dumbledore's leaving?! Why? Why?!"

Theodore couldn't believe what he was hearing from McGonagall. He has been awake for barely forty minutes and this was the first thing that he heard. The Headmaster, no, Dumbledore, no, the most powerful wizard alive was being taken away when the school needed him the most. Who the hell was even responsible for this?! Theodore was determined to know who.

"Calm down, Mr Riddle! I too, am plagued by these news but as of now, I can't do anything to change Professor Dumbledore's current predicament. We'll just have to continue as normal."

"Continue as normal," exclaimed the Parselmouth as he 'fixed' his choking tie. "Professor! There's an attacker in the castle and nobody knows who it is! How can we-" Hermione elbowed Theodore in his ribs to stop him from testing the deputy headmaster's patience. Theodore was desperate to know the truth about Dumbledore's leave of absence but McGonagall had shut him down at every attempt.

"The business between the Ministry and the Headmaster remains with them and not with you."

"But-"

"Not another word! Now, you get ready for lessons and be done with this!" McGonagall snapped. She turned away from the now dispersing Gryffindors, and swiftly left the common room without a sound. The boy trudged over to the armrest and sprawled backwards with a defeated mentality. His replacement attacker had already three victims to secretly gloat about as they walked along the corridors, unsuspected. With Dumbledore gone, every single Muggle-born, him and Harry would be in absolute peril from Tom. Now, there was nothing and nobody able to prevent the inevitable massacre that was intended for the Heir of Slytherin. There would be so much innocent blood seeping through the castle's floors that Hogwarts would be closed forever. He'd have to go back to the ordinary Muggle schools, back to Stuggle's, back to being… normal. He didn't want that. He didn't want to be normal. Magic, Hogwarts, all of it. Taken away because of his father. Because of him.

"This is terrible," said Hermione as she sat on the far end of the sofa. "If he's really gone then we won't stand a chance. I'll probably won't make it to the end of the week." Theodore snapped upright and swivelled his body around to face the fearful girl. He couldn't explain what he was feeling at that moment but that didn't matter. What mattered was how a girl like Hermione could think like this. So… defeated.

"Don't say that. You're not going to die, Hermione." Theodore stated firmly. Hermione couldn't take Theodore's doubtlessness to heart as fear was being pumped into her in excessive amounts. "Hermione…"

"Yes, Theodore?"

…

"I have a… have a…" Hermione turned to her friend who was tentative to say what was on his mind. She waited for the boy to say something when the bell struck their ears to alert them for breakfast. Theodore didn't say anything and grabbed his bag near the dorm steps. His brief life in the wizarding world was going to be cut short until he'd catch the culprit. The new culprit, that is. If it meant that he'd have to obliterate all the newly instated rules just so that he could stay at Hogwarts, then he would grasp it without a percentage of uncertainty. The real problem was how. Tom managed to fool almost everyone for nearly fifty years by framing someone else as the opener of the Chamber. Theodore could barely misdirect his own friends for nearly half a year. But maybe there was a reason for that.

Theodore turned away from the stairway and walked back over to the portrait while he attempted to fix his tie once again. His hair was dishevelled from his distress and his uniform seemingly reflected that. Just as the last few Gryffindors, that were in front of him, left the common room, Theodore saw Harry and Hermione standing near the edge of the platform just outside, seemingly waiting for Theodore. After stumbling through the hole quite awkwardly, Theodore left with his two friends to the Great Hall for breakfast, still wondering on whether he should reveal the whole truth to the two.

"Guys?" Theodore said quietly as he swirled a spoon through his bowl of porridge. Hermione lifted her head from the opposite side as Harry turned his head from Theodore's left. Theodore waited for a short while before he spoke again. "I… I have to tell you guys something. About the diary, all of it." The other two leaned in, ready to hang on to every word. Theodore said that he would open up to them, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. Harry was willing to know more after their little talk while Hermione was eager to know the entire story. Both friends stared at the Heir, just waiting for him to let everything out. "The Cha-"

"Theo!" Neville came waddling over as his belt was slightly loose and free. Not in the mood to snap at the boy to leave him alone, Theodore simply asked what was the matter with him. "Professor Lockhart… wants you… up… there. Says he… needs to… talk… with… you." Neville panted. The boy slumped lazily next to Hermione who was annoyed that he made her spill her pumpkin juice over her Charms notes.

"What the fuck does he want now," hissed Theodore darkly as he got up from his seat. A credible nuisance Lockhart was, a credible wizard and man? That he wasn't. Theodore resented the way Lockhart paraded around the school like nothing happened. Filch would've been more 'heartbreaking' to see petrified than the pompous 'professor'. Theodore walked over to the teachers' table, face emotionless to contrast Lockhart's smile, and stood in front of the man with his arms crossed. If it was about that damn successor shit, Theodore was going to lose it.

"Good morning, Mr Riddle! How are you today?" Lockhart beamed brightly. Theodore was going to just remain silent for the entire conversation but he could feel McGonagall corroding him with her eyes alone against his skull. The boy lifted his chin slightly and replied, albeit in an uncaring tone.

"Alive."

"As am I, dear boy! As am I." Theodore raised an eyebrow at him and had to resist the urge of walking straight back to his friends. "So! I think you heard of my new proposition that has been under wraps for so long, no?"

' _For fuck sakes…'_

"No, I haven't. 'Professor'." Lockhart fumbled through his shimmering golden robes to produce a single letter from his pocket and handed it to Theodore. The boy took it in his hand as he read over it quickly, dumbfounded by how… dumb it was.

"Ahh, I see the excitement in your face! That's right, you can be featured in my newest book! I haven't got the title yet, but it'll come to me, I know it! Think this over and call me if you're onboard. This opportunity doesn't come twice in a lifetime, you know?" Theodore only looked unfazed by the ridiculousness of the current situation as he was counting down from ten to refrain himself from sticking the letter on the man's face. Permanently. The boy nodded and indicated that he pocketed the letter as he walked away. Upon returning to the table, he crushed it with his hand and threw it underneath.

"What did he say?" Harry asked with the slightest smirk that he could possibly manage. Theodore shook his head as he exhaled loudly through his nose. Hermione couldn't help but smirk as well from Theodore's annoyance but turned serious a second later.

"So? What was it that you were going to tell us?"

"When we're alone. Then I will tell you."

"I don't think that's possible. The teachers won't let us into any other room without their supervision."

"Don't worry," said Theodore as he chewed on a piece of cold, buttered toast. "I know a place where we can talk."

 _During their free period…_

"Alright. I think we lost the both of them... For a man with such short legs, Flitwick is a quick one!" Theodore panted, gasping as he leaned against the inside part of the second-floor bathroom. Harry and Hermione were also sucking in as much air as they possibly could. If it wasn't for the Muggle-born going back for her dropped notes, then the three of them wouldn't have to be paranoid about seeing Snape or Flitwick bursting through the doors. Lucky for them, nobody else came in through this bathroom at all.

"Sorry. Exams are in a week and I haven't been studying like I used to." Hermione said as she fixed her collar.

"Just be careful next time. We don't want to be caught out of lesson or during anything else." Theodore regained his breath and walked over to the sinks to wash his sweat-drenched face. He set his bag on the floor and turned the tap to see no water. Realising that it was the tap with the snake engraved on it, Theodore stepped backwards and looked at himself in the mirror. Sheeny hair, a healthier skin complexion and no signs of his father's scarlet within his eyes. Only his mother's hazel. Seeing her through him made him almost forget that he was the Dark Lord's child. Almost. Theodore blinked as he saw a colour change in the mirror as Harry stood beside him. For a second, Harry could see something similar between the two of-

"Theo? You were going to tell us something, remember?" Theodore spun around on his heels and remembered the reason why he brought the two there. He was going to tell them everything. Everything… almost everything. Theodore threw off his robe on top of his bag and lifted up his jumper sleeves as he prepared to tell them the truth. Inhale, exhale, that was how it always went.

' _You can do this, Theo. Don't be scared. They're your friends. Your best friends.'_

…

"The diary belonged to my father. You both knew that already. I told Harry that it contained a memory of my dad when he was at Hogwarts and that all this time, he was speaking to me. Like he was really there…"

"And," added the girl. She could see him hesitating to carry on further.

"And… I fell for it. Speaking to my dad felt like… nobody else meant anything to me, except him. I felt like I found the one person in this world who finally and truly understood who I was. What I was capable of, and how I was to be marvelled upon the steps of Hogwarts and the world. And I believed every single word. I let Tom Riddle play and stab at my heart, change me, shape me into a being just as evil as him. I couldn't see past his charm and lies when I realised that they weren't… lies. Everything that he said to me was the truth but I was too blind. I let him manipulate me into opening the Chamber of Secrets and to attack Filch, Colin, Justin, Ernie, Luna and Nick. Whatever feeling of hatred and anger that I had, was just me succumbing more and more to his influence. And by the time I saw through him, there was barely enough of me left to fight back. He was killing me on the inside slowly and I couldn't do a thing."

…

"My dad was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. He was the one who killed the Muggle-born girl in this bathroom. A girl who hasn't left ever since…"

"Myrtle," uttered Harry.

"Yeah. Myrtle was that girl. He would've killed more if weren't for Dumbledore. Tom couldn't reopen the Chamber when Dumbledore kept an eye on him so he left a memory of his sixteen year old self inside of the diary, waiting for the next Heir to finish what he started."

…

"Do you think that he might've had other children?" Hermione asked after a dreadful silence. Theodore did think about that for a while but then rebuked the idea of him having a sibling in the school. Nobody looked remotely like him, save for Harry and he was his cousin. Theodore shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair backwards.

"What about the diary," asked Harry as he too removed his robe. "You still think that it's working? That somebody took it?"

"Well… yeah. You think I'm crazy, don't you?" The other two shook their heads and crossed their arms in thought. If the diary was powerful enough to resist being scorched for hours, then surely it couldn't be destroyed? At least, that easily.

"So how did you do it?" Harry asked.

"Open the Chamber?"

"The diary. How d'you break free from it?"

"It's complicated. Even I don't know what really happened. I just thought about my mum and I… escaped."

"Your mum?" Hermione asked, suddenly interested. Theodore never spoke about his mother solely, to the other three or even to her in detail. "What was her name?"

"Valerie Po- Patina. That was her name." Theodore said quickly. Now wasn't the best time to tell literally everything. If he was alive after all of this, then he'd tell Harry.

"Valerie… that's such a pretty name." Theodore looked down to the broken floor then turned to the central sinks to stare at himself again. Why was this so hard? To put so much faith into other people? Was he always like this or had Tom left the boy more broken than he thought? _'My father is Lord Voldemort…'_ That was all that he needed to say but he just couldn't.

"I have to find the newest attacker before they strike again. If they petrify, or even kill someone before they're caught, then it's the end of Hogwarts. I'll be sent back to Stuggle's and Harry will have to go back to the Dursleys. I won't ever see you guys again so I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to catch them and hopefully, everything will go back to-"

"Stop." Hermione held out her hand to hush the boy. Theodore sighed as he knew that he'd meet resistance from her. He turned to face Hermione as he was about to argue with the girl but she cut him off once again. "There is no 'I', there is no 'you', okay? It's us. Since when have either of us done something dangerous alone?"

"Hermione, I'm talking about real life and death. I'm talking about saving your life over my own! I'm the only one here who knows where the Chamber is so it can only be me! Don't try and change my mind because I'm not letting you come with me. I refuse." Harry took a backseat by leaning against a cubicle stand, watching the two go back and forth like they usually did.

"Alright. Fine. Go and find the new attacker on your own. You're a smart guy, you'll be able to track them down soon. Just don't worry about me and Harry when we're looking for the Chamber ourselves."

"WHAT?!" The two boys shouted, clasping their hands over their mouths a second later. The bathroom door creaked a little but there was no sign of Snape butting his head through the door cracks. The two boys released their hands and closed in to whisper and hiss about Hermione's ridiculous plan.

"In case you haven't forgotten, the Chamber of Secrets was made solely for picking off Muggle-borns in the castle. You. Are. A Muggle-born." Harry said sternly. "Tell me why this is a good idea!"

"Because, Harry! Theodore has gone off on his own for far too long! I'm not going to stay up in the castle, waiting to hear that he's dead somewhere in the school without doing anything!"

"I'm right here, you know…" muttered Theodore. Hermione whipped her head to frown at Theodore, huffing so profusely.

"Then listen! Either we come with you or you leave us alone to finding the Chamber ourselves! We're not going to sit around, moping when you're off killing yourself, Theodore!" The girl hissed.

"But it has to be-"

"If I hear, 'It has to be me', one more time…" Theodore saw them build up just slightly so that they wouldn't cascade from her eyes to her feet. Even if she kept a dark expression upon her face, Theodore could see that she didn't want him to go off on his own. They almost lost him one time. Not ever again. Theodore knew that she cared for him, but not to the point where she'd almost shed tears for the boy. He honestly hated it when he'd see her cry, especially for him. His selfish attitude wasn't anything worth weeping over.

…

"He wanted me to kill you, Hermione."

"I don't care."

"I do…" Theodore couldn't believe what he was going to say. The three of them would surely die. "But… maybe I can't do it alone. For all I know, Tom could take over me and… What I'm saying is, I don't want you to come at all. Not you, not even Harry. But maybe I do need you guys." Theodore was going to regret this but… what the hell. His pride was stopping him from admitting that he was afraid to do it alone and that he desperately needed their help, but he didn't need to say any of that. They were his best friends, after all. They knew. Hermione softened her hardened face by showing mild happiness.

"Maybe?" She said as she cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms. Harry was raising an eyebrow, slightly smirking at the two. Theodore caught this but said nothing about that. The Heir looked away as he rubbed his elbow again. Tom was truly right about one thing, and it was that he had a soft spot for the Muggle-born. Sighing as he could no longer shift the immovable object that was the stubbornness of Hermione Granger, Theodore submitted.

"But you must do everything that I tell you! No questions or backtalk! Alright?" Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes but nodded. "Good! That's good…"

…

 _Seek me… Theodore…_

The voice came from behind him as he retreated away from the sinks in horror. Sweat was starting to form on his pale skin, breathing becoming erratic as he heard his father's voice from the sinks. He rubbed his eyes roughly while Harry and Hermione watched him in worry and confusion.

' _I said you can't have me, Tom. Not ever again. Never again…'_

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just got a little spooked by something, but I'm fine." Hermione gave him a look of doubt, forcing the boy to show her that he really was alright. "If you keep on staring at me like that, then you're not coming."

"What?!" Theodore sniggered as Hermione pouted her lip. "That's not funny!" The two almost forget that Harry was simply watching them bicker with each other, smirking even more at what was obviously brewing. But that was for another time. After he finished teasing Hermione, Theodore proposed that he'd think of a plan during the night, and that he'd inform them when he had it finalised. The other two agreed, slightly worried that the boy's plan could go awry but nonetheless, confident that it'd pull through. They weren't the only ones who were sceptical. Maybe if Dumbledore was inside of the castle, Theodore would feel a little less scared. Only a little.

* * *

Ron's eyes were motionless against the frequent rays of the sun that penetrated the windows above his bed. Theodore wondered if he knew that he was sitting right next to him, talking to him about how they'd find the person who put him in the infirmary. He even wondered if the red head saw who it was, and was dying to say something but was unable to. Just a pair of blue eyes, frozen and unresponsive. Theodore tensed up when he felt Hermione rest part of her head on his shoulder as she too, was stuck within her own mind. Even if they quarrelled every single hour or so, Ron was still one of her best friends who'd she fight for without any hesitation. Seeing him like this made her think that it could've been her laying on the bed, stuck in one single position.

"Look at the time. McGonagall said that we could be here for ten minutes and it's almost been thirteen. We've got to get going." Hermione lifted her head from the boy's shoulder and went to follow Harry to the hospital wing doors, not noticing that Theodore was still sat down in his chair. Not only was he thinking about Ron but every other person who was petrified. He promised them all that he'd right his wrongs and that if they were willing, that they'd forgive him for what he did. "Theodore, come on. McGonagall is going to lose her shit if she finds out we went overtime."

"No swearing!"

"Sorry, Madam!" Theodore left Ron's bedside and joined the other two to return to History of Magic. Professor Binns was still drawly as ever but they had to keep an ear out for him. Exam session was right around the corner and whether they were in danger or not, the students still had an education to receive. Upon reaching the first floor, Theodore was reluctant to enter the lesson, deeming it 'an absolute waste of our planning time', being backed up by Harry. Hermione was insistent that they'd go inside, not wanting to get into trouble for truanting. Obviously, this would cause an argument between the three but they instantly stopped the second they heard a cluster of familiar and unfamiliar voices, hailing from the floor beneath them. Harry was the first to crouch at the edge of the stairway, then Theodore and finally Hermione. The three were huddled together, completely forgetting that they had a lesson to be going to. I guess when Hermione doesn't tell you to go back to class, you'd naturally forget. They waited and waited for somebody to appear into their line of sight and they had gotten their wish. A wish which they'd give back in a heartbeat.

"This can't be 'appening! I'm tellin ya, I didn't do anythin!" The children's hearts dropped when they heard the panicky voice of their beloved half-giant friend. Hagrid stomped into view as he had a face of fury and anxiety at the same time. Something was wrong here.

"I'm sorry, Rubeus but there's nothing else that I can do. The news are leaking out to the public, people want to see action. If there was any other way then I'd take it quicker than you can say 'Hippogriff', but there isn't. Once again, I'm truly sorry." A shorter man clad in a heavy-looking yellow suit and a yellow hat to match, was standing with five other less bizarre-looking wizards, surrounding the distressed Hagrid. Something was terribly wrong here.

"Yer not though, are ya? Firs' Dumbledore, now me. Yer making a mistake, I didn't do anythin! I'd never hurt a Bowtruckle, let alone a kid! Yer have ta believe me!" Hagrid pleaded.

"Rules are rules, Rubeus." Theodore's skin crawled when he heard that horrid voice. Just as he suspected. Mr Malfoy came gliding from around the corner as he had a mixture of contempt and ferocity in his eyes. Theodore just wondered how he kept it all in after what happened to Draco.

"The governors had made their decision and we can't go against it for obvious reasons. Dumbledore knew the precautions yet failed to act upon them to stop the attacks. Now three boys lie upstairs in the infirmary, unable to speak and move." Mr Malfoy looked like he was choking the words out from his throat. Maybe Draco hit him harder than Theodore thought.

"And that's why it's gonna get even worse," snarled Hagrid. "If Dumbledore ain't here, then who's gonna stop the attacks, huh? You?" Mr Malfoy curled his lip as he twirled his cane in between his fingers.

"I'm sure that things will work out in the end. I'm terribly sorry for your troubles, Rubeus, I really am. But like Cornelius said. People want to see action." Hagrid looked down on the ground with such shame that he wished they took him away at that very moment. The trio could only watch in silence as they saw their friend being accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets when they had the answer. At least, most of it.

"At least… let me say goodbye ter Harry, Theodore and Hermione. That's all I'm askin." Cornelius was reluctant to let the man have his final wishes but Mr Malfoy was absolutely furious to not seeing Hagrid clapped in iron shackles. His own son was barely alive and the main suspect was being allowed last wishes? It made him sick to the core. Foul. Absolutely foul.

"I… alright. Make it quick, please Rubeus. We've taken up more time than we should have. Shall I…"

"No worries, Minister," said Professor McGonagall in a slight croaky voice. "I'll retrieve them here, promptly. It will be just a moment." McGonagall walked up the stairs briskly, still pale and distant. God knows how she was coping with all of this. She was halfway up the marble stairway when she stopped abruptly from hearing a sneeze from higher up. Walking much slower, the deputy headmaster started to close in on the three while Harry and Hermione were scolding Theodore for giving them away.

"What, am I not allowed to sneeze? It's a natural thing, everyone does it!" The two hushed the Heir as they heard McGonagall's footsteps becoming louder as she closed in even further. If they ran or even walked away from their current spot, she'd catch them. If they stayed, she'd catch them. Left with only one option, which could go against their luck, the trio jumped out from where they were hiding. McGonagall was almost startled by their sudden appearance and looked like she was about to tell them off but remembered that she was looking for them in the first place.

"If you're done sticking your noses into other people's business, feel free to say goodbye to Hagrid. Lord knows if he'll… say it quickly and go back to classes, alright?" She said softly. The three children nodded their heads and hurried down the steps to see Hagrid, who was now being cuffed with chains that were fit for an elephant. His face grew brighter as he saw the three children, coming down to one knee as they hugged him in front of the Aurors and Mr Malfoy.

"Hagrid you can't leave! We- we know that you didn't open it!" Theodore whispered as he tiptoed into the half-giant's ear. Hagrid sighed, slightly tilting the boy backwards.

"Not much that you can do. They already got the papers and everythin. Seems like yer past can never really escape ya. But… I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. You jus stay strong, little fella. You two, as well. I don't wanna see any waterworks here."

"We'll write to you," said Hermione with slight tears in her eyes, ignoring Hagrid. "Every single day if we have to."

"Thanks, darlin."

"You won't be gone for too long, will you?" Harry asked, distraught to see his first wizard friend being sent away to Azkaban.

…

"Goodbye, Harry." The half-giant then got up to his feet and sniffed loudly, probably able to suck up every gram of dirt within the castle. "Now! I 'ope that the best cell ain't taken. Big boy like me needs a bit of room, no?" The trio struck a small smile as Hagrid made light of the situation. The Aurors circled the half-giant tightly as they walked over to the oak entrance doors, briefly followed by the Minster who tipped his hat to the children. Theodore and Mr Malfoy exchanged cold stares as the man smugly walked off with the others. And like that, he was gone. Hagrid, an innocent man, arrested and sent to Azkaban where he'd be tortured by the Dementors. Theodore was speechless and Harry almost looked like he wanted to hit something. Hermione wiped her eyes dry and told the boys that they needed to go back to class.

"It'll work, my plan. I'm sure of it." Theodore reassured as they walked through the blackboard.

' _I think I'm sure…'_

* * *

" _Old master… I smell you… Mudbloods… many, many Mudbloods… I must kill… for master…"_

The Parselmouths both heard the serpent spitting and hissing its bloodthirsty nature through the walls, making them both shiver with fear and disgust. They both shot worried looks at each other as Hermione caught on from the other side of classroom. Her movements propagated through the floors and walls, enticing the boys with more fear than they could possibly contain. What was even worse, was that Theodore knew the pipeline system of the school like the back of his hand. He knew that on the first floor, pipes were like giant rings above and below the classrooms. That could only mean one thing. The Basilisk was camping right there, ever so close. The sheer vibrations of her devilish hisses came from beneath his feet, indicating that her head was right below him. Theodore was so scared out of his mind, Lavender had to shake him to get his attention.

"You're so pale! Are you alright, Theo?" Lavender asked, showing genuine concern for the boy. Theodore swallowed and looked at the girl with an uncertain smile. If only she knew what was underneath her feet.

"I-I'm fine. Y-yeah, don't w-worry about me. I-I'll be okay," stuttered the boy as the colour in his cheeks were absent. Lavender could see that he was lying but didn't want to upset him. She went back to daydreaming again but still gave the boy sideway glances. He didn't look alright at all.

The lesson finished soon enough as the final bell erupted through the castle. Theodore shakily packed his things away as Hermione came over to console him. His eyes couldn't seem to close as he could almost see the Basilisk ready to follow him outside of the class. He put a stopper on his ink bottle and placed it in his bag as Hermione spoke up.

"Harry just said that he heard voices coming from beneath the ground. Did you hear the same thing?" Theodore left his bag on the table as the class began to leave the room rather slowly. He held the girl by her shoulders as he looked into her eyes with the same amount of fear that Harry depicted earlier on, possibly even more. "Theo?"

"Hermione, you need to get as far as you can away from me, okay? Don't argue with me, please! Just… go with Harry and go to the other side of the castle."

"But-"

" _Old master is with Mudblood… Slytherin is ashamed…"_

"Shut up," whispered the fearful boy in Parseltongue.

"Theodore, I- okay. I'll go with Harry but-"

"No. No buts. Leave with Harry, now." The classroom was nearly empty as Harry was waiting by the blackboard impatiently. What could they possibly be discussing when the monster was right near them? Hermione was adamant on leaving the boy alone but grudgingly left with Harry after seeing so much desperation in Theodore's eyes. Quickly leaving through the blackboard, Theodore was now left alone with the cursed snake. Master and monster. Former master, that is. Nobody else here to listen to him. Just him and the Basilisk.

…

"What are you doing here?"

" _Master told me to come… Master told me to find you…"_

"And why's that? To kill me? To bring me down to the Chamber to take over my mind again so that I'll kill everybody else?"

" _Don't know… only Master knows… Master always knows…"_

Theodore took three steps forward to the front of the classroom. The Basilisk followed. He moved three steps to the right. The Basilisk followed. He walked to the very back of the classroom and the serpent followed. No matter where he went, the snake was always there. The snake wouldn't obey him, not when Tom was in control of whoever held the diary. To her, Theodore was as worthy as a 'Mudblood' and nothing more. The Parselmouth thought on what to do, slightly less tense knowing that Harry and Hermione were far from him on the other side of the school.

…

Run. That was it. That was all that he could do. Was to run. Counting slowly, drawing his breath in between each second, Theodore reached out for his bag. Six… five… four… three… two… one… He pelted through the blackboard as the serpent matched his speed, rumbling the stone floor beneath him. As ran across to his left, he almost crashed into Ginny who didn't seem to care that she was almost knocked over by him. Theodore couldn't apologise as he sprinted through the hallways, feeling the Basilisk slither and hiss through the walls so quickly and effortlessly that escape was impossible. She was far too quick for him and soon, it would be all over. But he had to keep running. He had to or otherwise Tom would win. Ron, Hagrid, Dumbledore… they were counting on him. He couldn't let them down. Not when he was-

A stitch stabbed his side as he was forced to the ground, wheezing profusely. It was over for him. He knew where he was kneeling. The area where he attacked Justin and Ernie. A pipe hole was right above his head, giving the snake a clear shot at taking his head off with a single bite. It'd be that easy. Theodore couldn't move anymore. It was ironic that he'd die from the Beast of Slytherin. It wasn't a Muggle-born that died on the second opening, no. It was the Heir. Theodore closed his eyes, ready for the inevitable when he saw somebody jog him excessively. She didn't… she didn't… she did.

"Why… the hell… are you here?! Where's Harry? Why aren't you with him?"

"We didn't want to leave you behind," said the Muggle-born guiltily as she pressed a hand against his forehead. "Have you been running?"

"Yeah I've been- wait… don't say a word." Theodore crawled to the wall and pressed his ear against it to hear the disobedient serpent… leaving him? Why would she chase him just to leave when he was vulnerable? He listened closer again, trying to hear her as she slithered downwards.

" _New target…? Master wants new target… I will not fail Master…"_

"What do you hear?"

"The Basilisk is looking for a new target…"

"It's a Basilisk?!" Hermione gasped. The colossal snake trailed her heavy body downwards, the sounds of her movements diminishing until Theodore could hear no more. He pulled away from the wall and stood up on his feet to clear away the dirt from his trousers. One more attack and it was the end of Hogwarts. They had to stop it before it was too late. "So that's why only you and Harry could hear it through the walls. It's a snake! Of course! The monster being a serpent makes absolute sense."

"I'd hate to spoil your fun but it's going after someone else. It went downstairs and I don't think that it's going back into the Chamber. We have to move fast, right now. Where did you last see Harry?"

"Harry? We split up on the second floor near the bathroom. Why?"

…

"Theodore?"

…

"Theodore!" Theodore left the girl behind on the fifth floor, racing all the way to the second. No, not him. Anyone else but him. It couldn't be him. Not Harry. Theodore barged and pushed through several people as he heard Hermione apologising for him as she ran after him. Everyone stared at him like he was a madman and maybe he was. Maybe his speculation would remain speculation as he would see Harry alive and well on the second floor, far, far away from the bathroom. He jumped down staircase to staircase, feeling the burn in his sides but he couldn't succumb. He had to know if Harry was okay or- oh no...

' _Their skeletons will lie in the Chamber forever, unless the Heir comes forward…'_

This wasn't in blood-red fire. This was just in blood. Pure, deep red blood that trickled from the haunting message beneath the first one. Hermione arrived a few seconds after and became paralysed by witnessing the stained walls. She turned to Theodore who's face was even paler than before, if that was possible. His vision shifted in and out of focus as he couldn't keep a clear head from looking at what he saw.

"Quick! Somebody's coming!" Hermione grabbed Theodore by the wrist and dragged him into the bathroom where they hid from those who were incoming. Panting behind the half-closed doors, the two children slid down to the ground, holding their stomachs. Theodore could've sworn that he heard a click from the central sinks but the voices of the teachers caught his attention instead. McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Vector. A few others that Theodore couldn't recognise. The Parselmouth could detect the immense panic among the teachers as they babbled over each other loudly. McGonagall put an end to all of this and allowed the teachers to speak, one at a time.

"Minerva! I… I…"

"What it is, Filius? Spit it out, then!"

"It's Miss Weasley, Minerva! I haven't seen her for the past three hours! She was supposed to come for our reading club and she hasn't shown up! Not even for class! Tell me that she hasn't…"

"I do not know, Filius. We can only hope that this has nothing to do with her. Not another Weasley. Ah, Bloody Baron! I thought you'd come quickly! Any news? Good ones?" The Baron looked completely glum, much more glum than usual. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. This however, blew the word 'bad' straight out of the water. It was just painful to hear.

"There's been no sight of… any of them."

…

"Any sight of who," asked the deputy headmaster weakly.

"The Weasley girl and the Potter boy. All of our ghosts looked everywhere and… nothing."

"Oh."

…

"I'm terribly sorry." The Baron floated away drearily, leaving the teachers and the remaining two in silent shock. Nobody saw this coming. Another Weasley and The Boy Who Lived, snatched by the Heir of Slytherin to decompose in the hidden Chamber forever. Without nobody to find them, without Dumbledore to protect the school, that was it. It was truly over. Hogwarts would be no more. Theodore would be living like a Muggle for his entire life, cursed with the knowledge that he couldn't save Harry. That his only living relative would be a mangled spirit who was roaming the Earth, unable to die. He'd be left on this Earth with… 'him'.

"I… w-what should we do, Minerva?" Professor Vector stammered as her face become unrecognisable from her blatant fear. McGonagall's jaw shook terribly while she blinked to stop any form of moisture from escaping her eyes.

"The students must be sent back to their homes. Tomorrow. We… It's the end. Hogwarts is… over. We're done…" Snape kept his stern expression while Flitwick had to wipe away his growing tears. The finality of their school, their home, being stripped away from them stabbed each and every teacher in the heart. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were probably dead as they stood around, utterly helpless. Hogwarts was supposed to remain forever, nurturing the young children that came through. Not to act as their tombs.

"Theodore?" No answer. "Theo?"

…

Theodore was desolate, broken and unrepairable. He couldn't think properly anymore. All those feelings of determination and virtue could be drained away from a boy just like that. Theodore had nothing left. No drive, no real family. Harry was all that he had left, and Tom took him away. Hermione called his name out again to get a response but Theodore remained mute. If there was the slimmest chance that Harry and Ginny were still alive, they'd die anyways. _'…unless the Heir comes forward…'_ A cowardly attempt to draw him away from the castle. To save them… he'd have to return to the Chamber. Alone. Walking straight into the embrace of death. Nobody to save him. Just him, and him alone.

 _Seek me… Theodore…_

* * *

The pair were secluded on the table in the corner, far away from anybody else. For the first time ever, the common room was void of the life and laughter that it usually retained, leaving behind a bleak shade of grey all over the Gryffindors. It was now up to four. Four Gryffindors attacked by the Heirs of Slytherin and there was no Dumbledore to rescue them. They all lost the very trait that they embodied, feeling fear creeping at every corner. What a way to end their short time within the castle. Most of them already started to pack their things away. Neville's suitcase was already near the portrait, ready to be trudged against the magical steps, never to see them again. Theodore couldn't bear to look at the Weasley boys, let alone talk to them. Their two youngest siblings… And when it would be time for Mr and Mrs Weasley to find out? He could already feel the pain from the soon-to-be devastated parents.

Theodore was still refusing to say anything as his hands covered his lips, making those hazel eyes spew all the turmoil that was inside of him. The more he stayed inside of the common room, the closer Harry and Ginny were to death. Fear of death, the pure hatred for his father, and his final decision on what he was going to do pounded against his brain. Trying to remain stoic as possible, the Parselmouth was breathing heavily as it was hard stomach what had to be done. Harry couldn't die. What was Theodore next to Harry, anyways? The child of the Dark Lord, that's what he was. Theodore thought to himself that he was dispensable. Harry was not. It was hard… but he chose this. And he wasn't going to change his mind.

…

"I'm going down there," said the boy blankly. Hermione didn't overreact to what he said. There was no point. They already been through this before. She wasn't letting him go on his own. Placing a tight grip on the boy's pale knuckles, Hermione breathed out through her nose, then spoke.

"Our best friend was just taken. 'Our' best friend, Theodore. Not just yours. I know that this is all just scary and believe me. I'm so scared. But I'm not going to stay here and watch you leave through that portrait door, only for you to never walk back through it. If you want to go, then I'll go. It's either the both of us, or… Choose." Theodore peered at the Weasley twins, who looked so distraught that they left for the dormitory. Percy was already upstairs when they had arrived in the common room, probably grieving in silence. Theodore didn't wish that on him, no matter how pompous he was.

…

"We could die, you know."

"Probably better than to never seeing this place again. Or you… guys! You guys! That's what I meant!" The Parselmouth sighed, feeling himself becoming more and more lenient to the Muggle-born. And this wasn't going to be the end of it, he was sure. He sighed again and brushed his hair backwards with his fingers, leaving a few locks of hair resting on his forehead.

"We need another person, two of us won't be enough." Hermione rubbed her chin to think of anyone who would aid them to blatant suicide. Her eyes lit up as she knew who the perfect person would be. "You have someone in mind?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's hear it," replied the boy, feeling slightly uncomfortable by the girl's sudden enthusiasm. His instincts were in the end, precise as he instantly rejected her suggestion. "No! No! Absolutely not! Not him!"

"He's an expert in this type of stuff, he'd be perfect!"

"He, is a FRAUD," hissed the boy as he forced the final word. "He never saved a village from werewolves or fought a banshee. I'm telling you, the guy's a complete fake! I'd rather go alone then with him."

 _Ten minutes later…_

Theodore was grumbling under his breath as the two children walked up to Lockhart's office door. After some valid points from the Muggle-born, Theodore reluctantly agreed on asking for the professor's help, despite how he'd be absolutely useless. Hermione didn't seem to think so as she knocked loudly on his door, positive that he'd help.

"You'll see," said the girl as she let herself in. "He'll help us by… packing your things?" Theodore was on the verge of saying 'I told you so' to Hermione but held himself back. If he couldn't get through to her, then a solid reality check would. The man's office looked unusually empty for a man like Lockhart, and his trunks were stuffed with unfolded robes, crumpled books and photographs that were about to crack just from how messily placed they were. Lockhart jumped when he heard the two close the door quite firmly, and spun around to face them. He barely looked like the Lockhart Theodore knew and resented.

"Where are you going, Professor?" Theodore asked mockingly, unable to resist smirking at the man.

"Erm, I… I have to go, of course! Yes, I must… leave."

"Leave," asked Hermione as she frowned. "What do you mean leave? You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher! You're the most experienced person in the castle! How can you stand by when there are two children missing?"

"Miss Granger, my dear… sometimes, things… may not… go… your way." Lockhart responded nervously as he collected his hats from the pegs. "Just like now. I-I never signed up for… going into the…" Theodore was now in a full-blown smirk, not wanting to hide his face.

"I can't believe- what about everything you did in your books?"

…

"Well…" Hermione looked disheartened and appalled by the realisation. Not only was he really a fraud, but Theodore was right the whole time.

"So you're a… fake?"

"No no no! I'm not a fake!" Lockhart pleaded as he saw her lose all faith within him. "I promise you, my dear! I am not-"

"Oh, just shut it!" Theodore shouted. Hermione was still in disbelief. She knew what she was going to do with her books when they'd come back. If they came back. Hermione spun on her heels and walked to the door.

"Come on, Theo. Let's go."

"Oh! Where are you two children going, anyways? It's awfully late after curfew." Lockhart called out.

"Don't mind us. We're just going to the Chamber of Secrets to rescue our friends." Theodore said halfway out the door. Hermione asked him why he would say that, out of all the other things that he could've said, to him, only for Theodore to say wait. One, two, three…

"Children! I can't let you leave by yourself! I'd be scrutinised if they heard that you died while I left you to yourselves!"

"Then come along, sir." Theodore stated nonchalantly as he proceeded to walk off with Hermione, the girl shooting the man a dirty glare before turning forwards. The teacher and the Muggle-born followed the Heir through the corridors, now feeling the disturbance of the situation in their stomachs. Every step that they took closer to the bathroom, injected them with something foul, nasty and grim. And suddenly, everything just felt cold. So cold.

The three of them reached the dark hallway of the second floor, and briefly stopped to read the latest message underneath the first one. Why did it feel more haunting than the first time reading it through? Theodore turned away from the sullied wall and walked slowly into the bathroom, making sure that the Basilisk, or whoever opened the Chamber after him, wasn't poised waiting on the inside. He pushed the door open and slid through to enter the moonlit room. Hermione and Lockhart followed, both feeling terror in their hearts and looking at the boy like he had gone mad.

"Theodore," whispered Hermione. "Aren't we supposed to be finding the Chamber of Secrets? Why are we in here?" Theodore simply put his fingers to his lips and tiptoed to the cubicles so gently, a Bowtruckle would've made more noise by staying still. Silent murmurs and sniffing echoed from the last toilet stall, a voice chanting something that sounded so melancholic and dispirited. Theodore just hoped that what he was about to, was going to work. Something flickered in his mind as he remembered. This was the stall that Myrtle died in, where Tom manipulated the poor girl into her own death. History was repeating itself as a Riddle had to speak with the Muggle-born locked within the cubicle. Inhale… exhale…

"Who's there?"

…

"It's… it's me, Myrtle. It's Theodore."

…

"Can you come out, please?"

"I've heard all of this before. I've heard every single word and that's why I'm dead!" Myrtle snapped aggressively from the other side. The neighbouring cubicles were rattling from the ghost's outburst but Theodore wasn't going to leave. He had to make things right.

"Myrtle… I'm not like him, okay? I know what he did to you, I saw. But let me-"

"LIES! ALL LIES! THERE'S NOTHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE BOTH OF YOU! I SAW YOU! COMING IN AND OUT, BECAUSE IT WAS YOU! YOU AND 'HIM'!" Theodore leapt back as Myrtle's head phased through the cubicle door. Theodore had never seen such rage like that before in his life. Myrtle looked like she wanted to strangle him for what his father did to her.

"You have to believe me! I-"

"HE DEFILED MY BODY AFTER I WAS DEAD! He… he…" Myrtle retreated back inside of the stall as she began to sob louder than usual. Hermione and Lockhart didn't say a thing from the other end of the bathroom. The boy wanted her to see that he wasn't like his father but she was probably right. No matter how hard he try to change, his father would always be a part of him. To deny that was just being foolish.

"Myrtle… please…"

"Leave… me alone."

…

He trudged back to the other two without looking back to the toilet stall. The Riddle name was already a curse in the ghost girl's ears. As long as any child came through her bathroom bearing that name, she'd loathe them until the castle itself crumbled into fine dust. Theodore had to ignore his strenuously-pounding heart as he stood near the sink with the etched snake on the tap.

"So where's the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione asked as she watched his pale face staring at the sink in front of him.

"It's here."

"Here," squeaked Lockhart as he too, became pale. "The Chamber of Secrets is… here?" Theodore nodded slightly, then told the two to move backwards. Hermione and Lockhart did what they were told, and took a large step back. Lockhart almost slipped on a slippery broken tile while Hermione couldn't care less.

"Open!" Theodore hissed in Parseltongue. The sinks clicked and moved, just like they did the first time he found the Chamber. Lowering into the floor, the dark pipe hole was revealed to Hermione and Lockhart, who both had their mouths open in stupor. Even though Hermione had already seen the central sinks separated before, it still felt like she was seeing it for the first time. "Well? Let's go!"

"Erm…"

"Oh come on, Hermione! You wanted to come with me and now you don't. There's no time for second thoughts!"

"It's not that, it's just… forget it."

…

"Alright. Professor? Care to do the honour of going in first?" Lockhart was quivering in the spot, the realisation of who Theodore was, pulverising him like a raging Erumpent. Theodore looked at Hermione then at Lockhart, shaking his head rapidly. "No… no. It's not what it looks like-"

"You're the Heir of Slytherin…" Lockhart babbled, pointing an equally pale finger at the boy.

"I'm not- okay, maybe I am, but…!" Why did he say that? Lockhart bolted to the bathroom doors, ready to spill out his discovery on who the attacker was, ready to reveal everything. He was stuck between great fear as he was certain that he was being tricked into going down the pipe, and slight ambition that he would be the one to tell everyone else. Lockhart had his hand on the door when suddenly-

" _Colloportus,_ " bellowed Hermione as her wand was already raised at the door. The moss-covered doors slammed and locked the three inside of the bathroom, trapping the frightful professor as well. Hermione pocketed her wand and crossed her arms while she still held her frown.

"Like he said, 'Professor'. Would you care to do the honours?" The girl gritted through her teeth. Tapping his pockets to find his wand, but ultimately failing in the end, the fraudulent man waddled to the open pipe and stared down into seemingly nothingness. This was just pure death, plain and simple.

"Children! Maybe… we should turn back… yes, that should be the best course of action." Lockhart said feebly.

"So that you can go blab on me? Not a chance. Jump. Or we'll make you jump."

"Theodore, please…"

"Five…"

"I won't tell! I promise on my mother's life, I won't tell a soul!"

"Four…"

"Miss Granger! I know that I have lived a deceitful life but that doesn't mean that-"

"Three…"

"Have pity on me… please," croaked the blonde man.

"Two…"

"I'm begging you, please! Don't make me go down- ARGGHH!" Hermione 'accidentally' barged Lockhart with a swift elbow to the back, sending the professor plummeting down the hole. Lockhart was screaming the whole way down until he became silenced. Theodore hoped that he hadn't awkwardly cracked his neck and died. He was a pain in the backside for sure, but for him to die was a little over the line. Maybe just a few broken bones would suffice.

"Oh no! I think I killed him!" Hermione panicked, waving her hands frantically. Theodore had to reassure her that it was a long way down so if he was alive, they wouldn't know until they went down themselves. "Oh. I wasn't really thinking, you know? I'm just really… 'pissed' at him." Theodore held in a snicker from the girl's hesitation of saying the word 'pissed'.

"At least you know the truth now. I promise I won't hold it over you. For a few months."

"Oh… be quiet!" The boy chuckled then looked down at the pipe again. It was now or never. Harry and Ginny needed them both. He couldn't run away from Tom. Not anymore.

…

"Shall I go first?" Theodore suggested.

"It's fine. I'll go." Hermione stood near the very edge of the pipe, counting down from ten very quickly before she hopped inside. It was just like last year, only probably a lot more frightening. Hermione made no sounds apart from a few skids against the edge of the pipe below. And like that, Theodore was the last one in the bathroom. The urge to jump came and left in short bursts so he had to time it correctly. If he hesitated mid-jump, he could slide in headfirst, and that was certain death on the lower side. He closed his eyes and trapped himself in thought for only just a moment.

' _Just like you used to, Theo. All you have to do is… jump…'_

 **The next chapter may take a bit longer to write up as it will be the final part of . After that, it's back to revising for my exams. I should come back around two weeks or so afterwards. Yeah so this chapter again, was written when I was in different mindsets so it could be a little up and down but I enjoyed writing this one. I didn't want it to be exactly like the book but it's Fanfiction, it's supposed to be your own idea right? Anyways, I said what I needed to say and I hope you liked this chapter. Later.**

 **BalsamicCheese: Thanks. I've already got a clear idea on how Theodore will be like when he'll age and I hope that you'll like it. Thanks again:)**

 **Blank-name26: Sorry, it's just that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. In my old school, having near perfect grammar was a necessity. I guess it rubbed off me more than I thought, lol. But I'm happy that you're liking this story. Thanks for the review:)**

 **seanconnor07: I'm thankful that you think that. Like I said above, having perfect grammar was heavily emphasised when I was younger so that's why I'm so picky over little mistakes. Nonetheless, it's great that you like it so far. Hope you review again:)**


	21. Chapter 21: The Heir's Renunciation

_**Author's Note: Now before you read this chapter, there are two things that you will need to know beforehand. First of all, this is a long-ass chapter, as it took me two hours to read through it, and almost double the time to write so be prepared. Another is that if you think that I forgot any certain characters in this chapter, I didn't. It'll make sense later but now, you have a chapter to read:)**_

* * *

"Put… the wand… down." The two children were held at wandpoint by the slightly crazed-looking professor, all three of them occupying the heavily humid area beneath the school. Lockhart was brandishing Theodore's wand, aiming at them with such rigidness, a simple gust of wind could topple him over. They weren't even halfway there and the problems were now arising.

"I don't think I will. You already know too much about me. I can't risk the both of you exposing me to everyone else," declared Lockhart as he gripped the wand tightly.

"Just so that you can expose me?" Theodore replied with his hands up. It was a mistake to bring the cowardly man along. An absolute mistake. "You can't just go back up without us! They'd… they'd…"

"Believe me, dear boy. My charm cannot be seen through, by any wizard or witch on this Earth! They'd eat up any story that I'll tell them when I escape. A man who was taken hostage as one of the Heir of Slytherin's final victims escapes, only just while the bodies of the innocent children remains as... remains."

"You can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed as she remained in her spot. "Not only are you a fraud and a coward, but you would willingly leave two children to die without feeling guilty! I can't believe I ever looked up to you!"

"My sweet, I thought that you were one of the smart ones, because you miscounted. Not just two children…" Lockhart heaved in a large amount of air and blew it all out through his mouth. "I'm awfully sorry that I have to do this, but don't worry. You won't remember a thing."

"Theo, I think he's going to-"

"Yeah," whispered the boy nervously as he recognised the hand movements for the Memory Charm. They were so close to rescuing Harry and Ginny but it was all over now. Every single thing that he experienced and treasured within his mind was to be erased with a single incantation. What was even worse, was that it was his own wand to be the one to clear his memories.

"Goodbye… Mr Riddle and Miss Granger. _Obliviate_!" Theodore kept his eyes open to see the man shred him of his own self, wanting to reel through every single thing that he knew before they'd vanish. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Louise, Dumbledore, Erveris and Terly, Viripin, Hogwarts, Stuggle's… wait. Why could he still remember Stuggle's, the place where his earliest memory had originated from? That memory wasn't vacant from his mind. In fact, Theodore didn't even feel any change to his state of mind at all. So many questions were racing through his mind until his eyes presented the answer, right in front of him.

The acacia wand was spitting a shower of emerald light from its tip, into the conceited man's eyes like a little flashlight. Lockhart was trapped in a daze as he refused to release the backfiring wand which was purging every memory from the man's being. His eyes swirled in an odd fashion, each eye rotating in separate directions. It wasn't until the wand decided to come to an abrupt stop, did Lockhart snap back into reality.

…

"Huh." The two children looked at each other worryingly, lowering their hands to their sides. "How did I…"

"Um, Professor," asked Theodore meekly. Lockhart didn't respond, blinking furiously with a face of complete confusion. "Professor?"

"Professor Lockhart!" Hermione called out. Her voice traveled through the dark tunnel leading further away to the main part of the Chamber. An eerie echo replied from the other end, making the duo's skin crawl. Lockhart's attention was suddenly captured as he lifted his head to the Muggle-born, smiling quite stupidly. So far, he was still the same.

"Oh, hello there! How are you? Um, could you tell me what exactly am I doing here?" Lockhart asked cheerily.

"You're… we're in the Chamber of Secrets. We're underneath the school. You don't remember…?"

"I'm sorry dear boy, but I haven't got a clue about any… Chamber of Secrets. Is this it?"

…

"Yeah, that's… literally what I just said," mumbled Theodore.

"Oh. It's quite homely… may I ask who you are exactly?" The blank-minded Lockhart asked as politely as possible. Theodore and Hermione ignored the confused man as they closed in on each other to whisper amongst themselves.

"What happened? I've never seen a Memory Charm do something like that before!" Hermione hissed. Theodore shrugged his shoulders as he was just as bewildered as the girl was. The boy never seen a wand do something like that ever. Even if the wand belonged to him, it shouldn't have meant that others were incapable of using his own, right?

"Me neither. Wands aren't supposed to act like that. Or I think that they aren't supposed to act like that… Do you think that he can still help us?"

"He was useless the second he came along."

"Then why did you consider him in the first place?"

"Leave it, Theodore. I'm being serious."

"So am I. We can't have deadweight upon us when we- hey! Put the wand away from your face and give it to me!" Lockhart was fiddling with Theodore's wand as he inspected it with such intriguing precision. He was acting like a child who lacked any control over themselves.

"What is this thing? Do you conduct in an orchestra?"

"What? No, it's a- give it to me." Theodore commanded as he walked over to him with a palm outstretched.

"Just for a little longer, young man. I could've sworn I felt it shudder a little in my hand."

"Lockhart, give me back my wand!" Lockhart was close to gorging his left eye out of its socket as he ignored the Parselmouth's instructions. Even when he had no recollection of his former self, Lockhart was still just a plain old, annoying twat. Theodore had enough as he stomped over to the man to take it by force. He possibly had to face a Basilisk and his father on the other side, so he needed every single aid that he could collect. "Give me my wand!"

"Hold on…"

"No! Give me my wand!"

"Now young man, there's no need to raise your voice with-"

"GIVE ME BACK MY WAND!" The Thestral-tailed wand seemingly complied with its master's wishes as it blew a large spark in the blonde man's face, instantly knocking him out while it 'jumped' all the way to the boy's hand. Theodore snatched it mid-air and stuffed it inside of his robes as he tried to calm himself down. He had almost lost himself for a near moment that he didn't touch upon his wand's sudden 'sentience'. Not caring for the unconscious man, Theodore rotated to face Hermione, still trying to tame the unnatural anger that had been attached to him like a cancer for so long. "We'll just leave him here. If we're lucky, then we can… Hermione, what's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Y-your eyes… they're red…" The Muggle-born made no false statement as the scarlet snakelike eyes that belonged to his father, re-emerged. The boy was glaring at the girl with such aggression that Hermione took a few steps away from him. Seeing her watching him in rapid fear caused Theodore to turn away quickly, clamping his eyelids so tightly while he thought of anything other than Tom. Reopening his eyes after a few seconds of an internal struggle, Theodore turned back to her to gain the confirmation that his eyes had returned to their usual hazel. She sighed in relief, nodding her head so slightly as she lost her anxiety. Theodore was going to be fine. Nothing to worry about.

"Sorry. Got a bit carried away," said the boy regrettably.

"It's alright. Now that we've gotten rid of the 'deadweight', that just leaves it up to the two of us to find Harry and Ginny. Still can't believe that he's a fake. I just can't." Theodore smirked a little as he briefly patted Hermione's shoulder before walking off to the direction of the familiar tunnel. "Hey! Don't go so fast!" She zipped straight towards the Heir's side as the two beckoned towards the lulling whispers of Death.

The pair trudged past the landfill of animal bones, almost dying of complete horror from seeing the Basilisk's shedded skin propped up against the slimy walls of the tunnel's entrance. They cleared the distress from their system as composure was vital upon what they would face rather soon.

"This is just vile! I don't know why anyone would even consider coming down here," said the girl, narrowly dodging a viscous stream of slime, hanging from the unlit ceiling.

"It's not that bad, to be honest."

"Not that bad? It's nasty, it's… just horrible! To think that Slytherin built all of this, just to get rid of Muggle-borns. Makes me glad that I was never considered for the House anyways. I'd hate to be in there or even related to him…"

…

"No! I didn't-"

"It's okay. At least we're on the same page about what we think of him." Theodore replied quietly. His whispers blew through the tunnel like a song from a bird, not strong enough to echo back by being tarnished of its innocence. He didn't feel any of that rage when Hermione insulted his ancestor the first time. He only felt scorn and contempt for the Founder, but that wasn't even fathomable when compared with the hatred he had for his father. The Heir of Slytherin was a title that he'd no longer hold with pride, only with shame. It didn't mean anything to him anymore.

…

"How did you find out?" Hermione asked after illuminating the tip of her wand, having qualms on whether it was necessary to ask that question.

"The Chamber?"

"All of it. The Chamber, the bathroom, how you knew that you were the Heir of- you know. Surely, you must've done a lot of background searching about your family."

"It was all just luck, I guess. When I first met Viripin in the dungeons, she told me that my dad was claiming to be the Heir of Slytherin. She told me about Parseltongue and how I was the second Parselmouth to arrive at Hogwarts after him. That's why I was so obsessed with knowing why the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor. It made no sense to me so I had to find more about him. About him and my dad but…"

"And the Chamber?"

"Hermione, I don't really want to talk about this." Theodore whispered, his current emotional state fluctuating between annoyed and ashamed.

"Why not? It's just me and you."

"Because! I don't want… I don't want you to look at me differently, okay? Not only do I have two of the worst people flowing inside my blood, but I did the things that they would want me to do. To get rid of all the Muggle-borns and now…"

…

"How did you know about your mother?"

"I… From her old neighbours. I mean, Dumbledore told me her name but, her neighbours knew her the best. Or at least, that's what I think." Theodore thought to himself that the tunnel felt conveniently long, just long enough for the girl to get every question out before they'd reach the other end.

"Do you have a photo of her?" Theodore nodded. "Maybe you should show it to us sometime. I think I've seen her name somewhere in the castle. It was quite a while ago."

"You saw my mother's name," asked Theodore curiously. He should've been more vague with the fake surname. "When? Where?"

"It was last year, when we were looking for anything on Slytherin, remember? The trophy room…?"

"Ohhh. Wait, you saw my mother's name there? What, was she-" Hermione almost slipped backwards from a pool of water upon the rough stone ground, and grabbed onto Theodore's arm to find equilibrium again.

"Sorry," apologised the Muggle-born as she awkwardly brushed herself off. "Oh, I remember! She was Head Girl! How could I forget that?"

"Hmph. Isn't that a coincidence?" Theodore drawled as he could hear the echoes of their footsteps from the end of the tunnel, bounce back much quicker. They were almost there.

"Was your dad Head Boy?"

…

The steel snake door came into full vision as the once brilliant, now loathsome, emerald serpent reflected its vivid green hue from the girl's wand onto their faces. Hermione was unable to keep her gaze away from the coiled snake as she could've sworn that it was looking back at her. Maybe the Chamber was sentient and could smell the Muggle within her. If Slytherin was capable of constructing an entire dungeon away from the eyes of his fellow Founders, then it'd be foolish to think that it wasn't enchanted to keep Muggle-borns away. She turned to face Theodore as the boy remained silent, idle upon looking at the snake as well. Maybe this was a different way of opening the next door, who knew? A full minute dragged on by, until Hermione had to elbow the boy in his shoulder to bring him back from his momentary dazing.

"Sorry, sorry! I just got a bit lightheaded, that's all." Theodore remarked. He didn't attempt to open the door however, and remained still in his place. His face was growing pale from the flashes of what could be present on the other side. Limbs scattered across the flooded floors of the Chamber, ranging from Ginny's arm and leg near the entrance and the head of his cousin being crushed within the jaws of the Basilisk. He felt another jab, only this time it was softer, and looked back at Hermione. Theodore did think that she worried about him just a little more than she should've, but did not think to reject her concern over his wellbeing.

"Can't you open it?"

"I can."

…

"Well…?"

"What if you knew something about a friend, something that was so terrible that even they hated themselves for it?" Theodore asked rapidly. If he was going to die underground where nobody would find his skeleton, the least he could do was to share the secret that had been haunting him ever since it ripped and lodged itself into his brain.

"Um… err… what do you mean?"

"Like a secret that they kept. What if it was so horrible, you'd never look at them the same way again? What would you do?" Theodore insisted.

"I-I don't know!" Theodore pulled back once again and sighed heavily. This wasn't the way to reveal to someone that your father was a tyrannical maniac. Not to one of his best friends. It was impossible. "If there's anything that you want to say, say it now. Because you may not get the chance later on, Theodore." Brown to hazel. The Parselmouth closed his eyes and then reopened them. This was probably the last chance to say what he wanted. But it didn't feel right to say it here. Not when they were lurking on the edge of Death's cliff. To tell her now would mean that he was accepting death without hesitation, but wasn't that the reason he came? To rescue Harry and Ginny, knowing all the consequences if they failed?

' _Arggh, why can't I tell her?! Just tell her! Tell her now!'_

"It's nothing, Hermione. I was just… I'm going to open it, okay? Get ready." Theodore told Hermione as he looked back at the false serpent. Hopefully, he would never see that damned snake again, or this Chamber. This would be the last time it ever reopened, and he was going to make sure of that. No more Heirs, no more Slytherins. It would end with him, right here.

…

"Open," hissed the boy in skin-crawling sibilance. Hermione shivered and jumped from the combination of the sinister tone of Theodore's voice, and the snake clicking and slithering along the perfect winding trail. It looked so real. The emerald serpent reached its final position as the door unlocked upon the Heir's permission.

"Come on, let's go." The snake door had swung the entire way as it was easy for him to mount through the slippery hole, coming from past experience. Hermione was an adept climber as she required very minimal help from the boy upon entering the area of his birthright, the area where no Muggle-born has ever ventured to. The Chamber of Secrets. It was a lot more murkier than she had imagined. She took in large amounts of air as it felt choking and almost painful to her lungs from staying too still. Theodore brought a finger to his pursed lips and motioned her to follow him. His heart was pumping furiously as it tried to dissipate the fear that was boiling his blood. From a quick press against his left arm, Hermione could feel his heartbeat doing its best to keep his blood flowing, not caring if he were to die right there. There was no point trying to hide within the light-absent corners. Tom knew he was there.

They edged closer and closer to the end of the Chamber while keeping their senses at their peak levels. One single hiss, a splash of water that sounded larger than a drip or even a squeak, and their eyes would be snapped shut. The two were unusually close together, Theodore's arm squeezing against Hermione's. They both secretly wished that it was just like the Forbidden Forest all over again, only it was. The two of them were to slowly enter a place of secrecy and fear, soon to meet the Dark Lord in a 'mutilated' form. It was just like the Forbidden Forest, but they'd both die here. Not just Hermione, but him as well. The silver submerged serpents on the opposite sides of the pathway were leering at the boy and girl with such disappointment and disgust. It was like Salazar lived through each pillar, insulted and belittled by his descendent for bringing the one thing that he loathed above all others. The Heir of Slytherin bringing a Mudblood to the glorious Chamber of Secrets was worthy of damnation in the Founder's eyes. But the boy ignored that. All that mattered was-

"Harry! Ginny!" Both children exclaimed as they saw the scar-bearing boy submerged halfway inside of the statue's cheek, face covered as his head was hung so low. Ginny was lain in a sprawled manner, like she had been shot from afar and was untouched by the hands of others. She looked deathly pale, even worse than how Theodore looked most of the time. The two needed to act fast before Tom would arrive with the Basilisk. Hermione bounded to Harry while Theodore knelt down to Ginny. Her freckles were completely absent from her chalky skin, as if she was having the very life within her being siphoned dangerously fast.

"Hermione! How's Harry?" Theodore asked as he saw the girl tugging at the boy to release him from his entrapment. The feeble stone that was enchanted to smother Harry gave way pretty easily as Harry stumbled down to the puddles of the Chamber, tattered robes covered with dust and slime.

"I think he's alright. Yeah, he's fine! His eyes are open. Harry? Can you hear me?" Theodore only heard groans as he tended back to Ginny. It was he who had started all of this but she was the unlucky victim of Tom's early manipulation. And now she was going to die because of that.

"She's so cold," whispered the boy to himself. His hand was pressed against her cheeks as they leeched off his own heat, spreading the unnatural plummet of temperature onto him. Theodore drew his hand back and touched her neck to check for a pulse. Faint. Barely detectable, most probably slowing down, but faint. They weren't dead. Theodore could almost rejoice if he didn't see that thing hidden under her arms.

"Theo, Harry's okay. He's a bit groggy but he'll manage. How's Ginny doing?" The Muggle-born asked as Harry was leaning against the lip of Slytherin, holding his chest tightly. Theodore didn't say a single word as he shifted Ginny's limp arms to pick up the battered, crumbling and heavily blackened diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle. The golden words were mostly etched away from the fire but it was blatantly the same diary. He could feel something swirling and writhing in anger inside of the book, the second he touched it. "Why did she have the diary?"

"I-I don't know but we have to leave. I'll use my wand to lift Ginny out of here and hopefully, they'll alert Dumbledore that we're missing. I hope…"

"He's here," mumbled Harry as he limped over to his cousin. His spirit looked decimated. There was no sign of the Harry that Theodore knew. His green eyes looked dead. Theodore brought himself up from his knees and held the other Parselmouth by the shoulders.

"Who? Who's here? Is it Tom?! Come on, Harry, say something!"

"I'd thought it was customary for a boy to introduce a girl to his father, regardless whether it was a filthy Mudblood or not." The trio was instantly drawn to the sudden voice that was unfamiliar to all but Theodore. He knew it. The diary was weakened but never destroyed. Tom was never dead in the first place and here he was. A reflection of the diary's current state. Tom's robes were faded from all colour, losing the emerald to being replaced with charcoal black all over. His skin was rough and wax-like, forming permanent ridges across his defined cheekbones. His hair remained somewhat similar to what it was before, yet it now looked unnatural on the sixteen year old. His eyes however were no longer the handsome brown which fooled even the sharpest of minds. Scarlet, full to the sclera, with slits that portrayed the suppressed viciousness of the Horcrux manifestation.

"Give Ginny back to us, now!" Theodore shouted, careful to hide anything resembling weakness to Tom. Tom grinned as he twirled what looked to be Harry's wand in his hand.

"Oh child. I can't do that. Ginny is to be my vessel upon the new Earth. I depend on her just like I depended on you."

"Shut up! Stop talking, I don't want to hear whatever you have to say!"

"Remember! I never lied to you, Theodore. I only showed you the truth, it was just that you were too weak to see its entirety. Your bond, your… attachment to this Mudblood, has tainted your mind from seeing what our ancestor intended for the both of us! You were destined for great things yet you squandered it all for a lowly thing like her!" Hermione stepped in front of Theodore slightly and removed all fear from her face as she faced Tom.

"Theodore is destined for great things! Things that you could never amount to in your lifetime! You're just a piece of a sick cruel man who'd torture his own son for his selfish goals!"

"Son," said Tom to Theodore as he glared at Hermione with such hate. "Do you let this filthy mongrel speak for you? Do you let her talk over you when it's in your blood to dominate her dirty kind?!"

"You call her dirty one more time…" Theodore snarled as his eyes began to reflect his father's. Tom grinned upon seeing this and cackled disgustingly for the Chamber to echo it endlessly.

"Hmm, interesting. A half-blood who's ancestry forbids him from caring for a Muggle-born. No doubt that this compassion must originate from your mother. My significant other. Valerie, wasn't it?" The urge to pounce and tear Tom into bloodied shreds bubbled and exploded within the younger Riddle, as he became infuriated that he spoke of his mother's name.

"You don't deserve to say her name, you evil fucki-"

" _Silencio!_ " Theodore became mute as the words were only heard within his thoughts. The air was leaving his mouth but that was it. He couldn't speak a single word. "I've had enough of your foul-mouthed attitude, Theodore. You may have been raised among the litter of Muggle children in an orphanage, but that doesn't give you an excuse to curse aloud. Must I teach you some manners?"

"Stop it, Tom! Let him go!" Harry bellowed as his vitality became renewed rather quickly. The Horcrux stared at him with such hunger in his bloody eyes, Harry would've thought that he was more interested in him than Theodore. He certainly did look like it. With a simple flick of the stolen wand, Theodore and Hermione were sent to their knees as the weight of their bodies increased almost tenfold, feeling their spines cracking.

"I'll let them go. Once we're finished… 'talking'. You see, I've been waiting for you, Harry. After everything that I've heard, I must meet you. And what better place to speak than the Chamber of my noble ancestor?"

"Why would you want to meet me…?" Harry questioned as the older boy's gaze became hungrier. Tom began to circle the four children like a preying shark, eager to spill every single ounce of knowledge that he had amassed so far. It was in his nature for those who feared him, to know everything when they would kiss the lips of Death, by his own doing.

"Harry Potter… the Boy Who Lived. Such a title for such an average wizard. To see how everything has changed over the years has made me cautious about you. The more Theodore wrote to me, the closer we were to becoming one entity. I didn't feed on his soul, he lent it to me. He invited me into his heart, dreams, passion and interests. Even those futile attachments which connected him to those he 'loved'. To see him value a Mudblood over his own life and heritage was beyond sickening. No doubt that this was the old man's doing. But I was patient. I never once showed any signals that exposed my true intentions. Theodore was just a boy who missed his father. And so, I placed it upon me to uphold my role. I was going to be the father he never had before."

"That doesn't answer my question. I know that you tricked and used Theodore. What I don't know is why you wanted to meet me."

"No. I won't tell you right now. I want to see you realise what kind of monsters we are. I want to see your face when you'll know the TRUTH." Tom twisted his neck to face the younger Riddle as if there were no bones to restrict his movement. He looked even more snakelike than usual. Theodore shook his head slowly, trying to scream for Tom to keep quiet.

' _They can't know now, not now! If you're going to say what I think… please! Don't say anything! Please!'_

"What truth," blurted Hermione. Tom looked at her with disgust but remembered that it was her who kept him at bay from conquering Theodore's soul. She'd be most pleasurable to slaughter in front of the younger Heir's eyes. All in good time.

"The truth? You don't know the truth? And I thought that Theodore would promise that he'd never keep secrets from you. His best friends! How do you not fear him when you know who's blood runs through his veins, hmm? What made you overlook the nature of his ancestor? Tell me!" Tom hissed.

"I knew that he was the Heir of Slytherin for a long time. I heard him speak Parseltongue in the Forbidden Forest last year. Everything that there is to know about him, we already do. I'll never be scared of Theodore. Not even when he has a father like you!" Hermione was struggling to keep her back up straight, as well as Theodore.

…

"So you don't know…"

Theodore was screaming for him to keep quiet but it was no use. The charm was too effective against the younger boy. Harry knew that if he attempted to free them, Tom could kill them all with a simple swish. He had to watch his two remaining friends slowly being crushed by nothing, all while Ginny was dying.

"Don't know… what?"

"You don't know who he is, do you?"

"I don't under- what are you talking about? Theodore is one my best friends. Of course I know who he is." Harry replied quietly.

' _No! Stop! Don't tell them! Don't tell them!'_

"Okay. But do you know who I am, Harry?"

…

"You're his father. Tom Marvolo Riddle, that's who you are." The elder Riddle flicked his head back as he inhaled greatly in slight frustration. As always, he'd have to take control over the situation. He was counting on the boy to tell them everything, but even his own blood could have moments of weakness. How pathetic.

"Tom Riddle is not my name. It's not the name that I chose. I was named after my father, a wretched Muggle who I resented with so much passion. Every time I'd hear his name, my thirst for seeing him squeal in his own blood strengthened, filling my upmost being. I constructed a new name, a name which would soon to be feared across wizardkind and Muggles everywhere!"

"It doesn't matter! Tom Riddle is nothing! Nobody knows or cares about who you were! They even cleared out your trophies and achievements in the school. That shows how much the name Tom Riddle meant. Absolutely nothing!" Hermione was almost sprawled across the wet floor, still feeling the pressure crushing against her. Theodore's eyes were watering as he gritted his teeth against the pain and something else. He didn't want to see Harry and Hermione's faces if they knew. Maybe he could've told them on his own but not here, not now. He was begging in his mind for Tom to stop but he didn't listen. Nobody could.

"A Mudblood who knows better. I'd say I'm impressed, if you weren't so filthy. Yes, I agree. Tom Riddle was a nobody. A mere façade of what was dormant inside me. My true self. Nobody would fear me if I took on the name of my father. So that is why I changed it. I hoped for fear and I got it. I became nightmares and carnage from the mere whisper of my name! My name! I did that! It was me!"

' _Don't say anything! Please, don't say anything!'_

"Sorry to break it to you, 'Tom', but someone already beat you to it. Whatever name you chose, it was snuffed out by You Know Who. You're probably one of his pathetic followers that left him when he was destroyed. You're nothing, Tom. Nothing." Tom never felt this devious before. When he had told Theodore of his true heritage, he bathed in the boy's self-torment. It was most quenching to his core but now? It was something else entirely. The naivety of children were somewhat the hardest to corrupt, but the easiest to destroy when done properly. And he was going to do just that. Tom paced towards Harry at such an alarming speed that Harry could feel his knees stiffen as he approached. He almost looked like Theodore, but he looked like someone else… someone who he knew and hated…

"The Dark Lord, correct? His name is taboo among the 'bravest' of souls. You simply mention him and just like that… any hope or false strength is instantly stripped away from a man's being. He holds that much power within his name alone, right?" Tom asked aggressively as he closed in on Harry. Hermione was slowly falling into unconsciousness and Theodore could feel himself doing the same. His brain was screaming in pain and pleading for Tom at the same time. Harry was going to know that his best friend and cousin, was the son of his parents' murderer. The Child of the Dark Lord. The revelation was soon upon him and there was nothing to barricade it. No more lies, no more running away. They were going to know the truth.

"I'm not scared," said Harry quite courageously. "He may have killed my parents but he couldn't kill me because of my mother. My mum sacrificed herself so that I could live."

"Sacrifice… so that's how you survived. Not by your own power, but from another. Hmph. You're famous because of a Mudblood's sacrifice! To think that you were an adversary worth researching! You're nothing special! A normal boy, without a prodigious mark except the scar on your forehead. A mark of dark magic. How is it that a thing like you could destroy him, hmm? How?!"

"It won't help you! Why would you care? Voldemort is nothing more than a wreck! He's never coming back, ever!"

' _No! Don't-'_

"Not only do you question my powers, but you also say my name without fear. Why?" Tom said as his towering presence loomed above the scar-bearing boy. Harry's face fell instantly as he recognised the eyes. The eyes that he faced last year. His eyes…

"W-what…?" Harry stammered as his body began to perspire with so much heat.

"Don't you know? Voldemort, is my past…"

' _No!'_

"…present…"

' _STOOPPP!'_

"…and future." Tom finalised as he left Harry stupefied with so much weight crashing onto his brain.

"NOOOO!" Theodore screamed as it pierced Harry and Hermione's ears alike, allowing his parentage to sink inside permanently. Tom was smiling maliciously from the utter horror upon Harry's face. The curse which made their bones heavier than anchors, was lifted upon the revelation as Theodore tucked his face near his chest, shuddering with undetectable emotions. He told them. It could've been anyone, anyone else to be his father but it had to be him. Him! Why? Why him?!

"You're him… you're- no. I don't believe you. You're not Voldemort. Stop lying." Harry trembled. Tom came much closer to him, desperate for Harry to see that it really was him. The Darkest Wizard of All Time.

"Then look me in my eyes, and say that I'm lying, Harry. Look." Harry's lower lip quivered as the truth was right there, all in his eyes. Those slits that were drowned inside pure scarlet. That skin which looked more like shedding than skin itself. Waxy and rough. It was true. There was no denying it. Why would he? It was all right in front of him. Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort, killer of James and Lily Potter, his own mother and father. The father of his best friend…

"Why did you tell them," whimpered Theodore as he squeezed his skull with crushing force. "Why?"

"Because I don't want you to hide anymore, Theodore. For far too long, has your secret been kept from everyone. Everyone that matters. You wouldn't keep secrets from them? Right?" Tom taunted as his son began to break down.

"I didn't…"

" _But you did,"_ hissed the older Parselmouth. _"You've ruined what was sacred between you and them. Friendship. Love."_ Tom said the word 'love' like poison in his tongue. _"How can you ever expect them to accept you now? When you're the Son of Lord Voldemort? How, Theodore? How?"_

…

Hermione was on her feet, listening to the incomprehensible conversation that was sinister to the very bone. Harry wasn't the only one feeling near destroyed by what the Horcrux said. She looked at herself oddly for she felt overwhelming sympathy for Theodore. It was the last thing that she had expected to feel but it was present. The boy had no mother to go to for comfort. Manipulated, used and tortured by his father to carry out his ancestor's prejudicial will onto the school. To Muggle-borns. To her. And now, his father was the most evilest wizard to ever grace throughout wizarding history, responsible for so much death and destruction. She thought that she would instantly detest him for who he was, how everything made sense about him but it was impossible. She couldn't hate him. Maybe she should have, but she could never hate him.

As Tom turned his attention to his mortal enemy, the Muggle-born trudged over to the disturbed boy, not caring about who he was. She knew him as her friend, and nothing less. Nothing would change that. Theodore was still clasping his head while he dug his fingers into his temples. The desire to tear the flesh from his face, rip his ears off and gorge his own eyes out, was spreading through him. It didn't help so much that Hermione was attempting to comfort him while the Horcrux carried on speaking with Harry. He was losing what little composure and sanity that he had left.

"Theo, we have to help Harry! Please, you have to get up!" The girl pleaded as she tried to lift his face to see him properly. Theodore was resistant and kept his neck stiff, muttering under his breath like a madman, cursed to speak a single phrase.

"Why did you tell them… why did you tell them…?"

"This is no time to be- look at him! He's going to hurt Harry unless we help him! Please, Theo! Get up, please!"

…

"I can't…"

"What do you mean you can't?! Just get-"

" _Salazar Slytherin…"_

"What did he say," whispered the girl as she rotated her bushy head to face Tom and Harry. Theodore's skin tightened as he instantly grabbed her hand to make her face him again. Hermione was about to protest but Theodore didn't care.

"Close your eyes…"

"D-did he call-"

"Close them!" Tom had his thin pale fingers pointing at the Statue's mouth, commanding the serpent to heed his call. Harry was backing away from the Horcrux, almost tripping over Theodore as he stumbled next to his friends. The three of them made it easy for Tom to kill them by sticking together. A swift beheading from the Basilisk's powerful, venom-saturated fangs. Theodore was shaking as he felt Harry and Hermione trembling beside him. Death was all that he expected. Nobody to save him.

"The Heir of Slytherin," declared the elder Riddle as the Basilisk emerged from Slytherin's stone mouth, "versus Harry Potter. No Parseltongue, no Dumbledore and no Mudblood mother to save you. Just me and you, like it should be." The serpent coiled herself around Tom as she poised her head patiently for the Heir's command. She was reunited once more with him, bowing to his presence even if he was a spectral imitation of the real Tom. He was the Heir and she was his servant.

"Theo, what's happening?"

"Run. The both of you. Just… leave! Now! Get out of here!" Theodore could feel them clinging onto one another like it would make them safer but it was the far opposite of that.

"How can we when we can't see?"

"Stop asking questions for once, and-"

" _Kill the Mudblood and the Potter boy."_

"GOOO!" Theodore screamed as he pushed the two off him for them to make their escape. Hermione's fingers were still clamped on the boy's robes but they were separated a split second after as Harry grabbed her to run. He must've heard the command as well. The utter fear that consumed them, forced them to leave Theodore behind as they regrettably sprinted back to the snake doors. They had every chance to go back for him but knew that it would be in vain. They'd all die in the end.

Eyes shut and knuckles pressed against the cold wet floor, Theodore's body stiffened as the Basilisk shot right past him, ignoring her former master to catch her new prey. Her newest victims. She had been dreaming of murdering another Mudblood ever since that day in the bathroom. Theodore was stuck. He couldn't help Harry and Hermione as the snake hunted them at that moment. He couldn't save Ginny from the diary and he couldn't escape his father. He was worthless, lower than the rats that scurried along the Chamber floors. A weakling, soon to be punished because he was 'his' son…

"They're going to die, Theodore." Tom said gently above him. "They're going to die and it's all your fault. You couldn't save Harry, Hermione and Ginny. The stupid girl. Lord Voldemort, the greatest wizard of all time, inhabits a lowly pure blood. It's insulting. I needed you, Theodore. Just like you needed me and now I-"

"Bullshit," muttered the boy weakly.

"What?!" Tom snapped as he grabbed Theodore's chin to speak to him, face to face.

"It's bullshit. You're not the greatest wizard of all time. You're not even the greatest wizard alive. That title belongs to someone else."

"And who may that be," hissed the elder Heir. Theodore smirked as he didn't need to say the name. Tom knew from his eyes alone and his eyes were now of pure fury. He gripped his chin tightly and threw him aside as he turned rapidly to watch the other two children evading the Basilisk. Something faint was chiming in the younger boy's ear. "Dumbledore is a fool! A senile old man who couldn't see through me and you! My presence scared him outside of the castle because he knows who I am!"

"Dumbledore saw through me, and he definitely saw through you. Not matter how you come back, you'll never be as great as him. You hear me? NEVER." The boy thought to himself that he was being ridiculous for trying to aggravate Tom, knowing fully well that the Basilisk could be turned on him. But he didn't stop. He didn't want to. Theodore wanted Tom to know how much he despised and thought low of him, to spite him so much that he'd look upon him like an enemy rather than a son. The chiming grew by just a little, but still not loud enough to make out. Singing?

"Your tongue will be your undoing, boy. Once the Basilisk mutilates your friends, Ginny will die and I will have form. Lord Voldemort will return! Dumbledore will fall and-" Theodore ungracefully stood up and eyed his father, scarlet to scarlet. Tom allowed himself to be silent. He wanted to hear him spew out all the nonsense that he could muster from his pathetic heart.

"You won't beat him, Tom. Dumbledore will come back and when he does, he'll-" He was soaring through the dingy Chamber as he flapped his wings to beat so majestically in the air that it gave life to the dead dungeon. The grand, now beautiful Fawkes was flying atop of the fabled beast, who halted his attack on the two children to watch the phoenix in all of its glory.

Harry and Hermione were pressed against the entrance door, blinded and fear-stricken. Harry could hear the snake's unintelligible sentences above the mysterious singing and was holding onto Hermione's hand tightly. The Basilisk stopped for some reason but he didn't know why. There was some singing and flapping but he had no clue what was happening. Was it waiting for them to open their eyes, just for it to snatch their lives away with a simple gaze?

"What is it doing?! IT'S BLINDING THE BASILISK!" Tom shouted as he stepped away from Theodore. Fawkes was repeatedly stabbing the snake in its deadly eyes, bursting them with excessive blood pouring out as she screamed in complete pain.

" _My eyes! Master! My eyes!"_

"Go now! Go now, Harry! Open the door and go!" Theodore bellowed from the other end of the Chamber as the two scooted away hurriedly from the snake. They were going, not to the snake door, but to his direction instead. Did they not want to live?! Theodore was furious that he was being ignored as he ran to them, ready to drag them if he had to. "When I tell you to go, you go! Why aren't you leaving?! GO!"

"We can't leave Ginny behind, or you!" Harry said firmly. "It's all of us, or none!"

"Why won't you ever listen to me?! I got you here so now I'm going to get you out! So leave! Don't look back at me and leave!" Harry and Hermione listened to none of Theodore's commands as they grabbed him by his arm to where Ginny laid still, probably minutes, or seconds, away from death. Her skin was so chalky and white, that she could've been dead all along.

" _YOU CAN SMELL THEM! KILL THEM, KILL THEM! HURT THEODORE IF YOU MUST, BUT KILL POTTER AND THE MUDBLOOD! KILL THEM, NOW!"_ Tom screamed as he watched the three lifting Ginny awkwardly to the end of the Chamber. The Basilisk was entirely blind as her sockets were now full of fleshy debris and blood. But her tongue was fully intact. She flicked it out dangerously as she pinpointed the four children moving away. In an instant, the Basilisk raced along the slimy floors towards them.

"Come on! We have to make it there," insisted Harry as they carried Ginny's body to the circular door. We're almost there, just-" The snake was too quick as she rammed her head against all of them, sending each child skidding in their own directions. Ginny slumped to the ground as Harry smacked his face on the stone floor, along with Theodore. Hermione was lucky to roll across her sides but she still felt searing pain in her left ear. Theodore was sure that he had broken his nose, as well as damaging his right eye as he couldn't see out of it. He was still sprawled on the floor when he heard footsteps approaching him. Tom was still twirling Harry's wand, sneering as he approached the younger Heir.

"It's all over, Theodore. They're going to die, and it's all because of you. You killed them, Theodore. Not me, but you." Blood was spilling from the boy's mouth as he opened it up to speak.

"I didn't… didn't kill them. I would never kill… my friends."

"And that's where you're right. You could never kill another person, not again. Especially not them…" He leaned a little closer while his eyes grew so much wider than before. Whispering, he said, "…but I will."

"No…"

" _Kill the Mudblood."_

"NO! STOP!" Theodore and Harry screamed in unison. It was too late. She may have been quick to not be entrapped inside its massive jaws, but she failed miss its fang, which pierced and sank deep within her arm. Hermione didn't release a scream, not even a single gasp. The venom which was corroding her veins and insides, stopped her from showing any pain. The broken off fang clattered on the ground and blood was pouring from the gaping wound as she knew that she was going to die. Hermione lowered her head silently, as Theodore thrashed wildly at Tom, clawing at him with such ferocity that he never tapped into. The wand fell out of Tom's fingers as he toppled over. Theodore had him by the neck as he pressed his thumbs against his throat, too enraged to know that it wouldn't work.

"Are you going to kill me, Theodore," laughed Tom as he spoke through a choke. "Are you going to kill me like I did with your Mudblood friend?"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!" He clenched his teeth near breaking point, not noticing that Tom wasn't dying. Why wasn't he dying?! "WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?! WHY?!"

"Be-cause… you are like… me…"

"NO! DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT, I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU! NOTHING!"

"Yes… you… are…"

"SHUT UP!"

"Hermione! Oh god, Hermione! I-I… we should've left, and… oh my god!" Harry panicked as he crawled to the dying girl's side. Hermione was just shivering, staring down at the green-hued floors as her breaths became short. She felt the pain searing on her leaking wound but the rest of her body felt cold. Death never really crossed her mind, and she never thought about how it would truly feel like. Maybe if she did, it'd feel a little less… cold. Harry was kneeling in front of her as he used his robes to plug the blood flow while she slowly placed her head on his shoulder. "Hey, Hermione, don't do that! Don't you dare go, you have to hang on! Hermione, don't leave, just stay strong. Theo! She's dying, Theo, help!" Theodore heard his cousin calling from where he was but was overtaken by rage and the desire to kill Tom. He was pressing as hard as he could but he wasn't dead. He had to die! Hermione was dying and he had to die for that! Why wasn't he dying?!

"Every second that you keep… your hands on my neck… Hermione slips away… are you just going to let her die, Theodore…? Or are you going to… kill me?!"

"Theo, please!"

"Your choice… son!"

"Oh my god, she stopped breathing…" Theodore's shaking hands released themselves from the elder Riddle's neck as he backed away to Hermione's side. He managed to push through his anger for just a while. Just until she was okay. Theodore dropped to his knees as he moved some of the girl's damp hair to see her pale face as she laid along the floor. Harry was right as Theodore couldn't see her chest moving at all. Her hand was cold as he held it in his own, forcing himself not to cry. His eyes were filling with tears but he wasn't going to cry. They streamed down his face but he wasn't going to…

…

"Ahhh… Another Mudblood down. And it was all thanks to you, my son! Salazar would've been proud!"

"She's gone…" That was all that Harry could say. Theodore was empty for words as her lifeless hand was held in his. If only she had left when he told her to. No. If only she didn't come down when he told her not to. No… if only she never cared in the first place. She had to die because she cared too much for him. Because she was just a Muggle-born. Both boys wept silently as the Basilisk kept still, awaiting for Tom's order to strike.

"And now, Lord Vol-" Fawkes cried out as he descended from the shadows, next to the boys and seemingly deceased girl. Tom swallowed uncomfortably, trying to remember something crucial about phoenixes. "What is it doing…"

"Fawkes," said Harry sadly, eyes red and wet. The bird stared at the two almost humanlike, reading their faces to try to understand their apparent pain. Like he could see that pain, hurting within them. That bond with the dying girl… their best friend…

Fawkes joined them as he too, wept for the girl. His tears glided gently from his eyes, dripping into the hole in Hermione's arm. Theodore had his head so low that he didn't see the phoenix crying over Hermione's body, but Harry watched him with confusion. The tears carried on falling into her wound until they overflowed to the side.

"Theo," said Harry so faintly that Theodore couldn't hear him. "Theodore…" The Heir raised his head slightly.

"What…"

"Look… look at what he's doing."

"What…?"

"Look!" Harry pointed at Fawkes as he bowed respectfully to the children. "He was crying. And his tears… they went inside her arm." Theodore brought his head up fully, feeling something clicking at the back of his mind.

"Tears…?"

"Yes, tears! The bird was crying!" Theodore felt something so small inside of him ignite, but barely. Could it be…

"Phoenix tears… it's a phoenix, Harry. It's a phoenix, Fawkes is a phoenix!" Theodore looked at the girl's face, hoping to see a flicker of life. "Come on… Come back. Come back, Hermione… come on…"

…

The faintest twitch of an eye. Just the faintest. But they saw it. The two boys leaned in closer, that thing inside Theodore now growing into something resembling hope. Hermione's eyes still twitched slightly, barely noticeable. It was their only sign of her being alive when he felt her squeeze his hand. Theodore looked down quickly and looked back to her face, just as fast. Never had he been so glad to have Fawkes by his side. The Muggle-born's hand started to absorb the heat from the Parselmouth, now squeezing his hand more tightly. Harry brushed away his tears as his eyes twinkled with so much bliss. Hermione was alive. Fighting so hard, but alive.

"Hermione! Hermione, can you hear us?" Harry asked desperately. No answer, no reply. Hermione didn't say a word. Theodore and Harry's spirits were starting to die again until her brown eyes came into full view. Hermione struggled to sit up as her hands were on both sides of her head.

"Ughhh… my head hurts so much… even though it was my arm that-" Theodore grabbed her in a tight hug, leaving her sentence unfinished. Harry wrapped his arms around the two a second later, almost crushing the revived Muggle-born as they squeezed her tighter. The hope in his chest flourished wildly as he couldn't let go of her. He didn't stop the tears from leaving his eyes again, too full of joy to care. They almost lost her. He almost lost her…

"You're hurting my neck!" The scar-bearing boy pulled back as well as the young Heir, as Theodore held the girl by her shoulders, eyes hazel and bright.

"I thought you- You almost died, Hermione. I thought that you were dead…"

"Same," chirped in Harry. "Just for a second there, we thought that you were really gone." Hermione clenched her now wound-free arm as she smiled weakly at the two boys.

"I thought that I was dead, too. Everything was slipping away until I heard someone crying and saying something to me…"

"Like what," asked Theodore, blood still pumping with restrained exuberance from the girl's survival. Hermione looked at him, eyes wide as her mouth fell slightly open. It was barely visible but Theodore could see something gleaming in her eyes, almost too quickly. He didn't understand or know what that thing was but he wanted to see it again. It was something odd, almost otherworldly but he wanted to see more. Theodore shook his head as he saw what was becoming an awkward situation from a perilous one.

"Doesn't matter. Let's take Ginny and get out of here!"

"You won't be leaving so soon, children!" Tom hissed as he was back on his feet. His hands were now clawed and his hair was thinning slowly. His nose started to look a little smaller as his eyes grew more serpentine by the second. Tom had lost all forms of composure for the children, if there was any to begin with. He looked like he wanted their blood to soak and infect the flooded Chamber's waters, to see them dismembered by his hand alone. Harry and Hermione, who was completely fine after a near death experience, jumped in front of Theodore instantly to barricade him from the Horcrux manifestation. Theodore wanted to say something but was hushed from his father's demented laugh. It was pure with vileness and malign, to the very depths of his stomach.

"If you even lay a finger on him, I swear, Tom…" muttered the Muggle-born quite threateningly. Tom spat on the ground like a snake as he was left disgusted from the girl's usage of his real name.

"How dare you?! You speak my name, you filthy Mudblood?!"

"It's over, Tom." Harry uttered in a similar tone. "Not matter what you do, you can't hurt us. You don't have Theodore, you don't have anything!" The elder Riddle grimaced as he cracked his neck gruesomely.

"I have a Basilisk." He hissed before facing the docile creature. _"Kill them! Kill all three of them! Kill them, kill them, KILL THEM!"_

" _But him… he's Slytherin's blood…"_

" _DON'T DEFY ME! KILL THEM ALL!"_

The Basilisk became hesitant for the first time. For a creature with such an underdeveloped mind, this was something to be marvelled at. Nonetheless, the serpent obeyed her master as she lashed her tongue against the humid air, tasting where the children were. No… no… yes. There they were.

"This is the end for you Potter," screamed the maniacal boy from afar. "You and that traitorous boy, I call a son! You aren't worthy of holding that title! You're no Heir of Slytherin, only his disappointment and my mistake. I should've never given life to you! Kill them! Kill them, now!"

Harry and Hermione both winced and cowered back slightly as the Basilisk lunged its hulking body to the three children. Both of their hands were clasped together as the Chamber of Secrets was to be their tomb. The place where Lord Voldemort finally vanquished the Boy Who Lived. Jaws snapped open with strings of filthy saliva hanging from her fangs, the Basilisk was ready for her newest three victims when…

"STOP!"

Her mouth was fully exposed in front of the two standing children as they couldn't move for fear was keeping them in place. The snake's breath was horrid, like carcasses of ancient creatures were still digesting within her body. Drips of potent venom exuding from her branch-like fangs, Harry and Hermione saw the nightmarish beast in its entirety. But the fact that she hadn't ripped them apart, scared then even more. What was she waiting for?

" _What are you waiting for?! Kill them!"_

"No! Listen to me. Know who your true master is!" Theodore hissed from behind his two friends. He paved way through them and stared the Basilisk in her punctured, powerless eyes.

" _I am the true Heir of Slytherin! I killed the Mudblood, I attacked many others, I am the greatest wizard alive! I command you, creature, to kill them! Kill them, now!"_ The Basilisk opened her mouth again to strike but Theodore didn't back down. She'd have to kill him for that.

"Am I not just the same as him? Aren't I purer than him? Doesn't my heritage also place my power over you?"

…

" _Yes…"_

" _No,"_ screamed Tom.

"I am Slytherin's Heir, therefore you will listen to me. Are you listening?"

" _Don't! Don't you dare turn on me, snake! Don't!"_

"Who is your master, creature? Is it I, the Heir who comes forward to you as flesh and blood, or is it a pale imitation of your old master? Who?" Theodore gently hissed as he took a single step towards the Basilisk. She violently jerked her head as she was conflicted between her loyalties. The pain of making a decision for herself was destroying her simple mind, she had to choose. Tom or Theodore? The first or the second? The father… or the son?

" _YIELD TO ME! PURGE! PURGE!"_

…

She winded her blunt, boulder-sized head around the younger Heir protectively. She had given herself to him, submitting, devoting herself entirely to the thirteen year old boy. Tom gazed at her, fear now spreading across his face. The Basilisk was now under his complete control. He had no power here. For the first time, he felt… helpless. And he loathed that.

"Treacherous snake! How dare you leave my side when I command you! I am the-"

"Not anymore," said Theodore gently as he returned gazes of revulsion. "You're just a mere memory and nothing more, Tom. Nothing."

"That'll all change when I've finished sucking the life out of Ginny! I'll soon be reborn when I am freed from the diary and-"

"You mean 'this' diary?" The Riddles turned their heads to see Harry holding the damaged diary in his right hand, and holding a Basilisk fang in the other. The boy was smirking at the elder Riddle's face dying from seeing him with it.

"Y-you wouldn't," stammered Tom as he reached his hands out in slight submission. "D-don't…"

"How did you…" Theodore mumbled in awe. Harry winked and threw the diary onto the ground. Tom was panicking madly, his jaw juddering uncontrollably as he knew what Harry was about to do. Harry brought the fang above his head, ready to pierce the diary with so much force, it'd crack the ground. The Boy Who Lived ignored Tom's pleas of reason as he drove the fang cutting through the air, plunging it into the centre of the diary.

Tom's body began to crack and flake as he screamed with the pain of the Basilisk fang stabbing his heart, and injecting him with its fatal venom. His hair withered away into nothingness as his body began to blacken, spreading across his body like a disease. The diary was bleeding excessively with ink as Tom was writhing on the ground, twitching like a headless snake. He couldn't think, only feel. Harry stabbed the diary repeatedly, sending Tom over the complete edge until he became nothing. All that was left of the memory, was but ashes and dust, floating within the place that he thought was his destiny, only to be his tomb. The diary finished gushing the ink contained inside as Harry wiped himself off with his sleeves, almost doubtful that it was over.

"Is it over," whispered Hermione as she looked at the decimated diary on the floor. "Is he gone?"

"I think so." Theodore sighed as he wiped his sweaty hair to the side. No, he didn't think that Tom was gone, he knew it. That feeling of triumph which was missing the first time he threw the diary into the fire, was burning intensely in his chest, filling him with such warmth that he almost thought Tom was still around. He shook his head. Tom was gone, at least this Tom. The real one, his real father, was out there. He didn't know where, but he knew that he was out there, feeding… dying, who knew?

"Harry?" A familiar meek voice emanated from a distance as Ginny was conscious on her knees, still pale and sickly-looking. The trio ran to her side and helped her up, only for her to cry on Harry's chest. Harry patted her back, not caring if it seemed awkward as they all nearly died a few moments ago. He and Hermione comforted her as Theodore was standing away from them, watching her bawl even more in Harry's arms. Their victory over his father became nothing as the realisation that they knew who he was, crushed him internally. Everything would change now. Even if they'd say he was still their friend, Harry, Ron and Hermione would never look at him the same way again, especially Harry. Not only his best friend but his cousin. It all felt so wrong.

"… a-and he told me to give him to T-Theo! I didn't want to, and I tried to help by taking it away and destroying it b-but he… made me attack Ron… he told me to take Theodore, but I chose the w-wrong one and he punished me… I hurt my big brother and I… I…"

"It's alright, Ginny. It's alright. He's gone now, you don't have to worry." Hermione said gently as she rubbed the red headed girl's back. "The diary is gone and Theo is-" There it was. It hit her too. Theodore looked away in shame and walked over to the obedient Basilisk, who he had gained mastership of. He couldn't kill the wretched creature but he could still do one thing to it.

"You still listen to me, right? I am still your master and because of that, you'll do anything that I tell you to do?"

" _Yes, Master…"_

"Then you'll stay in here forever. You'll never leave this place because nobody will come back here. Not me, or any other Parselmouth. The Chamber of Secrets, will remain a secret forever. This is the last time that an Heir of Slytherin will come down here. Do you understand?"

…

" _Yes, Master…"_ The Heir commanded the snake to return to its place of slumber, where it would remain asleep for all eternity. As long as Theodore lived, no one was coming back. No one. As he watched the snake vanishing into Slytherin's Statue's mouth, the soft hand that he recognised as Hermione's, intertwined with his fingers. It was paining him to think that they would still accept him after everything but he kept silent. Silent and still.

…

"Remember when you said that you didn't want me to look at you differently?"

…

Theodore nodded his head, still facing away from the Muggle-born. Hermione sucked in a large amount of air, and then released.

"I don't. We don't, Theo. I understand why you kept that from us. I can't even imagine what you were going through when you knew that he was your… dad. All this time, I thought you just didn't trust us when it was because of him. What I'm trying to say is that, you are still my friend, Theo. You're still Harry's friend, Ron's friend and nothing will change about that. I've known you long enough to see that you're nothing like him. Not a single thing. And if I can look past that, then so can you. I know you can."

…

"But is so hard…"

"That's why you have us. Your friends." Harry said with Ginny standing a little too close him but otherwise, not clinging to his body.

"And you," directed Theodore to Harry, face full of regret and melancholy. "You don't care about that? That I'm his son?" A smile of comfort and green eyes which reflected that, was given by Harry, having no need to speak. The Heir bit his bottom lip, still feeling down. It was hard to forgive others, but impossible to forgive himself.

"So?" Hermione, still holding his hand, looked at him along with Harry and Ginny, waiting for anything to come out.

"I… when everyone is back to normal. When Hagrid and Dumbledore come back. Yeah… I'll do it."

"That's good enough for me. You, Hermione?" The Muggle-born nodded her head as her hair shook the partial slime that was trapped within the thick locks. Hermione had forgotten that their hands were held together, and embarrassingly pulled hers back, mortified that she held on for what seemed to her, a lengthy amount of time. Even though he was now fully aware that she was 'attached' to him, Theodore had to set that aside for the time being as they had to return to the castle to explain their sudden disappearance. Night, morning, whatever the time was at that moment, it was going to be a dragging one.

Harry pocketed the diary and retrieved his wand as Theodore reopened the snake door to allow everyone through, and closed it behind him. It would be the last time he'd ever speak Parseltongue to that snake ever again. The journey through the tunnel shot past so quickly that they reached the end without the hinderance of turmoil or fear holding them back. Fawkes was singing a tune so sublime that Theodore couldn't help but feel happier. He deserved just a little bit, at least. Lockhart was sleeping against a curvature in the walls, and was woken up abruptly by Hermione, who was still sore.

"What's her problem," whispered Harry.

"You'll see. It's so obvious that it's hilarious."

One minute, the five children and man were standing underneath the massive pipe, the next, they were all hanging onto Fawkes for dear life as the phoenix used its immense strength to lift each and every one of them out of the Chamber and into Myrtle's bathroom. The moon was absent through the windows but the bathroom was near completely dark, save for Fawkes shining like a raging firestorm. The ghost girl was floating near the bathroom doors, glaring at all five of them with disappointment, especially Theodore.

"You're still alive." She said to the Heir as he wiped the blood off his lips.

"Yeah, I am." Theodore replied blankly. Myrtle looked like she wanted to say something, but chose to drift away into her cubicle instead. The boy felt stiff in his heart while he heard the others complaining about the heavy amount of slime on their robes.

"So where do we go now? To the common room?" Ginny asked hopefully. Harry shook his head and answered.

"We can't, Ginny. You know that we can't. It'll be okay, don't be scared. We'll be behind you the entire time, okay?" The girl sniffed and nodded her head. She just wanted it all to be over and done with. Theodore was feeling the exact same, still scared that they'd find out it was him and Ginny all along. Without Dumbledore there to defend him, he was better off down in the Chamber than wherever he'd end up.

' _That's all I'm asking for. A miracle…'_

* * *

"Please, sit." Theodore sat down on the chair opposite to Dumbledore's after they were left alone to talk by everyone else. Theodore didn't want to say anything, knowing that he'd have another breakdown in front of the old man, and that was the last thing that he wanted to do. But he had to find out everything. Everything that the man knew about him because he couldn't go another day being kept away from the whole truth. He just couldn't. It would kill him.

…

"You knew, didn't you?" Theodore asked blankly as he looked down to his feet, twisting his thin fingers against each other.

…

"Yes."

…

"And… and you didn't tell me because… you knew that it would've ruined me, right?" Theodore's voice cracked just a little.

"Yes."

…

"Are you alright, Theodore?"

…

"No…" The detail of McGonagall's office floors started to blur as he held them back with as much will as he could. Of course, he wasn't alright. He'd never be alright after everything that happened. Nothing would be the same after tonight, after this year.

"Theodore, I… you must understand why I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to come into the wizarding world with your keen eyes, only for you to know the truth so early. I was going to tell you when you were a little older but…"

"Why didn't you stop me?" Theodore asked, eyes closed to plug the tears. "Y-you knew that it was me all along, didn't you? You knew that it was 'him' who opened it before, so… Why?" Dumbledore was hesitant in what he wanted to say, but found the raw courage that he was known for to say it.

"Because I believed in you, Theodore. I believed in you from the day that I met you. I was scared… scared that if I brought you to the school… you'd follow the same path but when I first met you, the real you… I couldn't see a trace of your father. Yes, you were both interested with what you were capable of, and both had a thirst for knowledge. But I saw it in your eyes, hidden. I saw the compassion, the childhood innocence that he lacked. You are so much more different than you realise, son. You may not see it but I do. How is it that you sought to sacrifice yourself so that Harry and Miss Weasley could live? An act of true bravery. An act that Tom Riddle could never perform. It's all right in front you, Theodore. You just need to see it. Open your eyes."

…

"He took me inside the diary. Made me see him kill Myrtle in the bathroom. It was like I was really there, as him. I couldn't fight back because every time I'd fight, he would get stronger. Every time I would push, he'd push back even more. He drew so much out of me and I thought I was about to go mad until I thought about my first best friend from the orphanage. Louise. And then, he started to crumble. He tried to make me remember every single thing that I feared or hated in my life but… it didn't work. No matter how hard he tried, I was becoming free of him. He brought out the complete worse in me but then I heard her voice. My mother's voice. I never heard her voice before in my life… She saved me, Professor. Even if she's dead, my mother saved me again. I don't understand…"

"Another thing that sets you apart from him. Love. A type of magic so strong that Tom doesn't understand it and in turn, is completely defenceless against it. The love for your mother and the love for your friends. That is what saved you from him."

"Oh… I think I understand." It made some sort of sense. He never thought of love being such a powerful force, able to damage a Horcrux detrimentally. Theodore could understand most of that, but he couldn't understand how out of all people, excluding his mother, Hermione was the only one who managed to crack the surface when he was at his lowest. If it was really love that saved him, then what was she doing to him? I mean, Theodore could openly say that he was close to her but he didn't love her. He was far too young to be in love, at least that's what he thought. But that was besides the point.

…

"Do you forgive yourself?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you forgive yourself, Theodore?" After everything he's done and after everything that was told to him, could he forgive himself? It was hard, much harder than anything.

 _Inhale… exhale…_

* * *

"Losing… consciousness… need… air!"

"Sorry, Ron!" The red headed boy was greeted with such a welcome that he didn't mind being crushed with all the attention that came with it. The second he walked through the portrait hole, he was ambushed by his three brothers and little sister, who sobbed upon seeing him uninjured, all displaying the love that they shared deep down with one another. Fred and George hoisted Ron on their shoulders while Percy lost his snobbish behaviour for the sake of seeing his little brother again.

The trio became the quartet once more as the four children reunited in the common room, eager to tell Ron everything that he missed. Harry explained how he and Theodore heard the Basilisk in the walls before he was attacked, and how Hagrid and Dumbledore were forced to leave the school because of that. Hermione told him how Harry and Ginny were taken inside of the Chamber, forcing Theodore and Hermione to go down with Lockhart to rescue them. She purposely left out detailed chunks of what really happened down there, as it wasn't her place to tell. The Heir didn't say a word as he sat there, listening quietly like Ron. Maybe it was for the best to just listen than to talk.

"Wait, so… the diary wasn't destroyed in the fire… Ginny must've taken it from the ashes and was the one who opened the Chamber again, as well as doing the next attacks… and Theo's dad came out of the diary, Hermione almost died but you stabbed it and he was gone… is that pretty much it?"

"An extremely watered down version, but yes." Harry said.

"Huh. That's pretty wild. Hey, no offence or anything, but I don't know how your mum managed to end up with a psycho like that," said Ron to Theodore.

"Me neither," replied the Parselmouth quietly. Theodore's blatant sadness was too obvious for Ron to ignore as the red head asked him what was the matter. "It's nothing! I'm alright, you don't have to worry."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome. But now, I've gotta eat!" Ron declared as he walked to the portrait hole.

"But you just came back from being petrified!" Harry called out.

"Exactly! I haven't eaten a thing since… forever! Come on, then! I wanna hear the story about how Lockhart was exposed again! This time, Theodore can tell me!"

"That's not funny, Ron!"

"I know, it's hilarious, Hermione! Absolute gold!" Theodore chuckled as he, Hermione and Harry followed the tall boy to the Great Hall where they feasted on the greatest breakfast ever, and it was in fact, the greatest day of the school year. As they arrived in the Hall, Theodore and Harry were met by Ernie and Justin who apologised dearly for their accusations, an apology which Theodore was reluctant to accept, and Colin who acted as if he wasn't stuck in a single position for the entire year. None of them seemed to remember their little confrontations with their unknowing attacker, causing Theodore to think that Lockhart was not the only person exposed to a Memory Charm. But otherwise, all was well. Draco was sat comfortably on Slytherin's table, a lot more quieter than usual. Theodore and he, made eye contact and simply nodded at each other before turning their attention to their respective tables. He couldn't guarantee that they would be friends in the future, but after that birthday card, maybe some things could change. Maybe.

Exams cancelled, Hagrid and Dumbledore happily returned, Lockhart out of sight, Gryffindor winning for the second time in a row and nights where he didn't hear a mutter of his father's voice in his dreams, Theodore could really say that it was over. Hogwarts was now how it should've been and the Chamber of Secrets was locked forever. He even felt positive about seeing Filch reuniting with Mrs Norris near the second floor bathroom. The term carried on through with such high spirits that the four children felt sad that it was time to leave for their homes. Harry to the Dursleys, Hermione and Ron to their own families, and Theodore back to Stuggle's. Theodore had spent the entire last few weeks searching for Viripin, but she didn't turn up anywhere. He didn't know why he tried. She had been gone for nearly six months now, but the pain was still as strong. He just hoped that wherever she was, she was safe. That was all that he wanted.

The students arrived at Hogsmeade as they loaded themselves onto the Express, still disregarding the orderly fashion like the year before. The Weasleys, Hermione, Theodore and Harry boarded the train and found an empty compartment to fit everyone inside, excluding Percy who wanted to leave with Penny. Although a bit livelier than before, Theodore was the quietest of the bunch, quieter than even Ginny. The twins told numerous jokes which eventually broke through to him nearly every time, paining his sides greatly, and a bucketload of treats were bought by Harry, dishing them to each person with enough to last a whole week.

They all scoffed and chatted until the Express lost its speed and halted at Platform 9¾. The crowds of families waved and called out to their children in the train, some in mighty clumps, others in pairs. They all grabbed their sweets and treats, and hopped off the train to finally end another year at Hogwarts. The Parselmouth watched the Weasleys and Harry embracing each other, especially Ron with his mother despite how things were at the start of the year, as he stood by his trolley. Sawer was inside of his cage, unusually dismal that the snake was not beside him.

"I'm sorry, Sawer," said Theodore apologetically. "I miss her too." The owl hooted sadly and buried his head underneath his wing. The boy sighed and was prepared to say goodbye to everyone when Hermione appeared in front of him to talk for a while. "Are your parents not here yet?"

"They're over there, but they said that I could stay for a while to say goodbye."

"That's great…"

…

"Are you going to be okay for the summer?" Hermione asked as she tapped the handlebar of the trolley.

"I'll be fine. It's just a few weeks at Stuggle's, what's the worse that could happen?" Hermione raised an eyebrow while crossing her arms. "I said, the 'worst'. Surely, running away isn't that bad!"

"It is if nobody knows where you are!"

"Well when you argue with that logic…" Theodore remarked sarcastically. The girl rolled her eyes but then smiled, tying her hands behind her back. Harry told her in secret about him going berserk when she was bitten by the Basilisk. She wasn't near brave enough to tell him that she thought it was sweet in its own weird way, but would keep it at the back of her mind for as long as she could. It didn't matter if he didn't know that she knew. She was perfectly happy with keeping it to herself.

"Hermione, it's time to- oh hello, Theodore! How are you?"

"Hello. I'm fine, Mrs Granger, thank you." Mrs Granger appeared behind her daughter as her husband carted Hermione's belongings to meet the boy again.

"Hello there, Theo. How you doing? Had a good year?"

"Um, yeah, I guess." Theodore nervously smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well that's good to hear. Say, didn't you have a snake with you? It looked rather exquisite, at least from a distance."

"I let her go. She was better off in the wild than being held down as a pet."

"That's a shame. I liked looking at snakes when I was a child. I even had a pet snake once until I lost her… Well! Say goodbye to Theodore and we'll be on our way, darling."

"Can I have just one more minute, please?" The girl asked. Mr Granger nodded and walked away with his wife near the magical barrier, leaving the Muggle-born and Heir alone again. "Write to us, okay? Don't forget. Promise."

"I won't forget."

"Yeah, so promise." Rolling his eyes, the boy made the promise. "Good. Anyways, I've got to go now."

"Bye, Hermione." Hermione tiptoed to wrap her arms around the boy as Theodore returned the hug. He felt her nuzzling against his neck for a quick second, and then released him. She said goodbye quickly as she skipped away to her parents, leaving Theodore to touch his neck gently. Something odd and very brief washed over him. He couldn't tell what it was but it felt familiar, like he felt the exact same thing before. Theodore shook his head and pushed the trolley to the Weasleys, who were departing. Mrs Weasley hugged him for an extended amount of time and gave him words of encouragement to stay strong, regardless of his year-long ordeal. He took the words to heart and said goodbye to the rest of the family. As they vanished through the barrier, Theodore noticed that Harry was the only one left of the group.

' _Now. Now I'll tell him. Go on, Theo. You can tell him. Go.'_

The Heir carted his trolley to the bench where his cousin sat, and joined him. This was it. He was going to tell him. Right there, right now.

"Still waiting for the Dursleys?" Theodore asked as he sat on the lefthand side.

"Waiting? I might as well go back on my own! I don't know why they're always late. Actually, I do… Still waiting for Wretchen?"

"I believe she's called, 'Gretchen'," said Theodore snootily.

"I know what I said." Harry returned, showing off his infrequent sassy side. The boys guffawed as the platform began to empty in quite large numbers. They watched the Malfoys cradling Draco as they left through the barrier, and they saw Luna talking with her equally quirky-looking father before they left as well. The afternoon sun started to die as the evening was dawning upon the two. Flocks of birds cried out overhead as it was just Harry and Theodore left on the platform. Theodore thought through this thoroughly on how he was going to do this until he found the perfect idea. Reaching inside of his suitcase he brought out the one book from the year that he'd never regret receiving.

"Hey, Harry. Can I show you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Just a second… here." The photo book was placed on his lap gently as Harry touched the golden binding, asking what it was. "It's a photo book. From my mum's side of the family."

"Cool. How long have you had it?"

"Since last summer," replied the Heir as he opened up the first page. "I met a woman who knew my mum. They were neighbours before she died. They had this for a long time, then gave it to me when I was at the Leaky Cauldron." Harry watched attentively as Theodore flicked through the pages. Pictures of unfamiliar Potters smiled and moved in the images as they looked back at their two descendants. Theodore was hoping that Harry would make the connection, but he kept quiet. Maybe he knew already, and was waiting for him to say something instead.

"Who's that," asked the scar-bearing boy as he pointed at a young couple placed within the middle of the book.

"Them? Oh, umm… They are er… Oh! These is my grandparents! Fleamont and… Euphemia." Theodore saw Harry's eyes twinkle as he looked closer to them. Did he know now?

"Wow. They look familiar. Actually, I think I've seen them before…" He was almost there. Theodore smiled a little as he saw him coming around. It was working.

"Do you want to see more?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I want to see more." Harry was fully invested as he could've sworn that he saw those two before sometime last year. He watched closer to Theodore flicking through while he tried to remember who they were. Page after page, Potter after Potter, the two boys looked at their family which flourished to many different people. Some were wizards and witches, and some were Muggles. It didn't matter because they were family. Their family. Theodore turned each page over until Harry stopped him from turning any further.

"What is it?"

"Her! I know her!" Harry had his finger firmly planted on a young Valerie's face as she smiled alone under an apple tree.

"Y-you know her?"

"Yeah! That's my dad's sister, Valerie! I saw her in a photo once when she and my dad were kids. But how do you…" Harry widened his eyes in such shock that speechless wasn't even the word. He stared at Theodore as the boy looked down on his mother, smiling while he traced his finger against her face. Theodore's insides were shuddering violently but he kept calm on the outside. This felt better than he had ever expected, even if he was nervous to the very core.

"Mum…"

…

"S-she's your… that's… you're my…" Harry couldn't get the words out as he was completely overwhelmed. Overjoyed, more like it. Theodore nodded, still smiling as his cousin finally knew. Harry drew in heavy breaths until he could speak again. "I… I always had a feeling… I didn't know what it was… but you're my…" Harry didn't finish his sentence as he hugged his cousin in an instant. The photo book almost fell out of his lap, but Theodore didn't even notice that. The final weight which was hanging off his heart was removed as he felt completely liberated from everything. The secrets, the lies, everything. Harry was trembling as he patted Theodore's back, probably shedding a tear or few in secret. They held onto each other for a while longer until they separated, both pair of eyes misty and red.

"Sorry. I'm just…" Harry mumbled as he rubbed his eyes clear. "To think that I had someone else, other than the Dursleys, and that someone was there the whole time. I just can't believe it."

"Well I guess we're on the same boat, huh?"

"Yeah… yeah we are."

…

"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked. Theodore shrugged, rubbing his elbow after placing the book back inside of his suitcase. "Do you think that you could visit me over the summer?"

"I mean… I would if I could but I ran away last time and…"

"Dursleys," said the boys together. They both chuckled and sighed loudly.

"I think that the Dursleys have arrived now. If one listens closely, they could hear the pig squeals of Dudley on the other side."

"I still can't believe that we're stuck with horrible people. Are you going to tell them what you did during the year?" Harry scoffed as he stood up to push his trolley through the barrier.

"And give them an excuse to put me in an asylum? No thanks, I've already had my fair share of craziness for two years."

"Don't forget underground dungeons."

"That too. See you later, Theo."

"Bye, Harry." The cousins hugged each other one last time before the scar-bearing boy left through the barrier, leaving Theodore as the last person on Platform 9¾. It felt exactly like the start of the year, all on his own yet he was far from that. He wasn't alone. He had Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, Dumbledore, Louise, Madam, Erveris, Terly and even Viripin. He had all those people and above them all, he had his mother in his heart. Valerie Potter's boy. That was who he was. Not the Son of the Dark Lord, no. Valerie's boy. The soothing orange sun began to set as they brightened the boy's hazel eyes. He closed them, finally ridding his heart and soul of Tom Marvolo Riddle completely.

"Yes… I forgive… I forgive myself."

 **And that is the Chamber of Secrets finished. I was having the time of my life writing these chapters and I hope you guys did too. I really think I outdid myself with this one. Prisoner of Azkaban will be coming soon after I finished my exams but as of now, Progeny of Slytherin is on a small hiatus. Just a small one. I want to thank all the reviews, favourites and follows and everyone else who is reading along. I'll be looking forward to when I'll come back. Wish me luck on my exams and I hope that you'll like this chapter. I wanted to say more but it's the end of the story, right? Later.**

 **Fast Frank: Fixed:)**


	22. Chapter 22: Summer Days Pt4

"Hermione, come down! Uncle Wesley, Aunt Lucile and your cousins are here! Come say hello!"

"Coming, Dad! Just a second!" The girl neatly arranged her stacks of ink-riddled parchments and books in a secret cabinet that was hidden in her wardrobe. She always did this every time her relatives would come along, fearing that she could be exposed entirely by being reckless among her cousins. Jason, Carmen and Evelyn Granger, children of her father's younger brother. All three of them were particularly 'not comfortable' with keeping themselves to themselves, and would always capture the chance of peeking into their Muggle-born cousin's closet, eager to know why she would be snappy whenever they'd venture inside. Hermione held no type of resentment towards them at all. She could say that they were sort of close before she left for Hogwarts, but ever since she had a taste of the wizarding world, Hermione Granger was not the same since.

Hermione's hair was in a worryingly unstable French-Braid as she trotted down the stairs to greet her family. A simple baby-blue t-shirt and a pair of peach shorts was all that she was wearing as the unusual summer heat that was flooding around Britain was trapped inside of her house. Although it wasn't sweltering hot, the girl wasn't foolish to take the chance of wearing unnecessary layers. She almost fainted three years ago by making that mistake. Upon reaching the living room, she saw her uncle and father propped up against the sofa near the window, discussing about a recent breakout of an escapee, as her mother was happily chatting with her aunt. Nobody had taken notice of her quietly walking inside when Carmen seemingly came out of nowhere to greet her quite brashly.

"Hiya, Hermy! Haven't seen you in ages!" The younger girl squeaked as she hopped up and down furiously in one spot.

"How are you, Carmen? It's good to see you."

"I'm great, thanks! How's it like in-"

"Puckle! How are ya," interrupted Uncle Wesley as he stood up with open arms. Uncle Wesley was a gangly sort of man with bushy hair, similar to his niece's. Despite his thin frame, his voice could've been heard from miles as the house rumbled every time he'd utter a single word. But Hermione never minded this. In fact, she would always look forward to seeing her uncle during the holidays, as the take-away of magic left the current summer in a state that was quite dull. The Muggle-born was caught in a hug as he gave a hearty raucous chuckle which made her judder just a little.

"I'm fine, Uncle Wesley."

"That's good. How's it like in your new school? You know, Jason is having a hard time at his. Maybe it won't be so bad by having a cousin by his side to pick him up from time to time, huh?"

"That would be nice, but I don't think my school is… well-suited for Jason." Uncle Wesley laughed again and thumped his chest. "Where is Jason, anyways?"

"He went to the corner shop to get a few sweets with his sister," called Aunt Lucile, a pretty woman who had a bit of age in her cheeks. "Here, sit. I want to hear what you've been up to for the past two years. Your mother has told me that you're quite the achiever in your classes."

"She is! Did you know that she aced all of her exams in her first year? Amazing! Just amazing!" Hermione blushed from her father's comment but smiled.

"That's very impressive! Wait, so which subjects are your favourites?" Hermione turned her head to her father, who awkwardly sipped from his mug of coffee, eyeing at his daughter to say anything else.

"Um… Chemistry… History, Biology… um… I do Astronomy as well." Wesley and Lucile looked highly impressed as did her parents. I mean, Hermione wasn't exactly lying. Potions was like Chemistry, Herbology was somewhat similar to Biology and Astronomy was a real thing. Hermione knew it herself that she was a terrible liar, so twisting the truth was just a little easier for her. Only just a little.

"That's our Hermione. I wish that Jason could learn a thing or two from you. Say, your dad has told me that your school has a lot of students running around. That must mean you have a lot of friends, right?"

"Oh! I have to tell you about this boy that she knows, Wesley," said Hermione's mother as she cut her daughter off. The girl was already going red as what was about to come out of her mother's mouth was too predictable. "Dashing young man! I'd say he's probably the heartthrob of the school!"

"Mum…"

"Intelligent lad as well, I may add! Hermione's told us all about him, how he's also top of his classes. Theodore Riddle, that's his name." Hermione's dad added.

"Dad!" Hermione said, slightly annoyed. It was a mistake to tell them about Theodore when they first went to Diagon Alley. They couldn't go a day without mentioning him.

"Oh, alright. I know how much it annoys you."

"It's okay, darling. We were all teenagers once. It's all about growing up, that's all. If you like this Theodore boy, then it's completely normal." Lucile said, setting down her coffee mug.

"I don't- Theodore and I, are just friends! Nothing more, nothing less. Just friends." The Muggle-born reassured, pink in the cheeks.

…

"Denial's the first step to admitting-" Hermione spun back around to the doorway in a huff as she left the living room for her room. Her parents, particularly her father, had a knack of embarrassing her in front of family members, and would not hesitate to do so. She would've thought that they'd be a little more serious, given their statuses as doctors and professional dentists, but one could say that it was to brighten the atmosphere in the house. After all, their only daughter was an actual witch.

Closing the door behind her, Hermione then retrieved her summer homework from the cabinet and sprawled them all over her desk to complete them before the week would end. Given that she wouldn't be going abroad this summer, she had plenty of spare time to do a little extra (relatively little to her) before she'd return. Just because her last exams were cancelled, didn't mean that she could slack off. After the bet that she had made with Theodore, regarding who'd achieve higher than the other, Hermione was severely disappointed in the end. Alas, it wasn't every year that you'd find out your best friend is not only the Heir of Slytherin; that he was secretly under the influence of his father, who turned out to be the Darkest Wizard Ever. But that didn't change anything. In fact, in a very odd way, the Muggle-born was intrigued to seeing the boy's vulnerable side, a side which he was adamant to reveal. It didn't mean that she was happy to see him being mentally torn apart by his father, no. It was just that part of her, which had attached herself to him, that wanted to see more of that.

Hermione shook her loose braid as she started on her homework. Theodore was becoming less of a competitor, and more of a distraction to her. She couldn't let him make her go slightly weak in the knees, or lose focus when she'd do something as simple as homework. Sure, she liked the way his bright hazel eyes would wobble slightly when he'd look at her; when he'd get annoyed and would furrow his eyebrows in a cute way; when he'd smile to show off that gorgeous, gorgeous smile that could send her in a trance of-

"Get a hold of yourself!" She muttered as she tapped her forehead with an open palm repeatedly. "You and Theo are just friends, don't forget that. Just friends. Just…" Her quill was steady in her hand, but it wouldn't move. Drop after drop, the ink blotted against her fresh piece of parchment paper as the truth kept her still in place.

"Just friends… sure…"

* * *

"Madam! Madam, come quick!"

"Oh god! Hold on, Theodore! I'm coming, I'm coming!" The Madam was leaping up the creaky staircase as she heard the boy's pleas for help from the highest floor. Theodore was always kept in a vicinity closer than usual, never wandering off too far from her. Madam thought that he would've been more brash or at least, against her constant attention towards him which would seem overbearing to some, but no. Theodore was the opposite of that, in fact. The boy was rather calm, and seemed a little less closed off than before. It was only last year when he was separated from his best friend, and it was only last year when he had ran away because of that. The wounds which she thought was still open, had been closed and healed. He'd occasionally ask about Louise from time to time, but would never lose his head over it. Whatever caused this change within the boy, Madam was just glad that he was still the same. Mostly, anyways.

"Madam!" Theodore cried from inside of the bathroom. "Madam, are you there?"

"Yes! I'm here, I'm here," said Madam worryingly as she pushed her way inside of the small bathroom. "What is it? Did you hurt yourself?" Theodore was standing opposite of the brand-new mirror, holding eight fingers to his chin as he spun his head to the orphanage director. What was expected to be a face full of fear, was a face of… excitement?

"Theodore, what is it?"

"Look closer! Can't you see it?"

"See what?" She asked as she leaned in closer to the boy's face. Theodore tilted his head upwards while removing his fingers to reveal his amazing 'self-discovery'. Protruding so slightly, but very visible against his skin, were three small hairs on his chin.

"I've got hairs! Can you see them?" Madam clasped her hands together as she beamed happily. Theodore having those moments which made her reminisce his younger years, were particularly rare in the orphanage. She couldn't help herself but smile at the boy's sudden burst of childhood innocence.

"Aww, my little boy is becoming a man!" Madam said as she lowered herself to the boy's level.

"Hardly. I'm barely at your shoulder, let alone your chin. I'll probably stay this short forever."

"Nonsense! With the way you eat, I'll be damned surprised if you weren't taller than me by next year!"

"That, and I'm still skinny. Have you seen these arms, they're like ropes." Theodore said as he wrapped a hand around his thin arm. Madam chuckled and drove her fingers through his dark hair. He was losing his babyish features as his face was starting to mature. He had definitely grown taller than when she last saw him, and his handsomeness had only increased with age. In her eyes, Theodore was a perfect boy, faults and all. To know that he grew up without the love from his mother, sometimes made her feel like a counterfeit, a replacement… a fake. She could still envision that day perfectly, remembering those fatal gashes all over her body, that face of pure beauty void of life, while he laid beside her. Quiet, peaceful… innocent…

"Madam? Madam, are you okay," asked Theodore as he shook her gently by the arms. The woman blinked upon her disturbance and looked straight into the boy's eyes. Someday, she'd have to tell him.

"I'm fine! I-I was just a bit out of it, but I'm fine, dear. No need to worry."

"But you're crying…" Brushing her tears away quickly, Madam reassured that she was alright before she briskly left the boy on his own. Theodore watched her leave, worried that it had been his fault for her silent tears. He didn't do anything wrong, this time. At least, he hoped so. Madam crying over him was something that he didn't want lingering on his conscience. The young wizard stepped out into the hallway to follow her and ask, but decided not to. If it really was his fault, then he shouldn't add any fuel to the fire. He walked down the stairs at a moderate pace and left the building for the playground. He'd usually stay in his room with Sawer as company, but the weather had lost its usual bleakness, and he had to admit that he stayed in his room a bit too much. The boy barely stepped on the hot concrete, when he heard the call of his name coming from the swings. Sitting idly on a swing seat was Elise alone, waving at him to come over. Theodore casually walked over to her, not minding the stares from other people. Nobody expected him to have any other friends after last year, especially with Elise. Seeing him branching out to someone other than Louise was intriguing, but not worthy of giving him their attention. Theodore sat on the swing next to her, and gently rocked himself as she spoke first.

"Finally left that room of yours?" She asked with a smirk.

"You're hilarious. Almost as hilarious as Glaise trying to chase Freddie over there." Theodore said as he pointed at the overweight boy panting after a futile attempt of retrieving his shoes. Elise half-laughed as she elbowed him from her seat.

"Hey! I know that you and Richard don't like each other, but you shouldn't make fun of him like that. He's really sensitive, you know."

"But that gives him the right to call me a 'bony, snake-faced twat' behind my back? I mean, look at me! I might be skinny, but I don't look like a snake. Do I?" The blond girl shook her head slightly before quickly turning her head to hide her cheeks.

"Are you going to get a new snake," asked Elise as she was eager to change the subject. Theodore felt a jolt in his chest, but still kept his outward composure.

"Um… no. If I do, then it'll mean that I'm replacing her when I… Having just an owl is fine."

…

"I thought that snake looked pretty neat. What was her name again?"

"Viripin.

"Viripin… and her species?"

"She was an Adder. Rare type."

"Ah. Never took you for a snake-type of guy…"

' _You have no idea.'_

"…but then again, we never spoke to each other before-" Loud gulps of air emerged from behind the two as they turned to see Richard staggering towards them, face glistening terribly with sweat. Theodore wanted to laugh, but stopped himself from doing so. Kneeling on the floor, Richard was wheezing until he got a word out to his friend.

"Freddie… is such… a… bitch! Couldn't fight me… so he took my shoes…"

"Yeah, we saw." The girl said as she got off her swing to help the boy up. Richard leaned against the framework of the swing-set, ignoring Theodore's smirks while trying to regain his breath.

"I've got two… stitches… oh fuck, I'm gonna die…"

"Stop being such a diva, and breathe. I'll take you inside and I'll ask for your shoes back. That's what you get when you flap those lips too much. Come on." Elise used her surprisingly strong arms to support the heavy boy inside. She briefly said goodbye to the wizard and left him alone on the swings. From the other end of the playground, he could see Freddie and his friends snickering over Richard's shoes as it looked like they were going to fill them up with something horribly putrid. He chuckled, almost feeling sorry for the hell that Elise would unleash onto them. He'd help, but why would he? Here, he was just Theodore Riddle, a simple Muggle boy in an orphanage. Not Theodore Riddle, cousin of the famous Harry Potter. Not Theodore Riddle, Child of the Dark Lord… Just plain old handsome, Theo.

"Thanks, Hedwig." The beautiful Snowy Owl puffed up her chest proudly as Theodore scratched the side of her fluffy head gently. Both Hedwig and Sawer were making frequent trips between Lambeth, where Theodore lived, and Little Whinging, places which weren't too far from each other. Theodore and Harry would exchange letters almost every night, never losing interest in one another. Harry would tell him about the Dursleys and how his horrible man of an aunt, would be coming over soon while Theodore would tell him how things have gotten surprisingly better at Stuggle's. Yes, he was still an outcast, but he didn't feel as lonely as last year. Harry joked that he'd live there with him in heartbeat, just to get away from the Dursleys but a part of Theodore thought that he was being serious. If being adopted meant living with people like them, then Theodore would rather stay a solitary orphan instead. Then again, he wasn't really an actual orphan.

Theodore stored the letter away with the others, and fed the Snowy Owl who was butting her head against Sawer in an attempt to cheer him up. The owl had been depressed for the past week, missing the Maibian Adder as much as the boy did. Even though he never hesitated to deliver Theodore's letters to his friends, Sawer had lost the excitable nature that he was well known for. Theodore couldn't do anything else than to feed him. These summers seemed to get a little bleaker as time went on. An age thing, probably.

"You just rest there, Sawer. I'm just going to finish this bit of homework then-"

"Theo," asked Elise from behind the door. "Are you there?"

"You can come in." The girl opened the door and closed it behind her as she stood near the end of his bed, looking all over the room. This was the second time that she had ever been in this place, a setting which was unknown to practically everyone else. It was almost like going into someone else's home, if that made any sense. "Are you going to say something or…"

"Right! First thing is that Madam's calling for you in her office. The other thing is that I have something to show you in my room."

"What is it?"

"Well if I told you now, then why would I show it to you later? It doesn't-" Theodore raised his palm to stop her from speaking any further.

"I get it, it's a surprise. I'll come when I'm finished, alright?" He said as he fixed his t-shirt around his jeans.

"How long will you be?" Theodore shrugged and showed her out of the room. As he made his way to the Madam's office, Theodore couldn't stop the feeling of guilt pulsing through his blood as he was reminded of what happened earlier on in the day with her. He heard the stories of the last person who ran away, never to be found again, but wasn't fully aware on how affected she was because of that. Couldn't he go through one summer without feeling angry, idiotic or depressed? The Parselmouth reached the main office near the main door and knocked clearly for the Madam to let him in.

"You called for me," asked the boy nervously, shutting the door behind him as he was about to sit down. Only the seat was taken. Taken by someone who he'd never expect to be at, in all places, Stuggle's. "Professor McGonagall?" The Deputy Headmistress was wearing a formal grey lady suit that worked and looked odd on her, at the same time.

"Good afternoon, Mr Riddle. Well? Don't just stand there looking so surprised!" Theodore darted his eyes at the Madam, who still possessed an air of sadness around her head, and back at McGonagall. He was certain that he hadn't performed any type of magic since he left Hogwarts, so it had to be for something else. And judging from the rare expression of compassion upon the professor's face, Theodore knew that it had to be about what happened before the summer started.

"Theodore, Professor McGonagall was telling me all about your recent school year."

"She was?"

"Don't worry," said McGonagall calmly. "You're not in any sort of trouble."

"Oh."

…

"Shall I leave…?" Madam asked as she slowly raised herself from her chair. McGonagall thanked her as she nodded, soon occupying the room with the Parselmouth alone. Theodore watched her leave, still wanting to speak out to her but remained silent like before. He didn't know why he couldn't just say something. Anything. He kept his eyes fixed on the door until he realised that he wasn't alone. Silence passed before it was broken.

"Did Professor Dumbledore tell you to come here?"

"Your intuition is still as sharp as ever, I see. Yes, the Headmaster requested that I should see you on his behalf." Theodore nodded his head slightly, before becoming silent again. "It was quite the year that you had, Mr Riddle. It'll be a story to tell your children multiple times, no?"

" _Yeah, if I'll live, that is."_

"Is there a reason why he wanted you to see me," asked the boy as his fingers were locked firmly behind his back. She sighed, then inhaled deeply. Whatever was on her mind was clearly distressing, he could see that effortlessly.

…

"Professor Dumbledore… told me. He didn't tell me everything, but… he said enough." The boy was looking away in shame, wishing that the day had skipped over in that moment. It was hard enough that he still felt traumatised by his father's influence from last year, but now he was reminded of it again. Fighting those demons was so much more toilsome than what was depicted on the outside. The very infrequent nightmares, those very faint whispers of Tom's voice… all hidden away by a face of tranquillity.

"He did?"

"He did."

…

"I'm changing Houses, aren't I?"

"No! No no no, dear boy! Nothing like that!" McGonagall reassured, her emerald eyes exhibiting the gentleness that she showed infrequently. "The choice that the Sorting Hat made was not a mistake-"

"What if it was? You know what I did, and you know-"

"Theodore," said the professor, regaining some part of her iconic fierceness. The Heir fell into silence and placed his vision to the floor.

…

"I'm fine, you know. I'll manage."

"You're not alone, Theodore. I just wanted you to remember that."

"Yeah. I know." He replied, no longer doubting himself of that fact. "But is that the only reason you came?"

"I'm afraid so, Mr Riddle." She said as she stood up from her seat elegantly. "It seems that running errands for the Headmaster during the summer, has become a frequent 'hobby' of mine."

"The perks of being the Deputy Head, huh?" McGonagall blew a sharp gust of air out of her nostrils, slightly grinning in front of the boy. It was hard to believe that a boy of such gifted caliber and proficiency, could be the cause of the unforgettable events that occurred in the recent months. She guessed that following Dumbledore's advice on overlooking it all, was to be followed without hesitation. There was so much more to this boy than she could ever hope to recover.

Before departing, McGonagall informed the boy that he was given permission to leave for Hogsmeade during certain weekends, the only entirely-magical village in Britain. Theodore often wondered what it was like down there, only knowing off the information given from Fred and George. Even if he had no money, it would still be interesting to look around the place with Ron, Harry and Hermione. Theodore said goodbye to the Deputy Headmistress, and watched her leave the office before chatting briefly with the Madam in the front corridor. If wizards and witches had Muggle counterparts, then Theodore was a witness to the union of the two.

 _Later in Elise's room…_

"Are you ready?" Elise whispered in a tone resembling a circus presenter. Something was hidden behind her back as the girl refused to let the young wizard even peer over her shoulder. He just hoped that it wasn't a waste of his time.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Elise."

"But are you really-"

"If you don't show me whatever it is that you have behind your back, I'll leave. I'm being serious."

"Okay! Okay, don't leave!"

…

"You can't be serious," muttered Theodore as he turned to the door. Elise somehow appeared instantly in front of him, and blocked the boy from leaving to show him what was so secretive, right in front of him. "The hell…?"

"It's adorable, right?" She squealed excitedly. Theodore was stuck between confusion and awe by what he was seeing right now. It looked… terrifying, yet alluring at the same time but he didn't know why. Placed within the girl's tiny hands, was a creature which seemed to be a hybrid of a lizard and a bunny rabbit. Quite ugly but not repulsive. The scaly snout had a nasty green sheen, complemented by the furry ears which was the perfect balance between a rabbit and a lizard. The reptilian tail was coiled in between Elise's fingers as if it was clinging onto her for dear life, reddening the girl's fingers so slightly. Theodore was 100% certain that this was a magical creature, only… what the hell kind of creature was a crossbreed of a rabbit and a lizard?

"Elise… where did you get that thing," asked Theodore as he looked at the creature worryingly. Elise was entranced with stroking its spine gently, that Theodore had to wave in her face to grab her attention. This couldn't be a good thing.

"Huh? Oh, you don't need to worry about that."

"That's a- you don't even know what that thing is! What if it's dangerous?!"

"Shhh! Do you want other people to find out!" She hissed as she brought the hybrid to her neck. Theodore could barely catch a glimpse of it, but he noticed the way that the thing was avoiding eye contact with him. A strange creature, no doubt.

"Just tell me where you got it from. You showed it to me, so you can at least tell me where you found it."

"Um… you're not going to like it, though."

"Why?" Sighing heavily, Elise walked over to her window sill, and placed the creature inside of a beaten cardboard shoebox, used as makeshift home before turning back to the Parselmouth.

"I… found it… in your room…"

"In my room? Why would that- wait, what were you doing in my room?" Theodore asked, arms crossed. He wasn't exactly mad that she entered into his room without his permission, but certainly felt annoyed.

"You weren't coming out of your room that much, and I thought that you were angry just like last year and I wanted to see if you were okay but you weren't inside so I looked around because I've never been inside your room before so I looked around, and then I saw the thing in your cupboard and I'm sorry, okay?" The girl spewed everything out so quickly that Theodore was lucky to understand half of it.

"So that thing was inside my cupboard?" Elise nodded, unable to rid herself of the growing guilt within her. Theodore didn't even raise an eyebrow, let alone his voice, and was thrown into a bout of contemplation which felt like an eternity within his mind.

' _If that thing was inside of my cupboard… and if it is a magical creature, which Elise saw… oh fuck. I am in so much trouble.'_

"Are you alright, Theo? Your forehead… you're sweating." He brushed the accumulation of burning sweat off his face and nodded at the girl. That thing was inside of his cupboard… his cupboard… there was nothing else to it. He accidentally brought it back to Stuggle's from God knows where he got it from, and had foolishly allowed it to fall into Elise's hands. A Muggle's hands. Theodore could already hear the Minister slamming his knuckles on the door to tell him that he was expelled from Hogwarts. And just when he thought he had vindication on his side.

"We should… we should take turns on who gets to take care of it!" A very crude plan which seemed barely functional when it was analysed for the first time, but Theodore had to stick with it. After all, when has any of his plans actually worked before?

"You mean like a rota? Between me and you?"

"Exactly like a rota! We're the only ones who know about this… 'thing', so it's obviously up to us to take care of it."

"Well, I guess-"

"Great!" Theodore exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. He sped to the window sill and grabbed the box gently, careful not to agitate the hybrid inside. "I'll take first night and-" Elise was quicker on her toes as he became immediately restricted and unable to move from the window. Her expression of apparent annoyance only looked like petulance upon her round face but Theodore didn't mention it. What was about to be said by her, was the problem here.

"There's no way that you're taking it first! I found it, I put it inside of the box and I showed it to you, so I'm having first night!" Elise was doing her best to look as frightening as she could to the boy, but it wasn't working.

"But you found it in my room, which you broke into without my permission, sooo…"

"Theo, that's not fair!" She shouted, causing the lizard/bunny to whimper fearfully from inside of the box. Her face fell with colour and anger upon hearing the creature squeaking in fear, closing her mouth from doing anymore damage. Theodore could feel it trembling inside, maybe because it wanted to be as far away from him as possible, juddering so greatly that it felt electrifying to his fingertips.

"If you're done shouting, I'll just take it to my room, thanks." Theodore whispered as he headed for the door quickly. Halfway through the doorway, and he could hear faint sniffles hitting his ear from behind him. _'Great.'_ He turned back to face the pink-faced Elise who looked so furious yet so sad. Theodore could say anything to her, and she could either decimate his eardrums or bawl right in front of him. Very, very thin line here.

"Well? Take it, then. I don't care anymore." Theodore sighed as he closed the door.

"Yes, you do."

"I don't."

"If you want it by tomorrow then-"

" _Theo…"_

"Did you hear that?!" Theodore said, almost panicking. He had known his father's voice so well, that he could recognise it from the first syllable spoken. But this wasn't Tom's voice. He heard this voice before but… he didn't know where from.

"I didn't hear anything…" Elise looked around, following the boy's line of vision but was dumbfounded as to what he was looking for. "What did you hear?"

…

"Nothing. I'll… I'll be going now." Elise said nothing as she watched him leave through the crisp-white door, closing it behind him to leave her as one. She could see that he had changed from the year before, unsure if it was for better or worse. He didn't scowl when he walked around, and he looked less secretive and more lonely, if anything. People just don't change so drastically over one year… do they?

 _In Theodore's bedroom…_

"Okay! Okay, okay… okay. Let me just see exactly what the hell you are." Theodore muttered to himself as he set the box on his bed. "I'd call someone, if wizards and witches could use phones, that is. Alright, here we go…" He reached for the flimsy box lid, hands surprisingly still and stable. Mere inches away from seeing the indistinguishable creature, Theodore neared to the box, feeling the slightest sensation of the cardboard against his fingertips when he was instantly startled by the violent ruffling of Sawer in his cage.

"Sawer, what the hell?! Don't scare me like that," said the boy as he held his chest briefly before walking up to the excitable owl. "What's wrong? One second you're quieter than a mouse, the next you're back to your old self. Why are you so happy?" Two owls of a similar species, were butting their heads against the window as both had a single letter each for the boy. "Oh. It's because you haven't seen any owls other than Hedwig, huh? Here, I'll let them in so that you guys can do whatever."

As Theodore opened the window for the owls to pave their way inside, Sawer didn't seem to notice them at all. He was still giddy, mind you, but his large golden eyes didn't once set on the other owls, confusing the Parselmouth. Animal nature was near impossible to understand, and this was coming from a boy who could speak to snakes. The owls quickly placed the delivered letters in the boy's hands and flew off, just as fast as they came. Sawer's random burst of energy seemed to be diminishing but his eyes were wide with excitement, especially when he looked at the cardboard box.

"A letter from Dumbledore… huh. I'll open that second. This is from…" His eyes lit up when he recognised the handwriting on the grey envelope. "It's from Ron! I can't even remember the last time he ever wrote a letter." Theodore ripped the grey envelope gently, and brought out the letter from inside, which read:

 _Dear Theodore,_

 _I've just realised that we haven't sent a letter to each other. At all. I feel weird knowing that I haven't written to one of my best friends during the summer, but hey! First time for everything, am I right? It was actually Mum's idea for me to write to you, since she told me about the 'thing' last term._

Theodore started to feel uneasy, knowing that he didn't tell Ron who his father really was.

 _Look man, I just want you to know that it doesn't change a single thing between us. I mean, I couldn't believe it at first when Mum told me, but after everything that happened, it sorta made sense. But that doesn't mean we're not best friends anymore! So don't think that!_

 _But that's not the only thing that I wanted to tell you. As you reading this letter, Ronald Billius Weasley is currently in Egypt. Can you believe it? Dad won a Galleon Draw at work, and instantly said we're going to Egypt the next day! My big brother Bill, works as a curse breaker at Gringott's in Egypt, so we're visiting him for the summer. It's gonna be wicked, I'm telling you!_

 _I've almost used both sides so I'm gonna leave it here. Maybe when we come back, we'll see each other in Diagon Alley? I'll try to get you something on our way back._

 _From Ron._

 _P.S: Guess who's Head Boy?_

Theodore didn't even know why he felt uncomfortable in the first place. Ron was just as much of a best friend as Harry or Hermione. No matter what the Heir did that was deemed 'unforgivable', Ron sure was forgiving. Theodore just hoped that the rest of the Weasleys felt the same, if Mrs Weasley really told them all. He couldn't help himself from seeing them as his extended family. It wasn't wrong to feel like that, right? Stashing the very first letter from the red headed boy in his treasured collection, Theodore took Dumbledore's letter in hand, and read through it like he was expecting some sort of hidden message within. It read:

 _Dear Theodore,_

 _I hope that your summer has gone off with an enjoyable start. The words that we exchanged last year has hopefully been remembered for this summer as well, but with a boy like you, it'd be impossible to forget._

 _Professor McGonagall has visited you, presumably before this letter will arrive at your home. It was my choice to come alone yet because of my priorities as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and as Headmaster, it had to be delayed. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and I hope that you are holding up as much as you can._

 _I apologise for keeping this letter short, but nothing lasts forever, no matter how far you push the boundaries. Just something to think about. Stay strong, Theodore._

 _Professor Dumbledore._

 _P.S: Fawkes says hello. I think that he's gotten a little too comfortable inside of my office. He hasn't left his column, let alone the office, all year!_

"What are you talking about," muttered Theodore under his breath. "Fawkes saved our lives down in the Chamber of Secrets. Surely, your age isn't catching up to you, Professor…"

* * *

A single week had passed since the creature had been found by Elise, and there was no sign of any Minister of Magic, no Dumbledores or McGonagalls, not even a Howler. Nobody came kicking down the front door with their wands armed, ready to capture the magical animal that had been exposed to Mugglekind. Nobody. Theodore could relax in something resembling peace, paranoia no longer present within his system.

Of course, Elise was very confrontational during the first three days but after that, Theodore had managed to 'charm' her somehow, clearing away her anger in only ten seconds. ('Charm' as in, he did that unknowingly). Although she was still quite brash about him taking the lizard/bunny, Elise didn't mind that he took it off her hands. The boy really had a knack for getting on people's softer sides, especially girls. A knack that he never thought was that special.

The beast was, in Theodore's eyes, a very odd being, even for a creature from the magical world. Theodore had caught on to some of its mannerisms, how the way it ate like the meal was its last, how it'd quiver with unease every time the boy would near his fingers to it, and how its eyes would take on multiple shades, particularly bright hazel, scarlet red and sometimes, flashes of chrome. With the little resources that was in his grasp, the Parselmouth was downright clueless as to what it could be. Not even a single clue.

"I could write to Hermione about you," said the boy as he sprinkled evenly sliced chicken strips inside of the box, "but she'll probably be just as clueless as I am. You know, I haven't sent a letter to her in a while. I wonder what she's up to…" Theodore still remembered that 'foreign' sensation when she hugged him at King's Cross. When she grazed the skin of his neck with her nose, it almost felt electrifying, given that it only lasted less than a second. He couldn't describe it with such vivid detail, but he knew that it felt… nice. And that felt a little confusing for the boy. Barely noticeable but still present, were those faint signs. She'd cross his mind when in deep thought and suddenly, his heart would thud just a little louder. Just a little.

Theodore realised that he was rubbing his empty fingertips together as the chicken strips were devoured entirely by the creature. It didn't seem to beg for more as it kept still in the centre of the box, twitching and sniffing. Theodore had secretly hoped that it was a rare creature with extraordinary capabilities like a Maibian Adder, but was disappointed to come to the realisation that it could've been a failed Transfiguration experiment. Half lizard/half rabbit, how else would you explain it? He closed the box and placed it inside of his cupboard before sprawling himself lazily on the bed.

' _Harry's birthday is in three days, and I have… what, one sickle? Not even enough for a Butterbeer. I mean, how do you even match a 150 galleon model of a Snitch? Makes me wonder how Harry got an inheritance when I didn't. Oh well…'_

The Snitch was one of the four prized possessions of the young Parselmouth, the others being Louise's necklace, his pocket watch and his family photo book. Theodore had hidden them well inside of his room, always checking carefully for any sort of damage or wear. He couldn't afford for any of them to be damaged because of blatant carelessness. Not when they held so much value to him. A book from his lost family, a Snitch from his only cousin, a golden watch and necklace which both belonged and came from his first true friend. Surely, there was nothing else in this world that could offer the same sentimental value to the boy.

" _Theo…"_

There it was again, that voice. Where was it coming from? The floor, the ceiling? The walls? Was his mind just trying to replicate that voice which was buried inside there for so long? Maybe the damage was more worse than he had thought.

…

"Who's there?"

…

"I said, who's there?"

…

"Theodore? Are you talking to yourself?" He recognised the voice as Madam, moving towards and closing his cupboard door firmly before responding to the orphanage director.

"No, I was just… making a note to myself. You can come in."

"Actually, I need you to come out." Theodore didn't question the Madam as he opened the door to see her smiling, still containing those traces of melancholy within her eyes. Theodore asked her why she needed him to which she replied by telling him to come with her. Once again, Theodore didn't say anything as he followed her out of his bedroom and through the corridors.

' _Is McGonagall here again? Or maybe it's Dumbledore. Or it could be the Ministry of Magic… I hope not…'_

The boy had been subconsciously following the Madam while pondering about who could possibly be here for him. Upon arriving at the last step of the staircase, Theodore broke out of his rather rapid contemplation as he saw Richard and Elise whispering around the doorway of the living room, holding on to the arising sneer for the other boy. Richard had been a bit more vocal on his opinions for the Parselmouth, and would casually insult him when Theodore was within an earshot. Elise said that he didn't really mean it, but it was a lie. Richard meant every single word and he knew that.

"Theodore, lets get a move on," said Madam from her office door. Theodore turned his head away from the other two and walked into the office, expecting anyone that he knew to be sitting in the same chair. Snape could've been there for the hell of it. He was unnaturally concerned over his wellbeing earlier in the year. However, the expected result was not one that he had thought of. Sitting in the plush lilac chair in front of the Madam's desk was… no one.

"Madam, I don't understand. Isn't somebody here for me?" Theodore asked in bewilderment.

"I wanted to speak with you, Theodore."

"Oh. Oh, okay. Sure," said the boy as he sat down in front of her. He was quite surprised that he had never once sat on this chair, given the numerous times he came in and out of the office during his life at Stuggle's. It's soft appearance was slightly false as he could feel the noticeable bumps of hardened wood underneath his legs, which felt a little too uncomfortable. He didn't complain though. He just sat there, still, waiting for her to say anything to him. Anything.

…

"Theodore, you understand what secrets are capable of, right? They can be just as helpful, as they can be dangerous to you and other people. Do you understand?" The Parselmouth nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. He had to learn that in the most extreme way possible, and was still paying the price for it. "Sometimes, when people keep secrets from others, it's kept for a good reason. The reason why people keep secrets from each other is because the truth can hurt. It can hurt and sometimes, that hurt can never go away for both people."

"Ruins the soul…"

"Yes… ruins the soul…"

…

"When we found you on the porch that Hallowe'en night, we thought of you as a baby without their mother and father, just like the other children. I was going to take you in and raise you like my own, which is what I did. I'm proud to say that, Theodore. I really am. There I am, holding you in my arms with you sleeping so quietly. We're about to make your new home when we heard knocking on the door. We didn't know who it was, it was so late. Perhaps your mother may have thought that she had a mistake, and wanted you back. And… that's what happened, but…" Theodore was digging his fingertips into his thighs deeply, absorbing, hanging onto every single word that the Madam had to say. He knew that she saw his mother before she died, but what did she mean by 'but'? Painful throat, saliva impossible to swallow and his breaths became shorter. What happened to his mother?

"Madam…?" He said this so quietly, it was a wonder how she even heard him.

…

"She was dying… cuts, blood everywhere… I… I didn't know what had happened to her, I assumed that she was running away from somebody, probably to protect you from them… We're all in the infirmary now… she's on the bed on the right, you on the left and she was slipping away so fast… We couldn't save her and I think she knew that. She didn't try to fight for her life… only for yours. As you laid there so quietly, she was right next to you… She was crying to me, telling me that you were her son… She told me… she told me to take care of you like you were my own… I couldn't save her, Theodore. I-I tried to but it was too late and now every time I see your face, I can only see her on that bed, crying for you and…"

He couldn't go another day with seeing her shedding tears in front of him anymore. Madam's lamentation was piercing through the boy's heart repeatedly in such a short amount of time that he was frozen, still trying to realise everything. His mother didn't just die. She was murdered. Somebody killed her, probably to get to him. It made sense…

' _Your mother produced something so strong that you were hidden at Stuggle's for your entire life, protected from everything that she tried to save you from...'_

…

"So that's why you were crying… because she died here, in your arms…" Madam had tears cascading to blot the papers on her desk while she looked at the boy with so much pain. His mother was the first death that she had to witness before her eyes, and now her son walked within the place of her passing so casually, unknowingly resurfacing those agonising moments of his mother's suffering within her. How could she look upon a boy with such happiness, when she knew of his tragic past? How could she?

"I've tried my best, you know. She wanted me to take care of you and I've tried." She said through sniffs of pure sorrow. "Look… if you feel like I-I've done you wrong by not saying anything then-"

Theodore stood and twisted his body to aim towards the door. Madam's heart felt like it could fail any second now from seeing him leave, probably in unbridled resentment for her. But she had to. It was killing her to keep it from him. But she had to. He could hate her forever but-

He took her left hand in his own ones. He held it tightly, careful not to squeeze too hard. He stood above the weeping woman, grazing her backhand with his thumb so gently. This was confusing to her. He wasn't angry. He wasn't mad, or hateful towards her. Why? Something like this would've been detrimental to a person of her age, let alone a thirteen year old boy. She was expecting a tantrum of pure lividness but instead, when she looked up into his perfect face, there was no such thing. Not even the tiniest trace. The bright hazel was glimmering with the benevolence that the boy felt towards her. They comforted her, telling her that she didn't need forgiveness, that she'd never change in his eyes. It happened again. She could see her through him, almost speaking to her…

Neither of them said a word to each other, hands still held tightly. Theodore was incapable of hating her. How could he hate the woman that had been his mother when his own had died? Theodore understood why she kept that from him. He knew the cost of keeping a secret that was so damaging from somebody else, but he could never hate her. Never. He wasn't hers but she was his own. And he couldn't deny that.

 **Yooooooooooo! I'm sort of back now guys! In my free time (which was very minimal mind you) I added little bits and pieces to this chapter as I was revising for my exams. Don't worry, don't worry. The break is almost over so you can calm yourselves down (sarcasm).**

 **So yeah. Not much to say, since I don't want to spill everything, but there are a few hints and things about this chapter that has transitioned from the last one. I hope that you can recognise them and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading this one and I'll see you later.**

 **caveydude: Thanks man! Appreciate it a lot!**

 **Austin23: Hmm… ;)**


	23. Chapter 23: Summer Days Pt5

" _He's so small…"_

 _She cradled her new-born son in her weak arms, taking in so much air after what felt like an eternity. The boy did not cry once, almost scaring the mother into thinking that he was a stillborn but no. The moment he fluttered his beautiful hazel eyes open, which came from her own, she couldn't feel anything but love and devotion to her baby boy. She did this all for him. For the Dark Lord. Her Master. The man who she had craved for, ever since she was a young girl. He blessed her with a child after everything that she had fulfilled under his command. The slaughter of countless Muggles and wizardkind alike, the destruction of so many lives, all for him. Her Master. She loved him with every fibre of her being. She always longed for him, yearned for him yet… the second she laid eyes on her child, the boy's father was forgotten in her mind for all she cared about was her baby. How?_

" _Would you like me to call him, Valerie?"_

" _Not now, Severus... not now. I need to look at him some more… he's so beautiful…" Valerie spoke softly, grazing her finger across the baby's cheek. His eyes would occasionally open to reflect against his mother's, but would remain closed otherwise. He was wrapped in a comforting blanket that covered him everywhere except his perfect little face._

 _Valerie was laying in her own bed in the home that she inherited from her parents, crying and suffering to deliver her child for hours, aided not by the boy's father but by her only true friend. Severus had been tasked by the Dark Lord himself to watch over her until the baby would arrive, and had been easing her through the childbirth. She was heavily grateful for it, but still wished that the Dark Lord was here to witness this._

" _Here," whispered Severus softly as he placed a small vial next to her lips. "You're in pain. This would numb it long enough so that it can subside eventually." Valerie sipped the murky grey concoction, resisting the urge to expel it from her mouth and painfully swallowed._

…

" _Have you given him a name?"_

" _I… I've been thinking about… Silas…" Severus' eyes widened upon hearing the chosen name as he stashed the empty vial away._

" _Silas? Like… my middle name?"_

" _Don't look so surprised," mumbled the weary woman, somehow managing to display a smirk. Severus couldn't help but smile at the angelic Valerie Potter. She birthed the Child of the Dark Lord, a boy certainly bound to a cursed life, yet with a smile it all looked so… opposite. Like everything was simple… If only she knew of the prophecy…_

…

" _Severus? What's the matter?" Valerie asked, having gained a bit more strength in her voice. The baby was sucking in air quite loudly, searching for somewhere to feed. Why he didn't cry for it seemed quite odd though._

" _There is something… that I must tell you."_

" _What is it?"_

…

" _There is a pro-"_

" _Severus," said a high, cold voice that came from the door. It felt nasty, gruesome in both of their ears, but Valerie secretly loved it. Every single sibilance that flowed out of his mouth… There he was, face slightly obscured from his black hooded robes but still distinguishable. The bottom half of his face showed that pale, lipless mouth that produced such evil voice. Like a Dementor, probably much worst. Severus straightened himself up and kept his face neutral._

" _My Lord… We were just about to alert you. Valerie still needed some extra aid with the birth… It's a boy… He's healthy…" The Dark Lord glided across the ground until he was half a metre away from his trusted disciple. He lifted his needle-like white hand and placed it on Severus' shoulder, still keeping his face covered._

" _You've done well, Severus. I expected nothing more. You will be rewarded, but I ask of you kindly as to leave us with our child."_

" _Of course, my Lord. Anything." Severus bowed formally to his master and turned to the door to leave the 'family' alone together. He touched the grey door handle before rotating his head back round briefly. The Dark Lord's hood was removed, displaying his hairless head that loomed above his child and the boy's mother. In another world, in another lifetime, this could've been pure, something to look upon as a blessing in its absolute physical form. But no. This was wrong. This was so, so wrong…_

* * *

"You don't really do much, do you?" Theodore asked the creature as it chewed slowly on a half-eaten chicken bone. It took no notice of the boy's question as it carried on gnawing at the bone, determined to strip every single string of meat that it had to offer. The creature became less hostile to the boy over the last two days, no longer trembling fearfully when he'd come close to it. Only yesterday, did he manage to pick it up in his hand without meeting resistance. An accomplishment on its own. Although not even coming close to Viripin, who was irreplaceable, Theodore had grown slightly attached to it. Only slightly.

"Well, you sort of look cool. Even if you're ugly, no offence. God only knows what the hell you are. Maybe when I go to Diagon Alley, I'll read up some more so that- Sawer's back!" The owl cooed loudly outside of Theodore's bedroom window, and happily fluttered to the bed post with a letter attached to his leg.

"Good boy! There's a dead mouse in the corner over there. Eat away." Sawer swooped in the corner in an instant before Theodore removed the letter to open it up. _'It's from Hermione. Maybe she'll know a good idea for Harry's present because I am absolutely, completely, one hundred and twenty percent, stuck.'_ Sawer flew back to Theodore, perching on his left shoulder as the Parselmouth read through Hermione's letter, hoping that she'd help him through his poverty-caused dilemma.

 _Dear Theodore,_

 _Of course you should report it to the proper authorities! What if they already know that you have it with you, and are counting the days that you don't hand it over? You were already reckless by letting a Muggle finding it in your own room, after all._

"You can never stop talking down to me like a child now, can you…?"

 _But the decision is yours. Obviously, I can't do anything else other than to advise you from over here._

 _Anyways, about Harry. Look, I'm certain that he won't mind anything from you, as long as it's genuine. It's not in his nature to reject everything, especially from you. Just make sure that you're not half-hearted about it. I'm sure he'll like it._

 _My parents and I are going to Diagon Alley next week. I know, I know, summer is barely halfway through, I just thought that I should get all of my things early. After all, I did choose all possible electives for the upcoming year (something that you should've done as well)._

"Lunatic," said the boy under his breath, smirking.

 _So I was wondering if you would like to meet up with us at the Leaky Cauldron on the 5_ _th_ _. Mum and Dad said they'd be glad to see you again, even if they talk about you a bit too much. I don't think that Ron is able to come because he's still in Egypt with his family, and I know for a fact that Harry won't come either. You might as well, you know. Study of Ancient Runes is not an easy subject, so you should get ahead while you still can._

 _See you later, whether it be at Diagon Alley or King's Cross._

 _From Hermione._

 _P.S: I have something to tell you. Something big and something very, very, VERY secretive. You can't tell anyone about it, not even Ron or Harry. Nobody._

Theodore scanned through the letter again, reciting the Muggle-born's words in his mind until he got the full gist of it. Whatever she wanted to tell him must've been something grand if she couldn't tell the others about it. Granted that Hermione was probably closer to Theodore than Harry and Ron, the Parselmouth would've thought that she'd indulge the other two into what secret she had as well. Alas, it was what it was.

He placed the letter in his usual stash-pile, and sat at his desk where his quill and parchment papers were sprawled already. Theodore didn't bother to clear away the clutter on his desk, carelessly allowing Elise to waltz in and ask endless questions about his usage of a quill and parchments the day before. Of course, he'd shut her down at every question, but her persistence was to be admired at, as well as annoyed. Dipping his surprisingly well-conditioned quill in his ink bottle, he thought for a while before scribbling a letter back to his witch friend:

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _Thanks for the advice, and when I mean advice, I'm talking about Harry's present. No need to remind me that I was careless. But thanks, really._

 _About going to Diagon Alley on the 5_ _th_ _, I'd like to come but I have to make sure that my carer is onboard about it. After last year, she hasn't let me out of her sight since. But I guess it would be nice to meet up there, although I'm pretty confident that I'll fly through Study of Ancient-_

Something ear-splitting stabbed his ears as he accidentally pressed his quill too hard against the parchment, spurting out a fountain of deep-blue ink across the letter and his desk. Sawer was flapping his wings frantically as he flew off Theodore's shoulder to the area where the gruesome sounds had erupted from. The screams subsided quickly as Theodore followed the owl with his finger in his left ear, groaning at the ringing that didn't seem to fade away.

"Fucking hell, that hurt! Where did that even come from? Sawer, what is it? Oh-" There it was, squirming and writhing on the ground in silent pain as the boy and the owl only watched it in confusion and anxiety. Theodore knelt down quickly, scouring the area for any particular sign that could've been the cause of the creature's apparent torture. No… no… He looked back at it, noticing how its body was morphing in ways that looked so grim to the eye. The lizard tail flailed uncontrollably as the bones from its spine slowly jutted out through the skin in the grisliest of angles, ripping straight through as blood trickled out from the ruptures in the flesh. The left eye became grossly enlarged, almost bursting from its socket as the creature carried on thrashing on the floor.

"Shit! No, no, no!" Theodore repeated frantically as he lifted the suffering beast from the ground, placing it on the desk to look at it closely. "I don't know what to do, I mean… I w-wish I could help you but…" It began to twitch disturbingly, similar to a rat that had been choked for a lengthy amount of time, forcing the distressed boy to cradle it in his hands again. "Don't go, okay? I… I'll find a way to make you better, I promise. Just… don't die…"

The creature strangely found comfort within the young Parselmouth's voice, as its twitches became fainter by the second until it settled completely. Still laying on its side upon Theodore's hands, the creature's malformed body began to reshape itself back into its 'normal' form, its skeleton being realigned underneath the wounded scales, and its eye reducing in size to fit inside the slightly spaced-out skull socket. Theodore thought that it looked like a wild animal had completely ravaged it, not even bothering to decimate its entire being. Albeit, it still looked alive. Barely anyways.

"Theo? Can I come in, please?" Elise. Theodore dashed to the creature's cardboard box and carefully lowered it inside, wary of causing any more harm to the weakened beast, then pushed the box under his bed. Elise was the last person who needed to know about any of this. She'd scrutinise him all the way until he'd go back to Hogwarts.

"Come in! Come in…" He declared as he ridded his t-shirt of the prominent dust from underneath his bed. Elise swung the door open and stuck her head through only, which was odd considering the fact that she'd never pass up a single chance to roam inside his room.

"Hey. Aren't you getting ready?"

"Ready for what? Oh, you're talking about the park thing. Yeah, I'll come down soon."

"Nope," replied the girl as she shook her head in a condescending motion. "Madam said that we have to go down to the dining hall now, to place us inside of our groups." Theodore looked back to his bed, feeling severe stomach pains which was caused by blatant guilt. An idea came to mind. Probably insane, could ban him from the wizarding world forever, but it was an idea.

"I'll come down really soon, like in… two minutes. I just have to organise my school homework." Theodore didn't even bother trying to sound reassuring in his voice, mind still stuck on the horrid image of the lizard/bunny's body deforming so rapidly.

…

"Can I wait outside here?" Theodore nodded and was left alone in his room again. Sawer waddled over to the cardboard box under the bed, cooing sadly as he lowered his head to see it underneath. Theodore whistled for the owl to return to its cage as he retrieved the box, opening it to gently lift the creature in his hand. Abandoning it so carelessly was the absolute wrong thing to do, and leaving for the park couldn't have been the worst timing imaginable. He was playing a dangerous game. A very dangerous game. He was risking the exposure of an entire world, just for an unknown hybrid creature. Go figure.

The secretive boy threw on a loose hoodie and slipped the creature inside one his pockets, knowing that the significant holes would provide enough air for it to breathe. He sliced open a fresh bag of Viripin's packaged mice for Sawer to eat, and quickly wore his black Converses before heading out the door. Hidden in his back pocket was his copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , and his wand. He didn't know why he brought the wand with him, but it made him feel safer. Sure, there was probably nothing to worry about, but one had to be careful out there, especially when you were an underage wizard.

Elise was wearing a lilac sundress that stopped just below her knees, and was wearing her new denim jacket which she had gotten for her birthday recently. Her hair had surprisingly grown long enough for her to braid it neatly, and she had identical shoes to the young wizard to complete the entire look. As Theodore closed the door behind him, the startled girl squealed before lightly punching the boy out of embarrassment. He couldn't help the sly expression that was growing on his face as he smirked at her, earning another punch.

"Okay, okay! Calm down, I'll stop."

The two friends walked down the stairs side by side with Elise asking about the abnormal animal in Theodore's possession, and with Theodore trying to change the subject at every mention quite efficiently. _'She can't know, not even a little.'_ Theodore heard the overwhelming noises of the other children coming from the dining room as they reached the bottom of the staircase, watching Gretchen mercilessly berating the kids for no apparent reason. Luckily slipping past her without raising any alarms, the duo squeezed past the clumps of orphans who were crowding around the central table that was occupied by the Madam and three other adults who were unfamiliar by name and face. The Parselmouth turned his head to see where Elise had gone off to but awkwardly found her right next to him, falling victim to her small stature in such a large crowd.

"I always hated going to the park to do this," complained the boy as he brought himself closer to Elise. "I'm always stuck with Gretchen and it always ends up in a disaster at the end of the day."

"Well, you've always provoked her into doing something really mean towards you." Elise returned, using Theodore's shoulder as leverage to see above the towering children.

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do."

"I don't."

"Do you remember when we were five, and we had that massive bake sale?" How could he forget? A series of unexplainable events at the time, had fallen all onto Gretchen due to the boy's 'disregard for the rules'. He could argue that he wasn't in control of his magic at the time, but then that'd be a lie and a half.

"So…" He replied, scowling at a boy who elbowed him in his back behind him. The boy took one look at him and scurried off in shameless fear.

"So? Gretchen offered you a slice of the last cake, but you threw it in her face, all because it was tiny."

"Okay, first of all, I didn't touch the cake. How could I throw something if I didn't touch it, it just doesn't make-"

"SILENCE!" The hall dropped in complete silence as the Madam bellowed with such power. Elise had given up on her struggle and sulked next to the taller boy with her arms crossed like a child. Theodore looked at the orphanage director intently, along with the seemingly government officials, internally dreading what they had planned for the orphans this year. A woman with saggy cheeks and eyes which possessed masked turmoil, stepped on a platform after thanking the Madam.

"Hello, children! My name is Natalie Tweadful, and I am the overseer for these wonderful events that has been tradition at Stuggle's for nearly sixty years. Every three years, our beloved orphanage is honoured as the hosts for the Stuggle's Awareness Campaign or simply S.A.C., which is a charity-based organisation that involves…"

Theodore was completely out of it. Nothing that this woman could drawl out could make him in the slightest, excited about any of this. She was probably the dullest being that he had ever seen in his life, save for Professor Binns. He never remembered the previous introductory talks being this soul-sucking. Perhaps he was just subconsciously waiting for the bowler hat on the solid-looking man's head to bellow out random gibberish, or the-

"What the…" Something squirmed and wriggled on the inside of Theodore's hoodie, causing him to jerk a little awkwardly. Ignoring the leering eyes from his fellow orphans, Theodore slowly slipped his hand inside of his hoodie pocket, only to feel something small, warm and slightly damp brushing against his open palm. Theodore hastily tapped his feet against the floor, doing his best to contain his exhilaration of the thought that the creature was back in full health. Suddenly, he felt a soft jab in his right rib as Elise turned to him, noticing that boy had strangely entered an excitable mood.

"Why are you so cheery all of a sudden?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No reason," whispered the young wizard back. "I just know what I'm about to do today rather than this."

"You're not going to run away again, are you?" He immediately frowned.

"Now why would you think that? Just because I did that last year, doesn't mean that I'll do it again."

"It kinda does." She retorted.

"It does not."

"Yes, it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"It does, Theodore."

"No, it doesn't! Why would-"

"THEODORE!"

…

"Thank you," said the Madam much more calmly. Everyone turned their heads around to the called boy, but returned their attention to the head of the orphanage. "Now as you know, we always assign you in groups under the supervision of the two of us, being myself and Sister Gretchen. I would advise you not to try and switch groups as there will be dire consequences should the situation demand it. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Madam Geoffrey," said the children in a chorus.

"Good. Now, Sister Gretchen and I, will call out your names one by one, and you will join the supervisor that has called for you. Lucas Tribble!" Theodore was slightly reminded of his sorting that happened nearly two years ago, by seeing all the children coming up and dividing into two groups under the Madam and Gretchen. He wondered if he would feel the same bitter disappointment that he had felt when he was sorted into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin. A feeling of bitter disappointment turned into immense relief.

"Watch. I'll go with Gretchen for the third time in a row." The downhearted Parselmouth whispered in the shorter girl's ear.

"Don't think like that, I'm sure that-"

"Riddle!" Gretchen screamed from the other end of the hall. Theodore closed his eyes, inhaled then exhaled. He wasn't surprised, just disappointed. Elise gave him a squeeze on his arm for reassurance as he reluctantly trudged over to the despicable woman. What did he do to deserve this for nearly ten years? A simple magical mishap and suddenly your entire life was damned to fall under the wrath of a hateful woman. He finally broke through the tight crowd of children and walked behind Gretchen with his group members. Freddie was standing behind Richard, constantly flicking his ears while Jason was nervously avoiding eye contact with the Parselmouth.

' _Glaise and Watson? Again?! Madam, please tell me you didn't choose these groups.'_

"Elise Thullen!" Theodore blinked as he saw Elise pushing through the other children to skip away to the Madam's group, briefly shooting a look of sympathy at the boy before talking with her other friends. Of course. The only friend he had left in this place and she'd be on the other side. This wasn't chance, this was just straight, pure bad luck. Nobody, literally nobody, was worth speaking to in his-

There it was again. The lizard/bunny ruffled on the inside of his pocket, sniffing so profusely that Theodore was forced to mask the noise with his hand. Imagine how Gretchen would react upon seeing such a creature right in front of her. Ah, wishes that could never come into light, no matter how hard you wanted it to become true. If only…

"Fuck off, Freddie! I'm not in the mood!"

"Of course you are, Ricky! It's only a joke, that's all. I was-"

"FUCK OFF!"

"The next person to swear on this bus again, will get kicked to the curb and trust me, nobody is going to help you back home. So shut it!"

Theodore had his left cheek pressed against the slightly grubby bus window, boringly counting each person that seemed abnormally tall or short on the passing pavements, unable to bring himself to the satisfaction that he was finally outside of Stuggle's for once. I mean, not only were they lazy enough to reutilise the bake sale idea from nine years ago, but they couldn't even obtain a simple lease to use the local park for only five hours. Pathetic on the so called 'caring' government officials' part. Theodore couldn't take it anymore. His thick book was pressing against his spine quite painfully, and he couldn't take the beast out of his pockets until they'd arrive at God knows where.

' _Next summer, I'm staying over with the Weasleys. No way in hell am I sticking around at Stuggle's again. No offence to Madam or Elise…'_

The bus ride lasted for another thirty minutes until the bus driver had pulled over near a parking lot that was opposite to the park which could only exist in fairy-tales. Lush green landscapes of grass that held a golden tint from the afternoon sun glaring from above, perfect circular flower beds containing evenly grown flora of a wide variety, and grand trees that were littered all over the place which outstripped the community park in Lambeth by a mile. Theodore gazed outside through the windows in awe, not seeing something so pristine since the fields at Hogwarts. Remarkable.

"Stop gawking through the window and get your behinds out the bus!" Everyone obeyed Gretchen as they all began to clear out through the bus doors quickly. Theodore was the last person out as he almost dropped his wand and the book carelessly, catching them at the very last second. Not wanting to give her another excuse to scream at him, he rushed out of the bus and hopped off to join the others who were busy teasing each other.

"Where are we," asked Theodore as he spun his head around to search for a sign somewhere. Freddie pointed to a crispy-white solid banner that read, _'Little Whinging Public Park'_. "We're in Little Whinging?!"

"That's what it says. Do you know this place?"

"Yeah, one of my school friends lives around here! I can't believe we're actually in Little Whinging!"

"Alright, alright! Stop yapping on and go get the setup ready when the others will arrive. We haven't got all day!" Everyone groaned but not too loudly, as they crowded around the back of the bus to collect the foldable tables and chairs for the bake sale. The task was strenuous to the bones as Theodore could feel callouses forming on his palms every time he'd heave a table on his own or with Richard. The second they finished with all of the equipment, the other group had arrived with presumably, all the cakes and treats. Theodore's group sat near the benches, completely worn out and completely void of energy. How they'd expect them to sell cakes to everyone without passing out was beyond them.

Tables were soon filled to the brim with homemade pastries and treats, naturally drawing the attention of the park dwellers to their stands. In a mere matter of minutes, dozens of people were soon flooding the area of the bake sale as the air became saturated with summer joy. Laughter and cheers were echoing across the park as they munched on several strawberry tarts, jam donuts and slices of meringue-covered pies, all united by the unquestionable power of food. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, everyone seemed to love every second of it. Except from Theodore. Gretchen had just told him off for supposedly sabotaging her chocolate brownies when in reality, he caught them from falling when a bratty child had decided to take a piece for herself. Nothing that he could do would ever please the hulking woman. Why did he even try?

The Parselmouth was sitting alone on a shadowed bench near the stand that Elise was stationed to while he stroked the lizard/bunny underneath the table. What was hidden under a face of no apparent emotion, were multiple absurd thoughts based upon his current location and a very familiar person.

' _Oh man, I can't believe that Harry lives around here! And all this time, I thought that these trips were so uninteresting. Still are but what can you do? I wonder if I could sneak away and find his house somewhere. Huh, you wish, Theo. As if Gretchen, let alone Madam, would let you out of their sight. I doubt you could even-'_

"How much for fourteen biscuits, seven cake slices and nine tarts?"

"Dudders, be respectful. You have to be nice when you're the customer, alright?"

"Sorry, Mum."

' _Dudders?'_

Theodore looked up to see a blond boy hefty in weight slobbering over the cakes in gluttony as his mother towered over him with her longer than average neck, thin frame and identical hair. Theodore instantly knew and remembered who these people were.

"Everything alright, Petunia? What's the problem?" Theodore felt something vile backing up in his throat as he recognised the burly man that had arrived, sweat dripping from his forehead to his moustache.

"Yes, dear. I'm just treating Dudley with a little something after his grade report. He deserves it, don't you my little whiz-kid," said Petunia as she pinched Dudley's thick cheeks. Elise's left eye twitched on what looked so awkward, as did Theodore. Not wanting to give his very extended family a chance to recognise him from King's Cross, the Parselmouth stowed the creature in his pocket again and grabbed his book underneath the stand where he had hidden it from everyone else, and proceeded to sneak away out of sight from the bake sale. Surely, only one person would miss him, and she was occupied with cringing at the Dursleys.

Finding an area hidden well away from the others, the young wizard settled down underneath a heavily obscured oak tree, taking out his copy of the book as well as freeing the creature from his hoodie. The lizard/bunny hopped onto Theodore's lap, overwhelmed by the sudden shift of the environment as it sniffed the air keenly, eager to absorb each trace of the new surrounding scents.

"You like it here, don't you? So do I. I'll probably get in trouble but who cares? It's not like Gretchen wouldn't blab on me like she always does. Anyways, let me see if there isn't anything in here that I haven't overlooked before…"

…

" _Run, Theodore… run…"_

He scrambled to his feet as the voice from before was heard again, only sounding much more eerie to the ears. The sun seemingly died for a moment as the air began to grow cold, just slightly. The leaves overhead rustled against the unnatural gusts of wind that sent unbearable chills down the boy's spine.

…

Something was watching him. His mouth became parched as his fingers twitched uncontrollably at the realisation. He didn't know what and he couldn't explain it at all, but something was staring him down right there, like a defenceless lamb being preyed upon by a malnourished wolf. Theodore never thought of himself as a boy possessing a sixth sense of some sorts, but there was no denying that his entire being was sending a distress signal to his brain. Something or someone was watching him, and he was anything but safe. Defenceless.

"L-let's go back to everyone else. It was a mistake to come here. Come on, we're going." Theodore declared, his voice slightly croaking as trepidation was corroding him by the second. He looked down to the ground where the creature had been sniffing all over, and saw it scurrying away so quickly, he would've missed it had it been a second later.

"Hey! Get back here," called the boy as he chased after it, dropping his book underneath the tree. The lizard/bunny galloped through a crevasse in the bush that led to the forest which was adjacent to the tree that they settled under, vanishing out of sight. Theodore didn't hesitate to follow through as he squeezed his way in between and ran after the creature, barely able to trace its rapid movements. Although it displayed no magical traits beforehand, it still had the combined speed of a fully-grown rabbit and a lizard, easily outmatching the Parselmouth as he sprinted through the light-deprived forest.

Deeper and deeper, did the boy and the beast fall into the forest depths as the others felt like miles away from him. Theodore could feel his chest starting to contract with pain as he wheezed for excess air. The build-up of lactic acid in his muscles stung tremendously after running at his maximum speed for five minutes. He couldn't do it, he couldn't run any further. It was a wasted effort. The creature was probably waiting for its chance to enter the outside of the orphanage, making its escape at the perfect moment. Theodore thought to himself that he was so stupid into trying to 'replace' Viripin, thinking that he deserved what he had gotten.

"I'm never… going… to have… another pet… again…" He panted as he staggered towards an area full of light. What he had thought was another area of the park, turned out to be an abandoned enclosure which looked like it hadn't been tended to for decades. There was a malfunctioning waterfall that spurted water at irregular times, in irregular angles, which was centred within the closed off area, and the water below looked completely viscous with swirls of sickening greens and yellows floating inside. A tunnel that was infected with powerful vines was situated on the left of the decrepit waterfall, as well as a sign that had the words etched completely off. Soot, decomposing leaves and dry faeces was scattered all over the ground, confirming that this used to be a part of some sort of an amusement park. It was relatively big, big enough for all the children at his orphanage to fit inside, but Theodore couldn't feel anymore trapped. He had to get out of there and leave. Now.

" **Grrrrr…"**

Struck with complete fear, but still managing to twist his body to face the source of the baleful noise, Theodore only wished that he never left the others in the first place. His body was unresponsive to the blockage of fear severing the connection between body and brain, paralysed on the spot as he could only look upon the beast with terror in his eyes.

A scruffy, black paled-eyed dog, which was the size of a grizzly bear, was poised in a dangerous position, facing the boy with savagery pulsing through those feral eyes. Not only was the dog five times larger than it should've actually been, but Theodore had no chance of escaping the rabid beast, his only exit being barricaded by the animal itself. Strings of saliva leaked out from its jaws as it bared its dagger-like teeth, still growling at the boy viciously. If he ran, he'd die. If he stayed still, he'd die a little later. No matter what he did, he'd end up in a torn pile of flesh and bones for the Monster of Little Whinging to feast upon while nobody would be aware of his presence. What was it with him being imprisoned in secret areas, cornered by an animal that was way too big for its size?

One paw forward. One step back. Another paw forward. Another step back. The dog was nearing to its skinny prey as the boy could only retreat, not even remembering that he had a wand in his back pocket. He placed one foot before the other, still keeping his gaze against it, no matter how much he wanted to look away. If he did then what was the point of trying to live? Theodore backed up some more until he almost stumbled into the murky pool of 'water', luckily regaining his balance as he looked down to his feet. Big mistake. Big, big mistake. The dog barked ferociously (which sounded like a roar, more than anything) and used its powerful legs to blitz straight towards the Parselmouth, seemingly below a single second.

Reduced to reacting upon crude instincts, Theodore jumped backwards instantly, disregarding the fact that he'd drown inside a pool of tainted water. The dog was in between mid-pounce, jaws wide open, ready to splinter his skull into multiple fragments. He was falling backwards, ready to be engulfed entirely by the damnable slime when all he felt was the hard surface of the ground smacking against him. He rolled to his side, groaning upon impact as he heard a splash, followed by persistent whining in front of him. His vision came into focus as he watched the dog clambering out of the pool, fur completely saturated with water and slime as it refused to slide off. But wait…

' _Huh? How did I… how did I get all the way over here…? I was literally there, just a few seconds ago… Oh shit.'_

It had resumed its predatory position, barking madly at the boy after flicking off the loose strings of sludge on its drenched fur. Theodore was given no time to think as he scuttled backwards on the floor, barely noticing the lizard/bunny that had suddenly appeared on his knee. The dog hurtled at the boy with stupendous speed, surely going for the kill until it happened. Not exactly a miracle, not exactly wondrous, but it was definitely something. The minuscule beast sprung from the boy's lap, and grew in size substantially to match the size of the dog. Although still bearing its reptilian features, it lost all traces of the rabbit within it, slightly resembling Theodore's attacker as it ravaged at the dog's neck, not displaying an ounce of mercy.

The hulking dog was not incapacitated for so long as it managed to kick the equally large hybrid away with its hind legs, creating a deep gash against its stomach. Theodore winced at the exposure of the rib cage through the wound, but knew he couldn't do anything to help. The dog struck the hybrid above its left eye with its giant paw, forcing the creature to retaliate by using its tail to smack it away with the force of a moving truck. Lunging with all the might that it could muster, the hybrid caught the dog's neck in its jaws again, adamant on letting go the second time. Theodore didn't know that the small lizard/bunny could be capable of such ferocity and might, he daresay power.

Unfortunately, the dog mercilessly overpowered the hybrid somehow, clawing at it repeatedly until it staggered away, wounds covering nearly every part of its body. It swayed side to side weakly, body probably failing from the severe loss of blood in such a small amount of time. It was tiring… it was dying. But the savagery didn't end there. The dog pinned the hybrid down easily, swooping its jaw down to swiftly deliver the final blow to its neck, soon to be the boy next…

" _Flipendo!"_ Theodore roared as he pointed his wand at the attacking dog. A jet of blue light smacked the dog on its side, sending it hurtling across the enclosure until it crumpled against the wall and sank within the turbid pool. Theodore didn't care that he had just used magic right there. The Ministry could persecute him all they want, there was no way that he could've possibly survived without doing anything. He ran over to the dying hybrid, wand still in his hand just in case the dog was still alive. He hoped not. The boy dropped to his knees as the creature wheezed heavily, devoid of the brutish nature that it had depicted just a few moments ago.

"Why did you run away? Why would you leave me, if you knew that thing was out here to get me?" Theodore asked softly, pointing his wand over the wounds while healing them albeit, not completely.

" _Never left you… only protect you…"_ The creature hissed weakly.

"Wait… I know that voice…"

" _Theodore…"_

…

"No… it can't be…" Without warning, the composite creature started to reduce in size slowly as its limbs snapped into its body until they vanished underneath the skin. The scales remained but the fur dwindled and dwindled till no more could be seen. Shrinking and shrinking even further, Theodore began to identify the form that he had missed for so long, the excessive wounds not even enough to mistake her identity. She shrunk and shrunk, reshaping herself into her original form. There she laid on the ground, some chunks missing from her body, the tip of her tail absent and her scales returning to the sickly shade that he saw the first time he met her. Cradling her in his hands, looking down at her with tears of joy, regret, horror and sadness, the young Heir picked the serpent up, careful not to mishandle her at all.

"Viripin…? Viripin, is that really you?" He croaked.

" _Theo…"_

"Y-you never left, y-you… you saved me…"

" _Theo…"_

"Don't talk, okay? I'm going to get you back at Stuggle's and I'm going to make you better. Just hold on for me, please? Please, Viripin," asserted the Parselmouth as he carried her away from the enclosure. "Don't you worry. I'm never leaving you again, you hear me? I won't-"

The dog erupted from the waterfall pool, and charged straight towards the two, eager to finish the job that it had set out to do. Theodore's heart nearly erupted so violently as he held Viripin in his hands, he and the dog face to face for a moment until it happened again, only the effects of it was much more recognisable than before. The sensation of his body being warped and contorted in the most vigorous way possible, only told him that he somehow Apparated away from the enclosure and to… wherever the hell he was.

He was inside of the bus that he came in from the orphanage, seated in his exact spot against the slightly grubby window. Theodore was out of breath, sucking in vast amounts of air as he focused his attention to the damaged Maibian Adder, who was still clinging onto life. He instinctively drew out his wand, knowing fully well that it was too late for him anyways, and proceeded to heal her again when somebody unlocked the bus doors, forcing him to hide his wand yet again.

"Theo! What are you doing in here," asked Elise worryingly as she ran through the middle of the bus with a face full of concern. "How did you get in here? Did you know that everyone was looking for you, the Madam-" The girl took a single glance at the snake, words void from her mind. Theodore didn't take his eyes off Viripin as well. He felt so stupid about everything. Choosing his father over her, thinking that she had left him forever and not even recognising her own voice. She never left him, not once. Not even when he wasn't the same person anymore. She was there. Always there.

' _Viripin…'_

* * *

" _So cold… am I… is this death…?"_ What was this? Where was she? Her body was fluctuating uncontrollably between numbness and unspeakable pain, driving her into the depths of madness before mending her back into sanity again. It even felt unbearable to flicker her tongue to taste the air around her, only barely catching onto the aroma that had been her comfort, her refuge… her home. That scent which bestowed upon her the serenity that was ever-present since she had first arrived, felt like it almost rejuvenated the soul within her, raising her back from unconsciousness to see her beloved friend kneeling against the bed with his head buried in his arms. She was too weak to move, barely able to even speak. But she had enough strength for this.

" _Theodore…"_ hissed the Maibian Adder weakly to the boy. Theodore lifted his head to some degree, unsure as to if it was really her voice calling his name, or his guilt which deceived him. Lifting his head some more, his hazel met with the solid chrome as they glinted from the pale moonlight that filled some of the bedroom.

…

" _You've been crying…"_

"I've been crying a lot now, these days. Don't know why I can't stop myself." Viripin attempted to slither closer to the boy, spitting in pain as her wounded body cramped up. "Don't move. You'll only hurt yourself." She slumped her head down against his bedsheets, eyes still glistening.

…

"I thought you left, you know. I didn't think I'd ever see you again, but… We stop them, the attacks. Even though it was me the whole time. They knew it was me anyways. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore. I thought that… that they wouldn't care about me, but guess what? I was wrong… so wrong. That diary that I had? Belonged to my father, it did. Not only that but a piece of him was inside of the diary, and I spoke to him. Every single day. A-and the more I spoke to him, the more the addiction became worse. I couldn't stop myself… And just when I thought he couldn't be any more of a monster, he told me who he was… who he really was… Viripin, I've been trying my best to come to grips with it, I-I've been trying to accept it but it's just so hard! It's just so hard… I've tried, you know. I really have…"

" _Theodore…"_

…

"Why did you stay? I thought that you left forever… why did you stay," asked the boy tearfully. Viripin steadily raised her head to the boy's level, almost taken back that the Parselmouth could see her for what she truly was again.

" _I never left you, Theodore… I was always by your side when you needed me… I was hiding in your dorm, camouflaged underneath your bed… I even followed you when you thought that you were alone, when you went down in the Chamber that night…"_

…

"It wasn't Fawkes… it was you, wasn't it? You blinded the Basilisk, and you saved Hermione… you saved us all…"

" _You were never alone, Theodore… I never left you…"_

"And you saved my life again, back there," said the boy with a small smile after he sniffed sharply, wiping the excess tears from his red cheeks. Never had he seen such loyalty within an animal before, magical or not. She was beyond anything that he had ever seen in his life before. She was everything, and so much more. Theodore knew he didn't deserve a being that was even half of her, but he couldn't bear to lose her. Not like this, never again. He couldn't.

...

"I'll be better. I promise."

" _You don't need to be better. You just need to love yourself, and to forgive"_ said Viripin softly. _"That's all you need to do. Forgive."_

"Will you forgive me?"

…

She said nothing as there was nothing to be said. The boy didn't need forgiveness. Not from her. She straightened her body across the bed, the pain of her stiff bones and ripped flesh being suppressed as she neared closer to the boy. So much pain and agony inflicted onto her body, but she didn't give a single care to any of them. Her body elongated further and further until she pressed her flat, broad head against the young wizard's own so tenderly that he was flushed away with his tremendous guilt, absolutely strengthening the once powerful bond between the two, into an unbreakable one. It could never be broken, never to be severed ever again.

* * *

"Whatcha got there, Hermy," asked Carmen curiously as she noticed her cousin grinning at something for quite a while. Carmen was sat in her spare bed along the ground in her older cousin's bedroom, dressed in a pink onesie with a hood shaped in a dinosaur's head. The younger girl had also inherited the bushy hair that was present in her siblings, father, and cousin, marking the hood as absolutely useless.

"It's a letter from my friend at school. He just told me something great that had happened to him recently." Hermione replied as she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the joyfulness within his words. The Muggle-born started from the beginning until the image of Carmen plopping herself on the other end of her bed, interrupted her abruptly.

"What happened to him?"

"I can't exactly tell you, Carmen. It's sort of a secret."

"Oh. Who's it from?" Hermione sighed, but decided to give the younger girl an answer to prevent what would've been an eternity of begging.

"His name is Theodore. You know, the one who Mum and Dad won't stop talking about."

"So you do like him!" Carmen declared with a pointed finger. The witch furrowed her thick eyebrows heavily, folding Theodore's letter away as she defended herself against the eleven-year-old girl. She had to put a stop to this, her family was getting out of hand now.

"I don't like Theodore like that, he's just my friend from school and that is all. How many times do I have to explain this?" She muttered annoyingly as she tied her hair into a tight bun that required seven hairbands. Carmen shrugged and slid off the Muggle-born's bed to her own. Hermione opened her drawer full of letters from everyone that wrote to her, and stashed the Parselmouth's newest one inside. The thought that if Harry, Ron or Theodore kept a collection of their letters hidden away somewhere, had crossed her mind once or twice, but never enough for it to stick in her mind.

…

"Is he as pretty as Auntie Caroline says?"

"Carmen, I just said… yeah, he's pretty." Her skin flared up so much as she never said anything about Theodore on his good looks out loud before.

"But you don't like him like that, do you?"

"I guess not."

…

"Does he like someone else?"

"I don't know, Carmen! Look, just go to sleep, it's late already."

"Okay. Goodnight, Hermy!"

"Goodnight, Carmen." And with that, Carmen was out like a light, whistling through her nose as she brought her sheets to her chin. Hermione fixed her bun one last time before she threw her duvet on top of her, settling in finally after a long day of revising the topics that were covered during the end of the last term. The Muggle-born smacked her head against the inviting plushness of her velvet pillow, falling into well-deserved slumber as the thoughts about the handsome boy sunk deep into her subconscious, settling in comfortably and well.

* * *

 _Cokeworth. 46 Spinner's End. April 9_ _th_ _. 7:00AM. Three days since the boy had been brought into the world. In his short years of servitude to the Dark Lord, and his unbreakable friendship with Valerie, Severus still couldn't comprehend the fact that the child had been produced between the union of the two. He never questioned the woman's fascination with the Dark Lord, never batting an eye when she'd graciously bow before his feet as he'd enter a room. She was his most loyal follower after all. Severus just couldn't understand it. He knew that it was loveless. He knew that Valerie's feelings towards him, was anything but true. She was blinded by his power and nothing could be done about it. She was lost._

 _Severus was sat in his father's old armchair, tapping his fingernails against the worn leather in perfect rhythm, no interval being extended or shortened. He was stuck within his own mind, rewinding the unforgettable moment from when he had travelled to Hogsmeade three weeks ago. Had he not snuck through Hog's Head Inn on that fateful night… what then? He had to tell her. He had to save her, not just Valerie but Lily as well. The Dark Lord had listed them on his agenda and there was no escape._

' _Winter, Summer and Spring… Three half-bloods, forever intertwined…'_

 _The four knocks on the door echoed through the young man's childhood home, causing him to brandish his wand as he slowly stepped towards the front door. He wasn't used to feeling paranoia within his being, as he always strived to maintain a calm demeanour. One should only display this type of appearance when trapped inside a position similar to his._

…

" _Who's there," asked Severus as he pointed his wand firmly at the door._

" _Surely, you haven't forgotten our arrangement today, Severus. Would you be so kind as to let me in?" Relief washed over him as he calmly unlocked the door to allow the old man inside of his home. Closing the door behind Dumbledore briskly, Severus led him to his living room where the Headmaster sat comfortably near the rickety table next to the dust-ridden bookshelf. Severus remained standing as he looked down at the Professor with pleading eyes._

…

" _The boy was born three days ago, Professor… The prophecy is coming into light. What am I to do?"_

" _You called me here, not because of your own endeavours, but for someone else. Am I correct?" Severus paced up and down, shaking his head in blatant shame._

…

" _Severus…"_

" _Valerie is with child! The Dark Lord's child! Do you know what this means?!"_

" _Yes," replied Dumbledore softly. "I understand. It's just as you said. The prophecy is coming into light-"_

" _She's made a mistake, Albus!" Severus snapped as he whipped his greasy head around to face the old man. "A grave, grave mistake by having his child! E-everything… is going wrong and we cannot do anything! Because right now, as long as that boy is hidden under the Dark Lord's wing… it'll be the end."_

…

" _Well? Aren't you going to say anything?!" Dumbledore simply stood up from his seat and walked over to Severus with so much imposing presence that the younger man nearly cowered backwards. Face to face, Severus met the baby blue eyes of the greatest wizard of his time, unable to read those flickers and gleams that glistened infrequently within. He felt a soft hand on his left shoulder, followed by a light squeeze._

…

" _Sometimes, we cannot do the things that we must. We can only hope for the best to happen in the darkest of times."_

" _What…?"_

" _I trust you, Severus. I genuinely mean that with the entirety of my heart. Do not break… that trust. You understand?"_

…

" _Severus…"_

…

" _Yes, Professor… I do."_

 **Man, I love doing these flashbacks. Too bad that this will probably be the last one until a long way forward. Don't want to spill everything now, do I?**

 **Theodore and Viripin are reunited again, guys! Theodore could possibly be in big trouble because he used magic in self-defence against a 'crazed gorilla wolf' dog that attacked him for no reason, and Hermione has him on the brain a little too often these days. Now what could possibly happen in the third year? Hope you enjoyed this one. Later.**


	24. Chapter 24: Summer Days Pt6

"I'm telling you, I know what I saw! I wouldn't just use my wand for the sake of it! Everything that I'm telling you now is the truth, you have to believe me." Theodore had been trying to justify his near-death ordeal for the past thirty minutes, his voice slowly growing hoarse over the dragging repetition of his words. Cornelius Fudge was sitting in the Madam's office with the boy alone, absorbing each repeated explanation as if he couldn't catch it the first time. Theodore was growing dangerously annoyed with the Minister, frowning whenever he'd pause for too long after Theodore would finish speaking. Was he going to be expelled from Hogwarts or not?

"Well, a story like that is quite riveting, but vague at the same time. You were in Little Whinging along with the orphanage a few days ago, and you spontaneously casted the Knockback Jinx for no apparent-"

"But I did have a reason," alleged Theodore, frustration still getting the better of him. "I was attacked by… I don't even know what it was, but it was trying to kill me. I wasn't going to just let it rip me to shreds. Besides, there was nobody there to see."

"Theodore…"

"Look, I know I broke the law but you have to believe me, please… I don't want to leave Hogwarts." Theodore pleaded, trying to look as guilty as possible. The Parselmouth was obstinate on the fact that he was in the right and that he didn't deserve expulsion, but he couldn't afford to damage what little chance he had left. For all he knew, everything had already been finalised and Fudge was just here to listen to his final words before they'd be printed in the Daily Prophet, under the headlines which would haunt him forever. They'd take his wand, Viripin, Sawer, his books, and he'd never see Ron, Dumbledore, Harry or Hermione again. His heart twinged ever so lightly at the last two names.

Fudge had entered deep thought again, the consideration of the boy's exclusion still written all over his face. Theodore was hanging on the edge, his entire life depending on the few words that could be spoken by just one man. One man.

…

"The _'Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery'_ clearly states that you should be expelled entirely for your actions," said the Minister calmly. The boy's face almost fell into pure shock. He didn't even think that he had the strength to say anything else. "But… seeing as how you seem to be telling the truth, and the situation that is currently at hand with Bla- an escapee… I will choose to 'overlook' this. But this doesn't mean that I'm letting you off so easily!"

"Yes, Minister, sir!" Theodore replied ecstatically, quickly calming himself down as he was given a glance of disapproval from Fudge. "I'll remember this, I promise!"

"You better! You shouldn't know me to be so lenient with these sort of matters. You should count yourself lucky that I know of you, Mr Riddle. Not so many children of your age has had their names circulating in the Ministry, you know. Except for Harry Potter, of course."

' _People talk about me in the Ministry? What do they even say?'_

"So it's fine now? I'm not in any other type of trouble?" Fudge nodded his head, slightly tipping his lime bowler hat as Theodore gave a quiet sigh of relief. He didn't know what he'd do if he had to leave the wizarding world, and he didn't want to know either. He just dodged a bullet of a lifetime. A very, VERY fast bullet. There was no way that he'd use magic during the summer again unless, of course, an abomination from Hell decides to attack him again.

"Well, Mr Riddle," said Fudge as he slightly struggled to lift his corpulent self from the lilac chair. "I'm sorry to say that I must be going now. The Ministry waits for nobody, not even its own Minister. Please do try to keep this under wraps. I couldn't even imagine how the Prophet would react, given that they'd find out."

"Yes, sir."

"There's a good lad. I should get- oh, I almost forgot! Here." Fudge reached inside his dragon-skinned briefcase and sunk his arm halfway through before he brought out a large, slightly tattered sack. He discreetly handed it to the boy as if he was partaking into something unlawful, and closed his briefcase. "Courtesy of Professor Dumbledore. He suggested that you would not need any overseeing when shopping for your school things, however…"

"However…" Theodore looked at him suspiciously. The man, as said before, was acting suspiciously towards the Parselmouth. Ulterior thoughts and possible motives flashed within Fudge's eyes but weren't fast enough to escape the boy. The man simply sighed and shook his head, fitting his hat before clasping the briefcase handle in his thick fingers.

"Ministry officials will be here to escort you to Diagon Alley and back again, as well as for your journey to King's Cross. I'm sorry if you are against this but it is for your safety."

"I understand."

"Good. I'm glad. Now, I really must go. Let us not find ourselves in this position again eh, Mr Riddle?" Fudge said as he had his hand outstretched to Theodore, who placed the heavy sack of, seemingly Galleons, on the chair to shake it without hesitation.

"I promise, sir." Fudge tipped his hat to the Parselmouth one last time before he exited the office and disappeared through the front door. Theodore could've sworn that he heard the sound of a car engine exploding outside, but he ignored this and left the office instead. He had gotten away with doing possibly the worst thing that a wizard or witch his age could've done without so much as getting a severe warning. Theodore didn't know if it was his luck or if Dumbledore had persuaded Fudge to not kick him out, but he didn't care. He'd be going to Hogwarts for the third time running.

The content Parselmouth heaved the money sack from the chair and left the office for his room. He wasn't surprised to see some of the other kids scurrying off when he opened the office door. He had gotten more visits from other people in a few weeks, than they had in their whole lifetime. Not only that, but he was probably the only orphan at Stuggle's to ever leave the country for a school they had no knowledge of. Amazed, jealous or intrigued, Theodore couldn't deny that they had taken an interest in him. Then again, Theodore never denied that fact at all.

He reached his bedroom door and pushed through gently, careful not to startle the snake and owl inside. He peeked his head through first, listening to the subtle hisses of Viripin tasting the air to verify that it was the boy, before entering the room. Viripin was laying on the boy's bedsheets lazily, with her body semi-hanging off the edge of the bed. Her wounds were still in the process of healing, some having vanished completely while others… didn't. She looked a lot more healthy and stronger than when the wounds were still fresh from that day, but it was hard for Theodore to look at her without feeling at least some guilt. To think that he could've been the one that was mauled by the dog. He shivered as he tucked the sack in his cupboard.

" _Who was downstairs for you? Was it Dumbledore,"_ asked the serpent as she perked up upon seeing Theodore ripping open a bag of frog legs.

"No, it was the Minister for Magic. Said that I was off the hook about the whole 'killer dog' thing. For a second there, I thought that I was going to be expelled from school!"

" _I'm happy that you didn't. You saved my life back there, so you don't deserve expulsion at all!"_ Theodore chuckled lightly as he walked over to Viripin with the bag opened up like a makeshift bowl. He placed it in front of the snake's nostrils as he stroked her head gently.

"You saved me, remember? I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for you."

" _And I wouldn't have been here if you never saved me. You were the one who pulled us out of there. How did you do it anyways?"_ She asked as she snacked on a handful of legs at the same time.

"I Apparated, or something like that. Twice, as well. And I didn't even get splinched." A horrible thought came to his mind. What if Viripin was partially hurt because she had gotten splinched by him? _'No. It was that fucking dog who did this. Man, I swear, if it comes for us again and it hurts her…'_ It wasn't like he didn't know how. Although he swore to himself that he'd destroy it, _Secrets of the Darkest Art: Extended Original Edition_ was still hidden in his cupboard, collecting dust like it always did from the shop that he stole it from. _'The Unforgivable Curses are known to be the three most heinous spells known to wizardkind…'_

The young wizard felt agitation filling him rapidly as he jumped from the sounds of a mad dog barking from outside his window. He found himself breathing very quickly before he calmed himself down, even though the barking didn't stop. Viripin was still gulping down several legs at a time, unaware that the boy was looking away in unsettlement. The barks didn't disturb her nearly as much as it did for the boy, knowing that as long as she was with him, she'd be safe.

…

"Do you think I should tell the others? Hermione, Ron and Harry?" Theodore asked in near silence. Viripin pondered for a while, then answered the boy's question.

" _They're your best friends. If you can't trust them to know things like this, then you shouldn't trust them at all."_

"You're right. I should tell them, although not all at once. They'd probably get spooked out, especially Hermione. I think she worries about me too much, you know? Maybe I should tell her first, to get it out of the way when I see her at Diagon Alley."

" _Hermione 'worries' about you too much, now? Maybe she-"_

"Don't start, Viripin," said the boy firmly as he cut her off at the last second. "She's just being nice, that's all."

" _Right. Of course! It's not like she probably wants the two of you to be alone in Diagon Alley for the entire day together."_ If snakes could smirk, Viripin would've had a great, big dirty one on her face.

"What are you implying?" Theodore returned, slightly annoyed that she was back to teasing the boy.

" _What I am implying, my dear Theodore, is that a certain 'friend' of yours, has her eyes on you. Usually, if a girl worries about you that much, then it's quite clear that she likes you. And I thought that it was Louise who'd be the one to steal your heart…"_ That was it. Theodore jumped to his feet as he frowned heavily at Maibian Adder, not noticing that his cheeks had gone slightly pink.

"Hermione hasn't stolen my heart! Nobody has stolen my heart! She's just my friend! I don't… love her, and she certainly doesn't love me!"

" _I never said anything about love…"_

…

"That doesn't mean anything," huffed the boy as he sat back down, arms crossed as well as his face. He looked away, refusing that his eyes should set on the serpent as he felt her slithering across his leg and onto his arm. Viripin rested her head on the boy's chest and nuzzled against his three-haired chin, trying to grab his attention. Even if he was growing older by the second, Viripin never missed a chance to see him act so childish about girls. It was very entertaining for the exotic snake.

"It's not funny, Viripin."

" _Alright, you don't like Hermione and Hermione doesn't like you. Satisfied? You know that I'm only teasing."_

"Yeah…" The Parselmouth replied as he found himself stroking her head once again.

" _Can I come with you? To Diagon Alley?"_ Theodore scoffed.

"As if I'm letting you outside the room, let alone the building. You're not even fully well enough to-" The barking had gone from alarming the boy in his room, to becoming an insistent nuisance. He lightly moved Viripin's head away from his chest and walked towards the window to see what the commotion was all about.

"Stop it, Dexter! Can't you see that he doesn't like it?!" A girl of around Theodore's age, demanded to a shorter boy on the street in front of the boy's room.

"I'm only playing. It's not like I'm hurting it. Here, you have a go," said the boy opposite her as he handed her a broom pole which looked more like a murky green tree branch than anything. The girl pushed it away and continued to scold him.

"I'll tell Mum, I really will!"

"Go on then. See if I care." The boy bended his knees as he poked a rabid Jack Russel Terrier that was chained to a _STOP_ sign, flinching backwards whenever the dog would snap its froth-filled jaws at him. He laughed maliciously as he did it again, the girl running off to tell their mother of the boy's idiocy.

Theodore was not afraid to yell at the other boy to 'piss off', and he would've done so if he didn't focus his attention to somewhere, or should he say someone, else. For a brief moment, Theodore had set his eyes on a man that resembled someone who was suffering from severe malnutrition and a lack of cleanliness. From a distance, Theodore couldn't see the man's eyes as they had sunken into their sockets, with his filthy dishevelled hair being difficult to ignore. His garbs were even more soiled, having prominent holes and large stains of what could've been blood everywhere. He surely looked homeless and possibly mad. The way his vacant face oddly expressed some sort of insanity to the boy, caused him to look closer until they were both locked in eye contact. Theodore instantly closed the window shut as firmly as possible, and whisked his new curtains across to inhibit any light from coming through.

' _Probably one of those cocaine addicts from around the corner that Tristan always used to talk about. He looks like he just escaped from a madhouse!'_

" _Why did you close the curtains, Theodore?"_ The serpent asked in near-darkness.

…

"You can come with me to Diagon Alley…"

The 5th had come so suddenly that Theodore had almost forgotten about why it was important. Just a few days ago, he was nearly killed by a massive dog and now he was out and about in the public, completely free and unrestricted. Well, not exactly unrestricted. Theodore sniffed quietly to take in the foreign scent of the MoM car that was assigned for him. The leather seats were okay, but not as comfortable as Gretchen's car (odd wasn't it?). But he didn't mind. At least he wasn't stuck in a car with someone who he resented. Or at least, now he wasn't.

Theodore was sitting in the back with Viripin on his lap, stroking the serpent as he gazed out through the window to take in London much more slowly, compared to last year. Although the Knight Bus was much more quicker and enjoyable, he appreciated the fact that he could see everything, rather than an elongated blur. He saw various people walking through the streets of London, pressing his face as he saw a street magician performing a tedious card trick to an old man, earning an applause from his audience.

' _To think that they don't know real magic. I wonder how they'd react if they saw… god, this is taking forever!'_

Forty minutes had already passed since he had left Stuggle's, and it didn't look like they were even a quarter of the way there. The two Aurors that were sat at the front were stoic and hard-faced, one called Proudfoot, the other being called Savage. They both arrived at the orphanage with the same emotionless demeanour that they were expressing now, not even talking amongst each other. Theodore couldn't even speak to Viripin, scared that they'd hear him speak Parseltongue. He didn't know why an escapee had to stop him from taking the Knight Bus. He lifted Viripin slightly and placed her on the seat next to him as he leaned forward.

"Excuse me?" He asked without fear. "When are we getting there? It's been almost an hour since we left and I-"

"Stop talking and sit back down," said Savage bluntly as he made a left turn onto a main road. The boy's face turned dark as he burned his stare into Savage's skull before he sat back down, bringing the snake back on his lap again.

"Prick…" He muttered, turning his head to look outside the window again. As Viripin hissed a little loudly, Theodore could see the Auror swallowing painfully as he kept his eyes forward on the road. Theodore sneered, giving the Maibian Adder an extra pat on her head. It wasn't as bad as being with Gretchen but by God, wasn't there anyone else available to take him to King's Cross? Anyone?

Forty minutes turned into an hour and fifteen as the car turned into Charing Cross Road, a road that Theodore was all too familiar with. There, bright and glowing as it basked in the sun's generous light, was the Leaky Cauldron. It was just how he remembered it. Ancient but still possessing great strength, just a building but almost seeming sentient in that it called for you to walk inside. The Cauldron was Theodore's third home behind Stuggle's and Hogwarts, and it didn't even matter if he wasn't staying. He loved this place.

The car pulled up and parked on the pavement right in front of the Cauldron after an eternity. Theodore exited the car and draped Viripin around his shoulders as he walked over to the boot to retrieve his sack of Galleons. The boy was unable to count how much was given to him by the school's funding, but the sheer weight of it all told him already. He even had to get a backpack for it because his hands would start to sweat from holding it for too long.

He walked over to the inn's door when he realised that he wasn't being followed by anyone. Savage and Proudfoot were still inside of the car, eyes still facing forward. Theodore narrowed his eyes at them and walked back.

"Aren't you coming with me," asked the boy as he crossed his arms quite pompously. Proudfoot sneered as he shot a nasty look at Theodore.

"You're a big boy, no? We're not going to hold your hand when you do your little shopping, you know."

"But the Minister said that-"

"We know what the Minister said," butted in Savage, giving the boy a equally nasty face. "Escort you here, and take you back. Nothing about babysitting you for the entire way."

"But-"

"Stop being a brat and get inside! Jesus…" Anger was bubbling, almost unhinging inside of the boy as he stared at the two Aurors. He gripped his shirt tightly as he clenched his teeth, wanting something to just… burst. No, he didn't. That wasn't him, not anymore. He wasn't going to act on something so crude as anger. What he was going to do, was to walk away… and breathe. That was it. He was just going… to breathe.

"Kid likes to mess around with dirty snakes. Fucking weirdo if you ask me…"

"VIRIPIN, NO!" The Maibian Adder bared her fangs and lunged herself, along with Theodore entangled by her body, at Savage, causing the man to jump backwards by such a large margin, Proudfoot had to push him off. Theodore tugged the snake back and rushed into the Leaky Cauldron, ignoring the Aurors cursing aloud until they were finally silenced.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't do that to Aurors, they're part of the Ministry," scolded the Parselmouth as he rushed into a hidden area, far from the door.

" _He called you a weirdo and he insulted me. He shouldn't be talking to you like that."_ Viripin declaimed. Theodore peered around the corner to see if the pair had walked inside. There didn't seem to be any sign of them. Theodore turned back to the snake, still frowning.

"Doesn't mean that you should attack them! What if they report you and take you away forever? What then? Did you even think about that?" The snake slumped her head down in shame as she looked away from him.

" _I… didn't."_ Theodore instantly eased his tone and expression, not wanting her to feel bad about it at all. He gently lifted Viripin's large head and spoke to her much more softly.

"Look, I just got you back. I don't want you to leave again, that's all."

" _I'm sorry."_

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy ourselves and-"

"Theodore?!" He sprung to his feet as he heard his name being bellowed from behind him, scared for a moment that it was either Proudfoot or Savage, when he was met by a person he was most glad to see again.

"Mr Tom! How nice to see you again!" Tom took the boy's outstretched hand as he shook it ecstatically, giving him his usual toothy grin while he led him away from the hidden area. Tom didn't seem to be startled in the slightest that Viripin was casually wrapped around his neck as he carried on smiling at the boy.

"It's good to see you too, dear boy! I hope you haven't, uhh… you know." Theodore lifted his hands up defensively as he knew what he was referring to. He shook his head with Tom sighing happily. "Then I am glad. Are you here for school? It's awfully early for shopping, don't you think?"

"One of my friends is supposed to be here today. They asked me to come with them, probably because they know that nobody else would be here." Theodore curled his lip at the thought of Hermione.

"Ahhh. Makes a lot of sense. Well, Theodore, it's great to see you again. Make sure to stay a little before you leave, alright?"

"Alright, and Mr Tom," called the boy as Tom proceeded to walk away. Tom stopped in his tracks to listen to what the boy had to say. "Have the Padalins arrived yet?" He hadn't forgotten that they didn't say goodbye properly the last time they saw each other.

"I'm sorry, dear boy. Not yet. But they'll come, I'm sure of it." The innkeeper gave the Parselmouth a smile of reassurance before he returned to behind the counter. Theodore was stricken with suppressed sadness, knowing that he'd have to wait for another year until he could possibly see them again. There was so much to tell them, so much to ask. He wanted to know why Ms Padalin didn't tell him the truth when she said she didn't know his father. He wanted to apologise to Erveris for acting the way he did before he departed. All these things, bottled up inside for nearly a year and another one to go.

He straightened the bag on his back as he walked around the pub tables, waving and greeting all the familiar faces from last year. Almost everyone looked the exact same yet they all commented on how he looked so much older. He couldn't lie, he felt a little overconfident with the admiration but soon brought himself down again. He said hello to Gribblegork, who was trapped within a pile of empty beer cups, before he seated himself on a table near the doors leading to the little courtyard behind the inn.

Looking around, he saw no sign of the Grangers as he tapped his fingers patiently against the table. Surely, they should've arrived before him. After five minutes of solitary waiting, he turned his attention to a copy of the Daily Prophet that was near his feet on the slightly grubby floor. He picked it up, not caring for the damp spots that indicated beer and dropped food, and skimmed across the front page. Theodore never read the Prophet from the beginning till the end, and he wasn't going to try that now. Not like he could've anyways, because the front page had snatched his attention so quickly.

 _Azkaban's First Breakout: Sirius Black Is Free!_

His eyes moved over from the alarming title, to the man in the picture that Theodore recognised in almost an instant. Sirius looked a little bit more healthier here, his hair still long but not riddled with dirt. His face was fresh and handsome, with a crazed look all over as he seemingly screamed in his moving portrait. His eyes weren't sunken at all, but there was no mistaking it. The man that was outside of Theodore's window was Sirius Black, the escapee that Fudge was talking about. A man who actually escaped from Azkaban, a place of complete and utter hell, from the sounds of it.

' _Why was Sirius Black outside Stuggle's? He looked at me when I saw him… Is he after me? Oh god…"_

His hands were trembling as he shakily held the newspaper, feeling them starting to grow clammy. If he could escape from Azkaban, then there was no telling what else Black was capable of. Evading possibly hundreds of Dementors could mean that he was a dangerous wizard. A very dangerous wizard. Possibly just as dangerous as his own father.

"Hey, Theo!" Theodore dropped the newspaper onto the table and looked up at the main door of the Cauldron. Hermione was in front of her parents, wearing a stripped blue jumper along with her hair being free as always. Black was purged from his thoughts as he smiled at the Muggle-born, standing up to greet her properly. The two walked towards each other, meeting in the centre of the inn with Hermione's arms open for a hug. Theodore was about to lift his own when the girl suddenly pulled back, snapping her arms behind her back as she smiled nervously at him. He did find this strange but kept his smile strong as he placed his hands in his pockets.

"Hey yourself. How've you been?"

"Great! I've been good. Sorry for being a bit late, there was a diversion along the way."

"No worries. It's not like we're 'super-early' for getting our stuff." The Parselmouth said jokingly. Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I already gave you the reason, didn't I? I chose-"

"All four electives, I know. I'm just still surprised that your parents are letting you go through with it." Hermione turned to the two, who were busy counting the coins that would be needed for the day, then back to Theodore.

"Well for your information, they're perfectly fine with it. Of course, this means that I'll have a lot of job opportunities in the future after we take our N.E. . I tried to convince you to choose them as well but…" Theodore purposely coughed, slipping in 'lunatic' between each one as he goaded the girl. "I swear, you aggravate me sometimes…"

Mr and Mrs Granger walked over to the two children, greeting Theodore with the same energy that they had from before. Mr Granger was interested about Viripin's return as Mrs Granger complimented his growing good-looks, asking her daughter what she thought about them. Hermione looked away in extreme embarrassment and declared that they should leave for Diagon Alley right away, and they were off.

After passing through the magical stone wall in the courtyard, the Grangers and Theodore toured through the beloved Alley, again submerged in its wonder as multiple wizards and witches walked alongside them. They wasted no time as they travelled to Gringotts to exchange their Muggle money for Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, and started at the Apothecary. They were met with a surprise as they saw Dean in the corner of the store with his mother and a sibling, who looked a bit too interested in the floating eyeballs on the front counter. They bought all the necessary ingredients (Theodore bought a little extra for Viripin) and exited the shop for the next one.

Flourish and Blott's was much less crowded than last year, reminding the two of the book signing that happened prior their second year. Theodore gave Hermione a little jab and backed off when she flared up for a moment. They both collected the books that they needed, from the first floor and the ground, and a new copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ for Theodore. He just hoped that nobody found his old one laying under the tree in the park. He daresay that he hoped the dog wasn't there either. As they purchased the books, the store manager came out from the back with complete exhaustion on his face. Theodore was confused by this, but was told that the class for Care for Magical Creatures had gotten new books, as well as a new teacher.

"How… nice." He said as he watched the manager faint upon leaving the store. Their next place of interest had landed within a pet store, Magical Menagerie, which had animals 'outside' the given variety of Hogwarts. It looked rather dingy and held a peculiar odour that suspiciously smelt of rotting flesh. Mr and Mrs Granger kindly asked their daughter what could possibly be useful for school in the area, to which Hermione replied that she wanted a pet.

"Theo has a Maibian Adder, Harry has an owl and Ron even has a rat. I figured that I should get one as well. Can I?"

"Well, hurry up dear," said Mrs Granger as she pinched her nose slightly. "We must get you a new uniform before the day ends." Hermione thanked her and brought the Parselmouth along to pick out an animal suited to her liking. A cage full of armadillos that had armour made out of rubies and gold, birds that had four wings and a single horn which protruded from their heads, a large orange cat that looked like it had downed a litre of bitter lemon juice, a sloth that seemed too human, and several others that Theodore couldn't say off the top of his head. Viripin had her head floating near each cage, mimicking the noises of the animals as they walked past. Hermione finally settled on the giant squashed-faced cat that was named Crookshanks, after being stuck between choosing him and a beautiful Tawny owl. Viripin hissed at him threateningly, as did Crookshanks vice-versa, causing Theodore to pull her back before she'd attack him.

"What's wrong, you don't like cats," whispered the boy as he brought her away from the cat.

" _Yes. I hate cats with an absolute passion. I even hate turning into one. Wait, do you like cats?"_

"More of a dog guy, to be honest."

" _Very funny."_

After promising to be on her best behaviour for the rest of the day, Viripin settled down on Theodore's shoulders, staring dangerously at the cat as if he were prey, not saying that she was prepared to eat him.

The four entered Madam Malkin's afterwards, glad that they could finally get new robes after their little 'adventure' from last year. As they were being measured by Madam Malkin, Hermione admitted to him that she had been lying to her parents about the gaping hole in her jumper from when the Basilisk nearly killed her, and that it wasn't sitting well for her. He wanted to laugh but the memories of the Chamber inhibited him from doing so. He shouldn't laugh when she nearly died down there. Guess it was hard to tell your parents that you were almost skewered by a giant killer serpent, but then again, he had no parents. Or parent.

"Hey look, a Metamorphmagus!" Hermione pointed out at a girl with long green hair, which turned into curly short pink. "Is she a new student? She's got Hogwarts robes on but she looks like she's our age." Theodore gave her a closer look, knowing that he had seen her from somewhere until remembering that it was the girl from last year, who kept on winking at him. Hermione was right, she looked too old for a first year and there was no Metamorphmagus in their own year or above. Perhaps she was just a very mature looking eleven year old.

The Metamorphmagus girl didn't seem to see the handsome boy as she left before Theodore and Hermione, leaving with her family who were conversing in French. Theodore watched her leave before Madam Malkin handed him his new jumper, shirts, trousers and robes, exchanging the money required before he too, left with the Grangers.

"Well, I think we could all use a break. How about we have a little stop at that ice cream parlour around the corner?" Mr Granger asked the children and his wife. They all nodded their heads vigorously, famished and burning from the sun's formally generous, now cruel, heat. They all made their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream, which had without a doubt, the best ice cream the world had ever seen and Theodore hadn't even left Britain before. Theodore had chosen the same one from last year, adding on 'Sweet Carmel Pumpkin' on top to see if it held up to its name. He was careful not to splurge the money given to him as Hogsmeade didn't sound free. Maybe if he had forgiven Draco for the incident before, then there'd be no worries about money but Theodore was not shallow like that. Leeching off the school already made him feel like he was incapable of being independent, so he couldn't imagine how he'd feel if he was with the Malfoys instead.

Theodore and Hermione had a table to themselves in front of the parlour as they had their bowls of ice cream ready to be devoured in front of them.

"So. Are you going to tell me or are we just going to carry on stuffing our faces here?" Hermione swallowed a spoonful of strawberry ice cream, and gently wiped her mouth with a black napkin before she moved her chair in a little bit closer. Theodore did the same, closing himself inwards towards the Muggle-born.

"I already told you that this is big, right? That you can't tell anyone, not even Harry or Ron! You understand?" Theodore nodded his head, nearly sinking his elbow into his sundae as he gave her his full attention. "You remember how I took all four electives, and don't you start with me, Theodore!"

"I won't, I won't! Carry on."

"Well, since I chose all four electives, it would seem impossible to attend each class without there being several clashes of some sorts. I thought that I wouldn't be able to take them, until Professor McGonagall visited my house the third day I got back from King's Cross. My parents and I discussed with her for nearly two hours about it, although it only felt like ten minutes."

"Okay…?"

Hermione sighed as she rolled her eyes at the boy, then reached into her pocket to pull out a golden necklace which looked dissimilar to any other. Theodore looked closely at it, noticing how a miniature hourglass was spinning slightly within the golden ring that had intricate markings all over it. Hermione dangled the necklace in front of Theodore's face like he was a baby entranced by keys until she stuffed it back into her pocket.

…

"She gave you a Time-Turner?" The Muggle-born nodded as she dug her spoon into her bowl. "How? Why?"

"Well, she said it would've been impossible for any other student, except you if you did the same thing, of course. But my grades and clean record was accountable for the usage of a Time-Turner, so the Ministry allowed me to do so." She explained as she dug in for another spoonful.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. Wait. Don't tell me that you're jealous, Riddle," taunted the girl as she smirked at the dumbfounded boy.

"Of course not!" He lied. Hermione simply shrugged and carried on eating her half-finished sundae as it was her turn to ask the questions. She asked him how he got here, to which he replied, "The Ministry had two Aurors escort me here for protection." Hermione stuck her spoon in the bowl as she became invested.

"How comes?" He scratched his head, looking to see if anybody was listening nearby before speaking again.

"Well, I was sort of, almost… killed by something."

"What?!"

"Okay, I was definitely almost killed by something. I don't know why I even tried to sugarcoat it…" Theodore's hand was covered by Hermione's cold ones as she wore concern on her face like it was a wedding dress. Something quick propagated through his fingertips to all around his body upon contact, but he didn't pull his hand away for some odd reason.

"Why didn't you say anything in your letter?! You tell me that you found Viripin but you don't tell me that you almost died!"

"I wasn't going to tell you when you'd act like this…" He responded quietly. Hermione pressed her fingertips a little deeper into his knuckles but not too much.

"Well… what happened?" Theodore proceeded to tell her everything about that day, from when he traveled to Little Whinging with the lizard/bunny to when he Apparated away with a wounded Viripin. "You Apparated? Like actually Apparated?" She asked in awe.

"I know, right! I mean, I was this close to having my head ripped off when suddenly… poof! And I did it twice!"

"I'm just glad that you're okay," sighed the girl, hands still holding his. "With Sirius Black out and about, it's not really safe out here. You have to be more careful." Theodore held his hand against his heart as he mockingly swore to it.

"I promise that I will not tangle with mutant beast-dogs and psycho prison escapees."

"I'm being serious, Theo."

"I really do promise, Hermione. Don't worry." He looked down to their hands as she pulled them away, cheeks almost completely red. She hid her face behind her hair as she faced downwards to gulp down the rest of her ice cream as the boy tapped his fingers nervously against the table. How did he not notice that she was just casually holding his hand? Like it was nothing? He watched her finish her sundae quickly as he felt Viripin tickling his ear with her forked tongue.

" _Still think that you're 'just friends'?"_

"Be quiet, Viripin!" He hissed in Parseltongue. She raised her head slightly as her eyes set on the boy, who noticed her staring. Hermione instead, smiled at the boy, not showing any ounce of the disturbance that she had previously shown upon hearing him speak the language. The two became silent as they swirled their spoons inside their amalgamation of ice cream until Theodore broke it.

"Oh, I forgot! I didn't tell you, did I? About me and Harry. Did he say anything to you?" Hermione shook her head, puzzled. "Right. Right…"

…

"Well?"

"Remember when you said that you found my mum's plaque in the trophy room? How you knew her name."

"Yeah. Valerie Potter, right?"

"Right! It was- wait, what…?" Hermione's cheeks were back to normal as she smiled at the boy, slightly in a condescending manner. _'Wait, she knows?!'_

"In case you're wondering, I checked the plaque the day after we came out of the Chamber. You tripped on your words when you gave the fake surname, so I had to check for myself. Lucky that we made it out alive, or…" Theodore was just left gawking at the Muggle-born, unable to spew out a single word. He had been building up to this moment where he'd tell her that the two cousins met and became best friends by chance, only to find in the end that she knew. He was either careless, or she was just remarkable, and he was leaning towards the latter.

…

"So you know…"

"I know."

"Wow. I never thought that you'd find out this way… Huh." Viripin was slithering off the boy and next to Hermione, who was free of Crookshanks. She sniffed the girl's open hand and nuzzled against it. As she was gushing over the Maibian Adder, Theodore was leaning back in his chair, just watching the two. Not saying a single word, just observing the snake and Muggle-born bonding simply. Something… something was there, deep inside and it was… burning. But he didn't know what.

The melted ice cream was slurped up from the bowls, and paid for eventually as the children left with Mr and Mrs Granger for the Leaky Cauldron. Viripin was sleeping soundly around his shoulders, forcing him not to walk so fast to avoid her smacking her head against his chest repeatedly. Hermione was disappointed when Theodore told her that the snake hated cats, but still held Crookshanks as if he were a teddy bear. Crookshanks didn't mind, although it was hard to tell, given how unreactive the bow-legged cat would respond to his new owner. They all talked some more until it was time for Theodore to leave with the Aurors, who looked just the same from when Theodore left them, possibly a little more annoyed that he was returning to the car. The Grangers were kind enough to help the boy load his things inside the car, having the boy thank them graciously for it. The books were the last things left when Theodore opened the back seat doors as Hermione stood behind him, clearing her throat.

"You're not going to say goodbye?"

"Sorry," apologised the boy as he removed himself from the car. "Had to put Viripin down nicely. You don't know what it's like when you don't set her down properly. Anyways, I'll see you at King's Cross." Hermione wrapped her arms around the taller boy's neck as he embraced her without hesitation. Her hair was tickling his nose like it always did, but the way it smelled… Theodore snapped out of it as they released themselves from each other. No doubt that Hermione felt something as well, it was all over her face. Theodore even wondered for a fleeting moment, if anything that Viripin had said about the two was true. Just for a moment.

"Remember! Don't say anything about the-" She paused for second and then mouthed the words 'Time-Turner' as he slipped into the car. He gave her two seemingly sarcastic thumbs up, but crossed his heart that her secret would be kept safe with him. Hermione backed away as the car's engine exploded with energy as it started up again. Slowly, the car pulled away as Theodore waved at the family and vice-versa. The Leaky Cauldron and the Grangers were soon out of sight as Theodore made his way home, silent once again with Savage and Proudfoot. Neither said a word about Viripin's little scare, just keeping their eyes on the road and away from Theodore, just how he liked it. Wherever it be for a week, month or year, whenever he'd be stuck inside Stuggle's, Diagon Alley would always prove to him that none of this was a dream. That he was a wizard, that magic did exist. Any time doubt would even try to wedge into his brain, it would always falter. He wasn't dreaming. Magic was real. It was real and so was everything else. There was no doubt about that.

Theodore found himself once again, in the back of a MoM car with the two prudent Aurors who were scowling from Stuggle's to King's Cross. He wasn't so sure of it, but Theodore had a thought that they must've complained to their superiors about him, but were coerced into finishing their task by Fudge himself. Even though he dreaded every second that passed when he was sat in the back with Sawer and Viripin, sparks of joy and content were present whenever he'd see Savage's face twitch in suppressed anger. Like he said before, he preferred this company over Gretchen, but would've been much more grateful had it been anyone else. The Weasleys, Fudge, even the Malfoys. At least he'd have small talk with Draco.

" _Are we almost there,"_ hissed the serpent lazily as she butted her head against Sawer's cage.

"Not yet, we still- oh wait, no. I lied. We're here." Viripin was filled with energy once more as she lifted her head to look outside of the window. The front of King's Cross could be seen by everyone, bombarded with the sun's gleam. Theodore exited the car and retrieved a trolley to load all of his belongings from the boot of the car until he was finished. He gave a mundane 'thanks' to the two Aurors, to which they returned with a grunt, and proceeded to wheel himself inside. Of course, the station was always busy so that meant that he had to be careful when he'd pass through the platform barrier. I mean, it never failed before but one shouldn't be so careless. He found himself ready to break into his yearly run towards the pillar when…

"Theodore!" He turned around, almost tripping as he pulled his weighty trolley back. The seven Weasleys, Harry and the Grangers were all walking together like the biggest family you could possibly see, all noticing the Parselmouth before he took off into Platform 9¾. Theodore swerved his trolley around and smiled happily upon meeting them all. Fred and George were the first ones to speak to the boy as they patted him on the back, giving him a brief overview of their trip to Egypt (Theodore held in a raucous laugh after hearing that they almost trapped Percy in a cursed pyramid). He formally shook hands with the Head Boy himself, and informally shook hands with Mr Weasley. He gave a quick hello to the surprisingly less quiet Ginny, and turned over to his three best friends. Harry was the first to say hello as they hugged each other before releasing.

"It feels like I haven't seen you in forever, man! What's up," asked the scar-bearing boy happily.

"Nothing much. Just your typical, average summer holiday." Hermione cleared her throat while crossing her arms. "Okay, well not exactly average…"

"Then you can tell us all about it on the train." Ron added as he put his arm around the slightly shorter boy's shoulders.

"My story can wait. You have to tell me about Egypt, every single bit. Including Percy and the pyramid. I will never get tired of that story." The three boys guffawed with Hermione covering her mouth to mask her laughter about the horrible situation. Everyone had discreetly passed through the barrier in pairs, no longer pelting towards it in a full sprint as it would be too blatant to the Muggles (because now they notice). Theodore was paired up with Ron as they were the second to last ones to pass through before Mrs Weasley and Ginny. They soon entered the platform, again witnessing the grand and mighty Hogwarts Express in all of its glory. Everyone had finally arrived as they began to board the train. The twins were taunting Percy as he was talking to his girlfriend from last year, and soon disappeared into the Express with Lee. Theodore managed to stow Sawer in the animal compartment without meeting any resistance, but Viripin was an entirely different story.

" _No! I'm not leaving you!"_ She hissed as she wrapped herself tightly around the Parselmouth. Theodore had to move to a hidden corner of the platform and spoke to the stubborn Maibian Adder.

"I can't have you in the compartment! You'll freak everyone out! Besides, you'll have Sawer to keep as company."

" _Please, Theodore! Don't leave me!"_ Her pleas of desperation got through to him as he yielded.

"Okay, you can stay with me. But turn into something less… this." She immediately morphed into an actual black bunny rabbit that fitted into the boy's hands, and rested her small head on his fingers as he returned to the others. Mrs Weasley was kissing all of her children as they boarded the Express and didn't hesitate with Hermione, Theodore and Harry. She cuddled the two cousins as if they were her own babies and gave them words of encouragement for the year ahead. She handed them their lunches for the journey and hugged them one last time before they entered the train. Harry was held back by Mr Weasley but Theodore didn't seem too bothered. He, Hermione and Ron waited for him to come back up and the four made their way through the tight pathways of the Express. Theodore opted to go the other direction to find any free compartments, but dropped the suggestion when there was a spare one at the very end.

"Well this isn't exactly free now, is it?"

"Stop complaining, Theo." The four were standing at the open compartment doors as they stared at a wizard who was sleeping soundly without any knowledge of the young teens being present. He was propped up against the window and from the looks of it, looked even poorer than Theodore himself. His robes were tattered and patched, and had several stains all over. He was turned away so he couldn't be so sure, but Theodore could've sworn that he saw deep scars running across his face. It didn't shock him at all. The quartet slowly walked inside and sat down quietly away from the sleeping wizard. Theodore was tickling Viripin under her long ears as he sat himself next to Harry.

"Who is this guy," whispered Ron as he held a sickly Scabbers in his hands. Hermione pointed to the man's briefcase which read 'Professor R.J. Lupin' in bold, on top of the luggage rack.

"Probably the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. We all know what happened to the last one." Theodore murmured, reminding himself of the Memory Charm that backfired when Lockhart tried to use the Parselmouth's wand against him. And from the looks of the newest applicant, it seemed as if history would repeat itself. The Hogwarts Express was trudging along forwards as the four discussed what happened over the summer holidays. Harry told them about Sirius Black's reason for escaping, which included his head on a stick.

"Sirius Black wants to kill you?!" Hermione hissed in a shocked tone before she covered her mouth. Harry nodded as he closed in further. "But why?"

"Dunno. Mr and Mrs Weasley said something about him being a… follower of Voldemort." Ron's face ticked but he didn't say anything. Theodore leaned backwards slowly, now silent and deep within thought. It made sense why he was locked up, if he was one of his father's lot. A Death Eater. If he was one of his followers, then it also made sense if he knew who Theodore was. That's probably the reason why he was even outside of Stuggle's. The lost child of his former master, alone within the Muggle world. Theodore wouldn't have been surprised if Black was after him as well, probably to deliver him to his father, wherever he was…

"Hey," said Harry as he jogged the other Parselmouth with worry across his face. "You alright?"

…

"I think I saw Black outside my orphanage, one day…"

"Seriously?!"

"How can you be so sure that it was him? I mean, it could've been anyone."

"I saw his picture in the Leaky Cauldron, in the Daily Prophet. He looked a little bit different on paper but it was Sirius Black. He even had rags on that looked like prison clothes. I'm sure that it was him." Ron and Hermione looked at each other than back at the two dark-haired boys with mirrored faces.

…

"So does this mean that he's after you too?" Ron asked quietly.

"I hope not," whispered Theodore as he held Viripin closer to his chest. "Last thing I need is one of 'his' followers stalking me all over the place. If he could escape Azkaban, then he could surely break into Hogwarts as well."

"That means that you'll have to be careful, the pair of you. You can't be sneaking around the castle like last year."

"What did he even do exactly? I know he broke out of prison, but what was he in there for?" Theodore asked.

"Blew up a street and killed twelve Muggles, including some wizard who tried to stop him. Perry, I think his name was." Ron said casually.

"Yikes."

"I know, right?"

…

"Do you think they'll catch him?"

"Doubt it," said Harry quietly. "If they can't keep him locked up, then how do they expect themselves to catch him?" Hermione offered to change the subject, talking about how she was looking forward to Hogsmeade due to its history. Ron was looking forward to the sweet shop called Honeydukes, while Theodore was looking forward to it for both reasons. He had spent just enough money so that there'd be some left over for the entire year. It would've been better, if Harry had his letter signed. The Boy Who Lived miserably explained how his uncle refused to sign his permission slip after he blew up his 'aunt'.

"I would've blown him up as well," remarked Ron as he frowned a little. Theodore nodded, ignoring Hermione's glances of disapproval.

"Same. You know, I even saw the Dursleys when I went to Little Whinging with my orphanage." Harry frowned as he crossed his arms.

"The bake sale, right? Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia made me stay in my room all day. Was it any fun?"

"Not exactly, no…" Harry raised his eyebrow as he asked why. Theodore sighed, then told the story of the dog to Harry and Ron, who seemed to be on the edge of their seat, like Hermione. The Muggle-born was even listening to the boy as if she never heard of the story before. Ron applauded him when told that he Apparated twice, while Harry looked a little distant, like he was hiding something. Hermione's hands were wondering near Crookshanks' cage as she flicked the lock open, causing the cat to burst out wildly onto her lap. He immediately dove at Theodore's chest, suddenly being scared back when Viripin decided to return to her original form as she bared her fangs at him like a crazed serpent. Crookshanks then pounced on Ron as he seemingly tried to attack Scabbers, who took refuge in the red headed boy's pocket. Ron was shouting at the cat, shoving him away as he crawled backwards while Hermione tried to control him.

"Fucking hell, Hermione! That's the third time already! If you can't control that thing…"

"No need to swear, Ronald!" She spat back as she picked the cat up and placed him on her lap. "He's a cat, it's what cats do!"

"Yeah, I'm sure that cats attack snakes as well," said Theodore as he looked equally as annoyed as Ron while calming the Adder down. Hermione snootily lifted her nose as she stroked Crookshanks gently as if he did nothing wrong. Viripin didn't bother to change back into a rabbit as she coiled herself on the boy's lap, eyes pinned on the cat as Crookshanks stared at Scabbers underneath Ron's shirt. They were all amazed how Professor Lupin was not woken up by the calamity that just occurred, soon settling down as the train carried its way to Hogwarts.

An hour had passed already as the four were munching on Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Liquorice Wands and many other sweets that were too good to mention. Professor Lupin was still stuck in his slumber as the children tried to wake him up, to no avail. They continued to talk about Hogsmeade and Ron's trip to Egypt, realising that this was the first time that they were all together upon going to Hogwarts, until trouble had decided to come around the corner. Draco had appeared at the compartment doors with his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, standing behind him like the sheep they were. Theodore could see Harry and Ron clenching their fists, ready for a fight when Draco suddenly took notice of them. Ready to stir their yearly pre-school commotion, Draco had his hand gripped firmly on the door handle until he saw Theodore glancing at him for a moment before looking away. He released his hold on the handle and ordered his sidekicks to walk away, vanishing as quickly as he appeared. The four of them looked so befuddled at each other, wondering why he didn't even try to insult them like he usually did, but chose to ignore it as they finished their sweets and treats.

The beautiful summer morning had shifted into an ominous rainy night as the lanterns within the Express lighted each corner of the train, swinging uncontrollably at the sudden jolts of the tracks below. Cool mist and steam condensed along the windows, masking the black background of the darkened fields behind them. Theodore always knew that the journey to Hogwarts would always lead into the night, but something felt a little off here. He threw away that feeling as he leaned his head backwards to doze off a little before arriving.

…

 **KRRR… BOOM!**

Theodore was almost flung straight at Hermione as the lights were completely snuffed. Viripin hissed as she fell out of the boy's lap as some of the luggage from the rack crashed down onto the floor, one skimming Theodore's left ear. He brought himself up slowly, keeping his feet firmly against the floor to avoid trodding on the Maibian Adder.

"Guys… what's going on?" Ron asked in the darkness. Hermione released a yelp as Ron presumably stepped on her foot. "Sorry!"

"Are we there yet? Surely, we can't be, right?"

"I don't know. I think we should-" Theodore whimpered as he felt something smack his groin, slowly falling backwards as he held it in pain.

"Did I hit someone?! Wait, is that Theo? Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm really sorry!"

"It's… alright, Ginny. Just… sit down…" Ginny moved through the darkness, and sat next to her brother who was staring outside the window, commenting that something was moving out there. Hermione suggested that she'd go ask the driver what was the problem but everyone was against the idea. They all decided to remain in their seats until everything would go back to normal, only to receive a fright from an unfamiliar voice near the window.

"It's alright. No need to panic, it's me." Lupin used his wand to light the tip, filling the full compartment completely. Viripin was wrapped tightly around Theodore's right arm while Hermione was close to his left. Everyone took a deep breath, and sighed in relief that an adult was present. "Do not move. Stay here and-"

The sound of a door creaking in the most eerie of sorts, screeched inside of the entire compartment, forcing the children to turn themselves around towards it. Lupin slowly raised his wand to better see what had been floating through the corridors all this time. The air grew cold as a thin, black-cloaked figure came into light, slowly moving like a spectral being. Theodore couldn't see its face at all, due to it being hidden completely by its hood. The lack of legs, the decaying, rotten hands and the feeling of any happiness depleting within you by the second… This was a Dementor, the Guards of Azkaban. Theodore had only seen illustrations within that book but seeing it up so close was…

The Dementor faced not Theodore, but Harry who looked completely frozen by the sight of it. He was shaking; not trying to turn away, no. Just frozen. All of them were, even Professor Lupin. Nobody could flex a single muscle, not even from their smallest finger. The Dementor suddenly swooped its head to Harry's level, bringing what could've been a mouth, to his own as it inhaled in such an ungodly way, wheezing terribly as something was drawn out from Harry's lungs. The Parselmouth could only watch his cousin having his soul being sucked out from his being as he began to feel a little more empty. Like there was nothing to him. The Dementor sucked in some more until Lupin whisked his wand in the air and muttered an incantation to produce a wisp of light from his wand-tip. It was quick and drove the Dementor outside of the compartment instantly but that wasn't where Theodore's attention was focused on. Harry had collapsed onto the ground without warning, his eyes rolled up into his skull as if he was dead. Everyone snapped out of it and rushed to his side, crowding around him as they tried to wake him up. Theodore knew exactly what it was but he couldn't do anything. Just like all the times before, he couldn't do a single thing…

Hogsmeade was now in full vision as the train resumed its course. Everyone was still shaken from the Dementor attack but not as much as Harry. He looked half-dead. Lupin had given everyone bars of chocolate, which worked somehow, before they arrived. Theodore told Viripin to change into something smaller as she turned into a sleek black rat which looked a lot more healthier than Scabbers. He placed her comfortably in his pocket as he jumped onto the platform with everyone else. They all followed the usual pathway to the carriages after saying hello to Hagrid, and walked briskly among the clumps of students from the older years. The four found an empty carriage with a Thestral hooked on at the front, which seemed to return Theodore's stare. The bony, winged horse sniffed at Theodore's pocket before losing interest as it looked forwards. Soon, the fleet of Thestral-pulled carriages beckoned towards the castle with Dementors floating so high in the sky above.

Finally, they arrived at the castle which still looked as majestic as ever. Ron and Theodore got out first, followed by Hermione, then Harry who sort of staggered. He brushed himself off and followed the three others until he heard his name being called out by Draco from afar.

"Oi, Potter! Is it true that you fainted," mocked the boy as he and his cronies blocked the four.

"Fuck off, Malfoy and get out of the way." Ron said darkly as he had his fist clenched again. Draco didn't take to this nicely as he sneered at him. He closed in onto the red headed boy, trying to intimidate him despite the height difference.

"Did it get you too eh, Weasel? Did you piss yourself when-" Draco turned his eyes on Theodore who raised his brows at him. The blonde boy took a step back and motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to leave the four alone as they trekked up the stairs. Ron flipped him off, but his hand was dragged down by Hermione who saw Professor Lupin coming from around the corner. His scars looked much more prominent in the light from the castle.

They eventually entered through the castle's oak doors, and into the Great Hall that they missed so much. Hermione and Harry were pulled aside by McGonagall, leaving Theodore and Ron to enter the Hall together.

"Why do you think she held Hermione back? I mean, for Harry I understand, but not for her." Theodore shrugged as they found their seats on Gryffindor table. Theodore was seated next to Lavender, who's hair had grown quite poofy and who seemed to have calmed down during the summer. Still didn't stop her from moving a bit too close towards him. Ron had made extra space for Harry on one side, as did Theodore for Hermione on the other, seeing as they were nowhere to be seen.

The Sorting Ceremony had finished quicker than last year, no particular names having any interest to Theodore. Flitwick was McGonagall's temporary replacement and was soon carrying the Hat and stool away, the second Harry and Hermione decided to walk inside. Dumbledore thanked the minuscule wizard before he gave an informing speech of the pressing matters at hand about the Dementors. Theodore noticed that everyone was staring at Harry for quite a while, clearly making the boy uncomfortable with the sudden attention (because he wasn't used to it already).

"…and remember, trouble has a way of finding those who take a simple glance at it. I will advise you not to provoke the Dementors into harming any of you, because believe me… the consequences of your actions will be detrimental. However, let me introduce our newest Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin!" The heart of the applause emanated from Gryffindor table, especially from the quartet and Ginny, as the rest of the school felt a little dull. Lupin simply nodded as the 'applause' died down.

"I would also like to introduce our newest Care for Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Rubeus Hagrid, who will be replacing dear Professor Kettleburn after last year's 'incident'." Every single Gryffindor roared as they gave a standing ovation for the red-faced half-giant. Theodore was beyond joyful that Hagrid was in a position that suited him well, especially after the last year. But he had to admit that he felt a little left out that he didn't choose CFMC when the others did. Any lesson taught by Hagrid would be unforgettable, he was sure of it.

The feast had finally arrived, littering the tables with so much of the food that Theodore missed. He piled his golden plate up like always and tucked in along with everyone else. Everyone was trading stories and jokes that they heard across the summer, some causing others to blow out Pumpkin Juice from their nostrils, namely Fred and George to everyone else. Theodore was busy stuffing his face, unaware of the subtle glances from the Muggle-born next to him. Hermione looked at the hungry Parselmouth wolfing down several chicken drumsticks and smiled when he realised that he had too much in his mouth. They were all wrapped up in the feast that when the desserts were soon finished, an unescapable wave of tiredness washed over every single person, yawns being echoed from every corner of the Great Hall. Dumbledore had excused everyone to leave for their dorms to which they couldn't refuse. After congratulating Hagrid on his new job, the Gryffindors travelled up the stairs and followed the Head Boy to their beloved common room.

They entered through the portrait hole, absorbing the ambient heat from the fireplace as they walked over to their respective stairways. As Theodore yawned while on the first step, he was suddenly pulled back by Ron, who pointed at the large crowd in the centre of the common room.

"What, what is it, man? I want to go sleep," drawled the boy lazily as he was pulled over to the mass of Gryffindors.

"There's a new girl here!"

"There's lots of new girls here. That's what happens when the new year starts."

"She's in our year…"

…

"What?!"

The crowd dispersed as the new girl came into full vision, smacking the boy with the dumbfounding realisation of who the girl was. Her hair was now blue in a punkish Mohawk. She was taller than most of the other girls but not as tall as Ron or Theodore. Her left eye was a bright cerulean while her right bore a magenta shade. She had a pretty face and an inviting aura that seemed to draw everyone in evidently. Theodore couldn't believe it. She was the same girl from last year at the Leaky Cauldron. The same girl from Madam Malkin's who was trying on the robes for Hogwarts. She looked different but it was her. It had to be. The Metamorphmagus girl widened her eyes at the sight of the handsome boy and held out her hand while she walked up to him.

"You," was all that he could mutter as she shook his hand while smirking at his lost expression.

"Hi…? I remember you." She said in a slight French accent. "Do you remember me?"

…

"My name is Elvira Pierre-Sayre. It is nice to meet you," said the girl, now more puzzled then amused. Theodore was blinking, still confused on how any of this was possible. "Are you going to tell me your name, or…?"

…

"Huh…"

 **Yeaaahhh, so remember when I said that there was going to be a new character from Chapter 6? Yeah, that's her. Talk about long overdue. There was literally no way which I could properly fit her inside the story back then without it feeling contrived, at least to me. So yeah. New OC guys! Because I haven't given you enough already.**

 **Also, there is going to be a little retcon in the later chapters which I honestly forgot about beforehand. I just hope that it'll be the first and last one throughout the entire thing. Anyways, Prisoner of Azkaban is here and we're not stopping. Hope you enjoyed this. Later.**


	25. Chapter 25: And It All Begins

The newborn sun had dawned across the castle, touching each of the students hearts with the joy that was usually inflicted every year. Every boy and girl were still locked in sleep, clinging onto those extra minutes of slumber before they'd go to their first classes. Gryffindor Tower had its fair share of deep sleepers. Ron, Seamus and occasionally Harry. Sometimes even Neville. All were filling the dorm room with their snores except for Theodore, the early bird of the boys.

The Parselmouth had awoken spontaneously, owing to the fact that his body had shifted into his usual sleeping schedule for school. Theodore's dreams had fared well during the night, no longer causing the boy distress in his slumber. The returning sensation of his four-poster bed within the third year dormitory had comforted him in body and mind, although his thoughts became erratic as he slept. Yes, there were occasional flashes of Dementors, the black dog and Sirius Black, but none were potent enough to infect his dreams into nightmares. For once in a long time, Theodore could finally sleep soundly inside Hogwarts. No diary, no father, none of that. None of that at all.

After dumping a small pile of newt tails for Viripin near her basket, Theodore stumbled out of bed as he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. He took out his fresh new uniform from his suitcase, and brought it with him to the boy's bathroom which was situated at the very top of the Tower. The bathroom was very spacious, even if it looked tiny from the outside. There were multiple stalls that didn't exhibit a single stain of any sorts, four pristine shower stalls and a white bathtub with golden taps that seemed too bright for anyone to look at. Theodore never used the tub as he had no reason to, and he wasn't about to change that now. He soon hopped into the shower, and left for the shimmering marble sinks when he was finished. He brushed his apparent perfect teeth and changed himself into his uniform.

He then exited the boy's bathroom and threw his pyjamas onto his bed before retrieving his shoes and his bag for the day ahead. Theodore was especially looking forward to the year with the wager between him and Hermione being reinstated. Of course, it was Hermione's idea to revive this rivalry, but the boy didn't once think of backing down. Last year was a year of 'hinderance' for the two bright children, but this year would be different. Surely nothing could possibly go wayward three years in a row now?

Theodore trotted down the spiral staircase and plopped himself onto the sofa near the fireplace, fitting his shoes on while remembering the night before. He didn't get to see much of Elvira, partially because he was too tired and because everyone blocked him off by circling around her, like a flimsy human flailing helplessly in the water with sharks nearby. Ron, Dean and Seamus were especially taken by her as they droned on about the Metamorphmagus till their heads smacked their pillows. Theodore would be lying if he said that she wasn't pretty, but hearing 'she's so fit' multiple times in a row would get annoying eventually. Safe to say though, Elvira was definitely one of the 'unique' children that were currently at Hogwarts, and Theodore meant it as in different from the others, him included. Two Parselmouths and a Metamorphmagus, all in the same year and all in Gryffindor. Too much of a coincidence.

"Hello?" A voice called out from behind the boy. Theodore turned around and saw Elvira in her uniform, crisp and in pristine condition like his, standing at the entrance of the girls' stairway. Her hair was the same as the night before but had silver streaks to go with it. The Parselmouth straightened himself and stood up to face the girl.

"Hi. You're up early."

"Couldn't really sleep properly, you know. New school and everything. You understand, right?" She replied as she walked away from the archway. Theodore nodded and thought for a while before speaking back up to her.

…

"You're French, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how exactly are you here? I thought that Hogwarts was only for people from Britain. And isn't there a school in France as well?" Theodore asked. Elvira stopped behind the sofa, a mere metre and a half away from Theodore as she answered his question without hesitation.

"I was actually born in Ireland, where my mother came from. I moved to France when I was just two years old, but returned when I was twelve. My father wanted me to go to Beauxbatons, but changed his mind when he realised that Albus Dumbledore would be here. He idolises him, you know."

"Beauxbatons? That's the name of the school?" Elvira nodded then ran her fingers through her Mohawk. "I think I heard about that place. Didn't, umm… ahh, what's his name… ah, him! Didn't Nicholas Flamel go there?"

"You know of Nicholas Flamel?"

"Of course! Creator of the Philosopher's Stone, how could I not know about him! In fact, I even held it in my hand once." Theodore said proudly, remembering the first underground dungeon that was hidden away. Elvira scrunched up her face as she crossed her arms, staring at the boy as if he passed wind.

"That is a lie because the Stone has been with Nicolas for centuries. There's no way that you could've held it in your hand." Theodore scoffed and sat back down, tying up his final lace before reaching for his bag.

"Look, if you don't believe me, then go ahead. The Philosopher's Stone was inside the castle, I held it in my hands and it's probably destroyed. But you believe what you want to believe," said the boy as he fitted his tie properly. He was certain that Elvira was giving him glares of deathly annoyance from behind him but that thought was immediately spoiled upon hearing his fellow Gryffindors galloping down the stairs excitably. The new first years seemed a little less nervous than the last ones, many having found friends within each other already. Soon, everyone spilled out from the stairways until the Parselmouth's three best friends came into vision. They all caught sight of him and walked over to greet the boy, swerving around the crowd which had Elvira entrapped.

"Honestly, they should give her some space," mumbled the Muggle-born as she slung her bag behind her back. "She's not an animal to be gawked at!"

"But this never happened before, a person joining in their third year. And she's a Metamorphmagus." Ron said in an unfocused manner as he raised his head towards the crowd.

"They're choking her, Ron."

"A bit of an exaggeration," chirped in Harry as he threw his bag behind his back as well. "I'm sure that it'll all die down by the end of the day. Not to blow my own horn, but the same thing happened to me on my first day here." Hermione merely crossed her arms as she watched the crowd grow exponentially, leaving them no chance to even see Elvira, let alone talk to her. The quartet meandered through the Gryffindors and left the common room for the Great Hall, where their first breakfast would be served.

As they entered the already noisy Great Hall after a lengthy trip from the higher floors, the four sat down on their table as they ignored the jeering guffaws from the Slytherins behind them, particularly from Draco. Harry was staring straight at his empty golden plate, hands burning with rage that was dangerously volatile. Hermione insisted that he shouldn't do anything, while Ron was the complete opposite. The two bickered for a moment, then turned to Theodore who couldn't care less about if they should attack Draco or not. But it didn't mean that Draco hadn't touched a nerve of the Parselmouth. Any hope of the two becoming 'friends' again was already thin from the moment they met, and it was soon reaching its snapping point. Why did he have to make it so hard?

Theodore was going through his new timetable that was given to him by George, tracing through his two newest subjects as well as his old ones.

"Hey guys, Divination first, right?" Theodore said to his friends as he aimlessly grabbed a handful of bacon strips. No response. He wiped his greasy hand with a napkin and looked up to the others, wondering why they ignored him. "I said 'Divination first, right?' What is wrong with-"

Elvira was skipping down the middle of the Hall, desperately trying to escape the mob of excited students that seemingly had no regard for personal space. Everyone was goggling at her like she was a model on a catwalk, still keeping their eyes on her as she slipped in between Hermione and Ron.

"Sorry," panted the Metamorphmagus as she ducked her head a little. "I… they were following me everywhere, and I didn't know where to go."

"It's alright. I'll help you with getting around the place. Quite an expert in knowing all the classrooms in the castle, you see."

"So is Filch, Ron. Not that impressive." Ron growled under his breath at the Muggle-born, but lost any trace of annoyance as he continued to talk with Elvira. Hermione turned to the other side of the table towards Theodore, who was cleaning his plate off and grabbing his bag for the next lesson. All the third year Gryffindors that were taking Divination, followed suit as they cleared out from the Hall and to the North Tower where Divination was at.

Although quite far from being the fittest in the House, even in his group of friends, Theodore was surprisingly ahead of everyone else, being at least a floor above the others as they panted below him. Don't get it wrong, Theodore was heavily drained of energy and even thought to wait for the others, but decided against it. His endurance was probably the cause of leaving for Dumbledore's office all the time. After fifteen minutes of dreadful trekking up the castle's heights, Theodore finally reached the seventh floor, encountering the circular trapdoor that was on the ceiling after the spiral staircase in the Tower. He tiredly climbed the ladder that had appeared from the trapdoor, and entered the most bizarre-looking room that Hogwarts had to offer. Although he was the only person there, the place couldn't feel anymore cluttered. Multiple tables covered with red sequin tablecloths, floating candles and lanterns all over the place, bookshelves with thick layers of dust, crystal balls that were filled with mist and too, too many bells that were situated at every corner of the classroom, if you could call it that. Theodore remembered Hermione calling the professor of Divination 'looney', and it looked like she was completely right. He wondered how she'd even loo-

"Theo! How… did you make… it up so fast?" Harry panted as he placed a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. Theodore retained his startled yelp and turned around to see the rest of the Gryffindors coming through the trapdoor.

"Why didn't you guys catch up? You're supposed to be the best Seeker in the school, Harry," remarked Theodore as he grinned cheekily at his cousin.

"Don't push it."

The children all spilled inside of the classroom, placing themselves in the seats of their liking, and soon settled down while they questioned where the teacher was, who was called Sybil Trelawney, according to the trapdoor before. Theodore was sat on a table with Harry and Elvira, who revived the conversation prior breakfast with Theodore in the common room.

"Is it true that the Philosopher's Stone was inside of the castle," asked the girl to Harry, side-eyeing Theodore as Harry answered back.

"Yep. Ron, Hermione, Theodore and I went down to a secret chamber underneath the school to stop it from falling into the wrong hands, and we won. Didn't we, Theo?"

"Yes. We did." Theodore couldn't help slipping in a snide tone within his response as Elvira looked surprised and annoyed at the same time.

"Wow. I thought that the Stone was hidden away, and that Nicolas Flamel had found true immortality. Wait, so you held it? In your hand?" Both of the boys nodded their heads, watching the Metamorphmagus gasp as her hair shifted into a brilliant red. "Then you must tell me all about it! Why was it here in the first place?"

"Well, it's kinda complicated. You see, somebody really evil wanted it to-" Harry was interrupted as a thin woman emerged from nowhere, who was covered in necklaces shaped in runes, rings that were far too large for her spidery fingers, a very odd set of unevenly coloured robes and had a pair of glasses which had lenses so thick that Theodore could count each melanin spot across her sclera with ease. Everyone watched her walk aimlessly around the class as if she wasn't supposed to be there until she became startled by Ron's raised arm.

"Oh, dear boy! I didn't see you there! What exactly are you doing here anyway?" The odd-looking woman said in a slightly raspy voice.

"I… have a lesson," replied Ron as he turned to Hermione, who also had an expression of confusion. The woman clapped her hands as she shook the bangles on her wrist, and glided around each table like a ghost.

"Ah, yes! My newest students! How are you all? My name is Professor Trelawney, and I...!" She shouted as if she was a show-woman. "...will be your guide in the ancient, the mysterious, the… complex art that is called Divination. The Inner Eye, the ability to see beyond the beyond can be gained here, if you are willing to ring the bells of your fortune."

…

"What?"

That was all that Ron could say after the amount of balderdash that was spewed out from Trelawney. The eccentric professor twirled around the tables once more, ignoring Ron's befuddlement, as well as everyone else's, constantly knocking into each table until she stopped at Theodore's. The boy backed away as she brought her face dangerously close, piercing into his eyes as if there was something hidden inside of them.

"Dear boy, you seem to hold something that nobody else in this room possess."

"Is it the Inner Eye?" Everyone sniggered as she carried one staring at the boy, still too close for his liking. Trelawney stared a little longer before drawing herself back to swooping through the tables, somehow still talking to Theodore.

"A gift! You possess a gift from a dark past! A gift that has been passed down… by blood." Theodore swallowed as he dug his nails into the table, blinking madly. Harry saw him trembling a little as he too started to feel uncomfortable. Everyone turned to the Heir, narrowing their eyes in puzzlement at the professor's pronouncement. Theodore remained silent, still… closed.

"Are you okay," asked Elvira quietly to the suddenly silent boy. Theodore nodded his head and kept his gaze on Trelawney, his brain unable to comprehend what had just been said. Did she know that he was the Heir of Slytherin, as well as the Dark Lord's son? It was impossible, absolutely! A woman such as herself could have never spoken about him, or his father… right? She couldn't have.

"Alright! Enough dilly-dally, chitty-chatting! The lesson must go on," cried Trelawney as she blatantly ignored the uneasiness that was across the Parselmouth's face. "Everybody collect a teacup for yourselves and gather up in groups of three. You will be determining the patterns from the dregs of the tea, after you drink it. Make sure to keep your books open, as well as to follow my instructions carefully. Please, help yourselves."

Everyone got up from their seats to the shelf holding the teacups, and then to the kettles near the fire to fill them up with strange-smelling tea. Theodore was brought into a permanent frown, scowling whenever Trelawney would ask him what was wrong. She could've possibly exposed him for who he was, and she asked what was wrong with him. Hermione gave him a slight nudge to his arm, to which he returned with a small smile before he filled his cup. He soon returned to his table with Elvira and Harry, and downed the tea as quickly as he could before it burned his tongue. They swirled, drained, and exchanged them to the person on their left, Harry getting Theodore's, Theodore getting Elvira's and Elvira getting Harry's. They opened up _Unfogging the Future_ , and soon began to read the dregs that seemingly held the future for the young teens. After three minutes of flicking through the book, Harry clasped his hands to his mouth as he tried to contain his laughter, only to fail.

"What? What's so funny," asked Theodore, still scowling. "Harry, stop laughing and tell me what's so funny about my cup."

"Oh, it's just… it's just, okay, I'll stop laughing. According to this, you have a figure eight, which means endless unity. Then here, you have… you have…" Harry was struggling to keep in his laughter as he hid himself under the table. Elvira peered her head underneath and followed his head as he rose back up, eyes watery and red.

"My god, will you get a grip?! Just tell me what it says, man! Stop stalling!" Theodore snapped as his cousin sat back onto his chair.

"Alright, alright! You have an anchor, which means infatuation and love from somebody nearby. So that means…"

…

"It means that whoever has a crush on you in this room, is the future Mrs Riddle. A-and we all know who'd LOVE to take that title," choked the scar-bearing boy as he pointed at Lavender, who was chatting away with Trelawney and Parvati. Theodore grabbed his teacup back and ran his fingers through the pages, desperate to find anything else other than the eight and the anchor.

"No! No, it can't be! Your wrong, I know you are! You just didn't read it right…" Theodore asserted nervously as he flicked through his copy so quickly, the pages almost ripped each time he turned to the next one.

' _I can't marry Lavender! That would go against the Laws of the Universe! I don't even want to think about that, not even a bit!'_

"Excuse me, Theodore? May you read my one, please?" The Metamorphmagus asked sweetly as she tapped her teacup that was in front of Theodore. The Parselmouth sulked as Harry carried on snickering, picking up Elvira's cup as he searched for the patterns inside.

"You, err… you have a, err… a spiral of wind, which means the extension of something. And you also have… Harry, what do you think that is?"

"Looks like a star." Theodore looked down to his book and found the meaning of the star.

"The star means family, so you will have an extension of family, or whatever the hell this means, I don't care…" Elvira ignored the boy's bitterness and contemplated on her teacup reading.

"Hmm. My family is already large, so I can't really see it getting any bigger. Perhaps my older siblings will have more children…" The girl seemed to drain away barely with colour as her hair changed into golden long locks. She perked up again up upon being asked to read Harry's teacup, to which she happily obliged to. Taking the pink cup in her hands, and tracing her finger through the book, she soon managed to find the answer that both boys were desperate to find out, both for different reasons.

"Um, so Harry. You have a… clawed hand, which means somebody is after your blood. Erm… a skull that represents danger in your path and a… rat. No… sorry. I was never taught Divination, only basic Arithmancy." Theodore could see Hermione from the corner of his eye, nodding approvingly as she uninvitedly listened to their conversation.

"It's alright," replied Harry as he held a hand up. "I doubt anybody here is an expert in this stuff. Probably just a bunch of nonsense." Theodore grunted in agreement as he leaned back in his chair, wishing that the day could end at that moment. Elvira attempted to read Harry's cup once more, finally finding what future was held for the Boy Who Lived.

"It looks like a dog, but there is no dog in the book. It only says the Grim." A deafening gasp of air erupted from Trelawney as she scurried over to the table that they were at, grabbing Harry's cup to validate Elvira's reading. She twisted and turned the cup, blinking profusely as she tried to grab every single detail possible before dropping the cup in horror. It shattered at her feet, but she didn't take any notice. Theodore turned to his cousin, who couldn't look anymore confused on what was read about him.

…

"The Grim? What's the Grim?" Seamus asked as he turned around to face Harry, like everyone else.

"The Grim… a giant, ungodly dog… death's omen!" Lavender and Parvati gasped while Theodore felt his insides melting. An omen of death?! He saw the Grim as well, so did that mean that he was going to die?! How?! Who would- The boy sank in his chair as he stared downwards, Harry doing the same, upon realising why they had witnessed the Grim. Sirius Black was out to kill Harry, and probably Theodore although it seemed unlikely. But that didn't make any sense. Why would Black, a Death Eater who was incarcerated for nearly fourteen years, come after his master's son?

"Don't be ridiculous! It can't be the Grim!" Hermione spoke from her table demeaningly.

"How would you know," asked Lavender with her arms around her hips. "Professor Trelawney's an expert in this, so she'd obviously be correct."

"If it really was the Grim, then why hasn't anything happened to him yet? Explain that."

"My dear, please do not belittle the energies of the Inner Eye and its flow throughout everyone. Logic can only take you one step further and not another step more. I fear that your Eye is closed, or maybe… nonexistent." It was Hermione's turn to scowl at the looney teacher as her nose and cheeks burned red with anger and annoyance. The Muggle-born whipped her head back around to her table and was silently talking with Ron and Seamus, while Trelawney was still rambling on about the foreboding prediction that was inside the broken teacup. In fact, this carried on for the entire lesson with her finally dismissing the class when she heard the faint bells of lesson changeover from the castle below. Theodore grabbed his bag and uncaringly stuffed his book inside, and made his way through the trapdoor to the next lesson. He patiently waited for his friends, and watched them climb down the ladder as he tried to vent out his frustration to them.

"What kind of game is she playing at, saying stuff like that? I swear, this class is going to be the death of me! Already one lesson and I can't stand her!" Theodore huffed as Ron was the last one down. Hermione shook her bushy hair in agreement, also irritated with the professor's teaching methods.

"I know, right? First she says that books won't help in the class, then she says that I'm not fit for learning her balderdash! It's all a bunch of nonsense if you ask me." Ron scoffed as he brushed the dust off his robes.

"Of course, you two would complain. Something that isn't exactly your forte, and you're suddenly against it," said the red head as they began to head for their Transfiguration class.

"Oh please. I could pass this class without reading a single book. I just don't like her, that's all." The Parselmouth returned as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, she is a bit of a weirdo, I'll give you that…"

"Harry!" The quartet spun around as they looked up the spiral staircase to see Elvira gracefully descending down the steps with slight regret upon her face.

"Hey, Elvira. What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry, you know? For the whole 'Grim' thing. I didn't know that it was such a big deal."

"It's alright. I think we can all agree that Professor Trelawney is… different. But it's okay, seriously. I'm fine." Theodore knew for a fact that Harry wasn't fine at all. He had the same amount of consternation as Theodore, which floated throughout his emerald irises. His anonymous soulmate had only been meters from him a few minutes ago, but he was to succumb to death before it was his time. How could two predictions be so vastly different from each other, yet prove to be equally as life-changing for the boy? It could've been worse. Not by a lot, but worse. Theodore trotted alongside his friends, still taken over by the lesson.

' _Maybe I should've gotten a Time-Turner as well…'_

"Don't you have to be someplace else?"

"Hush, Theo!" Theodore smirked as the Muggle-born seated herself next to him inside their first SoAR class, taught by a teacher called Professor Babbling. She was a kind woman with a round face and dark hair, and seemed to take a shine to Theodore and Hermione. She was very pleased to see the two in her class, indicating that their reputations as the smartest in the year preceded them. The two were sat on the left of the classroom, the Room of Runes, near the windows where the front of the castle could be seen. The class, which consisted of many Ravenclaws and Slytherins, settled down as the lesson started.

"How was Care for Magical Creatures," whispered the boy as he scribbled down the notes that were shown on the blackboard.

"I haven't gone yet. I figured that this lesson would need more focus than Hagrid's, not saying that I won't focus in his class. Always have to save the best class till last." Hermione whispered back as she patted her chest where the Time-Turner chimed slightly. "Do you regret not choosing all electives now?"

"Not in the slightest. Besides, I doubt the Ministry would allow two Time-Turners in the school anyways. Couldn't that seriously fuck up the flow of time or something?"

"Stop swearing."

"Sorry, Mum. Won't happen again." Theodore said as he dipped his quill into his ink bottle for a new piece of parchment. Hermione opened her mouth to berate the boy, but closed it and turned back to her parchment as well. The lesson continued mostly in silence, notes being stacked and books being labelled for homework and future essays. Theodore was lucky to have the Runes Dictionary for his birthday, impressing Professor Babbling at each answered question. Hermione answered the same amount of questions correctly, both earning several house points for Gryffindor. If they kept this up, and if the Grim was nowhere to be seen, Gryffindor would have the House Cup in the bag. He overheard Oliver insisting that they needed to win the Quidditch Cup in his final year, a huge contributing factor to the House Cup. Three years in a row would be a damaging blow to Slytherin, he was sure of it.

"Can I see you use it?" Theodore asked as they packed away, for the school day had ended finally. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, sure to refuse the boy's request, but gave in without too much trouble.

"But you mustn't leave any trace that I was there, alright? I could get into serious trouble, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, I want to see it!" Hermione motioned for the Parselmouth to follow her down near the Entrance Hall and to the archway that led to the dungeons. The two hid themselves in between a hidden crevasse near Snape's classroom, silently waiting in the shadows for all the seventh years to clear out from the corridor before pulling out into the light again. Hermione reached into her robes and brought out the Time-Turner to her face. "Well? Turn it, then."

"I really shouldn't be showing you this."

"And you shouldn't have told me about it in the first place, yet here we are. Come on, Hermione! I'm growing impatient over here!"

"Alright, just calm down. You're like a five year old child… I'm going to Magical Creatures, so you'll see me in the common room in about a minute or so. See you later, or much, much later… Bye!" Hermione twisted the dial within the ring of the necklace four times until she released it from her fingers and with that, she instantly vanished. Theodore waved a hand in the spot where she was and felt only the cold, humid air of the dungeons that was naturally present down there. No sign of Hermione.

"Always have to make the wrong decisions, don't you?" Theodore said to himself harshly as he spun around towards the Entrance Hall. Theodore ascended up the marble staircases and journeyed to Gryffindor Common Room, where he was met by the blank faces of his fellow House members. He walked over to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Seamus and Elvira who were all seated on the sofa and stood in front of the fire to face them.

…

"Did Hagrid show you the insides of a Hippogriff or something? What's wrong with you guys?"

"Hippogriff, yes. It's insides? Pending," drawled Ron glumly as he sighed deeply afterwards. Theodore turned to Harry and asked him what happened during the lesson that was supposed to be funnest of the year. The scar-bearing boy drearily recapped the entire lesson to his cousin, sinking further down the sofa as he too, sighed heavily.

"And you think that Draco is going to tell an entirely different story when asked?" Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded their heads as Seamus threw his head backwards.

"That Draco boy is not very nice," said Elvira. "He made very rude comments about Professor Hagrid behind and in front of him. I feel very sorry for Professor Hagrid. I hope that he won't lose his job for this."

"They shouldn't! The skinny prick deserves to get his arm taken off, after calling Buckbeak an ugly brute!" Seamus cried in frustration.

"Buckbeak?"

"The Hippogriff's name."

"Ah." Theodore stroked his chin, which had gained four extra hair strands, as he sat on the armchair not too far from the others.

"We should go to Dumbledore, or write to the Ministry to tell the truth," suggested the Muggle-born. "Malfoy is definitely going to suck up to his father about this."

"That's the thing. His dad is still a school governor, remember? Apparently, everyone from the Ministry didn't try to persecute him of accusing Hagrid from the attacks last year, because Malfoy was one of the victims."

"It's a tight one, then," muttered Harry. "I seriously don't want him to lose his job. Hagrid isn't appreciated enough in the school, and you have dickheads like Malfoy accusing him of bloody murder!"

"He hasn't really accused him, though." Everyone turned to Theodore with an eyebrow raised high. "Yet. I was going to say yet." And it was definitely a matter of yet, for there was no doubt that Draco would try to have Hagrid fired over one little incident. Theodore ran up to the dorm room to change into his normal clothes, fed Viripin quickly, then later regrouped with the others for dinner time. From the looks of how the year was starting out, Theodore could tell that something was going to kick off between Gryffindor and Slytherin. He just didn't know when.

"Today, you will be brewing the Shrinking Solution. A potion probably far beyond your level of understanding, but… I'll see if you are even half the potioneers that you claim to be. I will assign your partners, who will only give advise to you, not to support your lazy backsides. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor Snape," recited the class in a soulless fashion. The Potions Master was still as greasy-haired as ever, still snarling at Neville whenever he'd raise his hand and still belittling Hermione whenever she'd answer a question correctly. Theodore and Draco were both working on the same table, silently cutting their daisy roots for the potion as they said nothing to each other. Theodore hadn't batted an eye towards the blonde boy, feeling sore that he could possibly be the catalyst to Hagrid losing his first respectable job, not that being a gamekeeper was a bad one. The Parselmouth watched Harry standing side by side with Crabbe, who was producing an odour that even held Draco in disgust. Guess he wasn't that big on showers. Theodore carried on slicing his roots perfectly until Draco declared that he was incapable of carrying on further.

"Riddle, cut Draco's roots for him." Snape mumbled as he rummaged through a stack of letters.

"Professor, can't Weasley do it for-" Draco continued but he was cut off by the professor who instructed the Parselmouth to dice the roots for the blonde boy. Theodore didn't complain as he swiped Draco's roots and sliced through each one, making another batch of perfectly cut roots before pushing them back to Draco. The blonde boy thanked him quietly and sprinkled them inside of his bubbling cauldron. Theodore had already dropped in his roots, caterpillars and wormwood and was stirring rapidly until Draco spoke out once more, but not to Snape.

"You alright, Theo?" Draco asked awkwardly as he picked out five caterpillars from his sprawled ingredients. Theodore turned to the other three, noticing that their attention was diverted to their own potions, then turned back around to Draco.

"Yeah, I'm good. Can't say the same for you." He pointed at the sling wrapped around Draco's arm.

"Yeah well, things happen. Especially when it's not your fault."

"That's not what I heard," replied Theodore with slight coldness in his voice as he mashed his leeches and poured the slime inside the concoction, which turned into a horrid brown. Draco exhaled loudly, oddly choosing to ignore the Parselmouth's jab for the sake of reconciliation.

…

"You got my birthday card, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks for that." Draco nodded slightly and asked politely for Theodore to juice his leeches into his cauldron. "Have you gone to the hospital wing for your arm? Madam Pomfrey can mend bones in a blink of an eye."

"I've got other things to do, rather than to worry about a small cut."

"Like what?"

…

"Nothing really important. Family stuff. Hey, could you help me with the rat spleen please?" Theodore threw the spleen inside of Draco's cauldron as he was the first to finish, and walked over to the sinks to clean himself off while others soon began to finish up as well. Snape commanded everyone to gather around Neville and Hermione's table abruptly with a grin of malicious intent crawling all over his pale face. Theodore knew that Snape would grab every opportunity to humiliate the poor boy, and was fearful for his pet toad who was going to be tested on with Neville's own potion. Theodore stood next to Hermione, who was also worried by the possible outcome, and watched Snape gently lifting Trevor in one hand as he had a pipette in the other. He sucked up a considerable amount of the Solution and squeezed its contents down the toad's mouth.

…

Trevor lost his arms and legs, his murky green skin as well as his bulbous golden eyes as he flipped excitably in the professor's hand as a small black tadpole. Neville went bright red from the ovation from his fellow Gryffindors as Snape instantly snapped at Hermione for helping him. He turned Trevor back into a toad and dropped him into Neville's hands as he glided back to the front desk as the class began to clear their things away.

"He's always targeting Neville! I don't get why he has to be so mean!" Hermione declared to Theodore as she bagged up her unused ingredients, flustered with anger.

"Could've just lied, you know. You're not compelled to say the truth to Snape."

"But its so hard to lie! Oh, I have to go now," muttered the Muggle-born as she tapped the Time-Turner under her robes before slipping away discreetly without drawing any attention to herself. Theodore was about to point out that her bag was going to rip but turned his attention to Ron and Harry, who came over to him.

"I'm pissed off. Snape is taking the absolute piss and I'm pissed off! How did Goyle score more than me? Goyle! Goyle! Fucking scandalous, if you ask me! I should write a statement to Dumbledore so that he can fire that son of a bitch, Snake!" The Parselmouths hissed at him to quieten down, not wanting Snape to give them a plethora of detentions. "Argh! I hope that DADA is better than last year. You can't go worse when you had Lockhart, can you?"

"Guess we'll have to wait and see. Where did Hermione go off to? I swear she was here just a moment ago."

"Toilet. I'll see you guys later in DADA. I have to give something to Snape." Harry and Ron nodded at Theodore and emptied out of the classroom with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, leaving him with the greasy-haired man who barely acknowledged his presence as he was busy rearranging the vials and jars in his cupboard. During the summer, Snape had given Theodore extensive homework on lycanthropy and the hypothetical uses of its 'vaccine'. Of course, it didn't have a cure but had an ailment called the Wolfsbane Potion, a relatively new discovery that could help a werewolf retain their human mind during their transformations. Theodore had to spend multiple nights awake with his limited resources in his small room, page after page, scraping whatever could be useful for the tiresome essay.

Theodore trudged over to Snape's desk with his bag swinging from his fingers, and slammed it down. Snape merely grunted but didn't turn around to say anything to him. He unzipped his bag and stuck his hand everywhere until he plucked the slightly crumpled essay and placed it near Snape's letter pile for him to see clearly. Now, curiosity was a strange thing, even more so in a magical school. You'd never know what could be hidden underneath a girl's bathroom, inside a forest that was forbidden, or in a pile of letters which didn't grab the boy's attention at first. None of them grabbed his attention, but one. One single letter.

He arched his back to lower himself along the desk, keeping his stare locked onto the letter which had a title obscured by the envelopes on top of it. Theodore used his finger to push them away slightly, eyes widening as each word became clearer and clearer.

 _The Last Will and Testament of Valerie Pot-_

"Get away from there, boy," snapped Snape harshly as he slammed his hands on the letters, grabbing a large bundle in both hands as he dumped them far from sight. "What did I tell you about looking through my personal belongings? When will you listen?!"

"Sorry, sir! I just- the Wolfsbane essay is over there if you want to look at it. There's about five pages, so… I'm sorry." He hurriedly left the dungeon classroom before the man would blow a fuse, and ran to his next lesson to join the others. However, he was especially perplexed to see his class walking through the hallways with Lupin leading the way.

"Theodore, how nice to see you. I'll excuse your tardiness as we're going to do something practical today." Lupin said kindly as he passed Theodore around the corner. The boy's hazel eyes glowed with interest, borderline excitement as he joined everyone else. Hermione was talking with Elvira about Lockhart and Quirrell while Theodore asked Dean why they were doing something that was unheard of during their time at Hogwarts.

"Dunno," said the tall boy as he shrugged his shoulders. "He just came into the classroom and told us to follow him. I'm liking this guy already. Much better than Lockhart."

"By a mile and a half."

The class all entered the old staff room, which had a sleeping spectre in the corner, shabby around the corners and ridden with dust along the floorboards and the windows. Lupin flicked his wand which dispersed the dust from every inch of the room, making it look slightly less shabbier than before. A worn out wardrobe was all that stood within the abandoned room, along with the pile of broken furniture in the corner, suddenly shaking violently as everyone jumped back from it. Lupin reassured everyone that there was nothing to be worried about as he explained what exactly was inside the wardrobe.

"Who here can tell me what a Boggart is?" Lupin asked as three people raised their hands, Hermione, Theodore and Seamus. The scar-faced professor pointed at Seamus, who proudly spoke his answer out loud.

"It's one of those things that hides in dark places, right? Like in clocks, basements and attics. I saw one once when I went to my cousin's for the holidays. Frightening, just frightening!"

"And why is that?"

"Well, they can turn into whatever you fear the most. Like Neville being scared of Snape." The class snickered as Seamus patted the embarrassed boy on the back to show that he was only having some fun.

"Right you are, Mr Finnigan. A Boggart has the ability to shape-shift into whatever your heart deems worthy of fearing. Nobody knows what a Boggart naturally looks like as everybody has something to fear. Almost everyone, anyways. There is nothing to be ashamed of, when facing a Boggart. We have something to fear and that something can be shared and hopefully, understood amongst each other. That is the reason why we have surrounded the beast, and for what reason, Seamus?"

"So that it'll be confused on what form it should take on."

"Well done, again. Fifteen points for Gryffindor. Now, the spell to combat the Boggart is nothing too difficult, I hope. The effectiveness of the spell comes from your mind, your thoughts that you must turn into instinct, and that is the whole point of this. Turning your fear into laughter. Something to be ridiculed by you. Can you do that?" Everyone nodded their heads in unison. "Good. Now, the incantation for this charm is _Riddikulus_! Repeat after me. _Riddikulus_!"

" _Riddikulus_!"

"Again!"

" _Riddikulus_!"

"One more time!"

" _Riddikulus_!" Lupin nodded in approval of their pronunciation as he called Neville up first. Neville gulped and dragged his feet along the ground in front of everyone else. Theodore was wondering if Seamus was telling the truth about him. What was he thinking, of course Neville feared Snape! The man practically bullied him, after all.

"Now. Neville. Could you tell the class what you fear the most?" Lupin asked as he put his arm around the timid boy's shoulder. The faintest whisper could barely be heard from the front row of the Gryffindors as Lupin asked him again.

"P-professor Snape…"

"I knew it!" Snickers and squeals echoed all over the room as Neville rubbed his elbow nervously. Lupin gently raised his hand up in the air to stop the laughter. He then lowered his head to Neville's head level and whispered a lengthy amount of words before he nodded towards him.

"You got it?"

"I-I… think so…" Lupin counted down from ten, giving Neville plenty of time to prepare as he squandered it by constantly looking back at his peers. Theodore could hear the heavy breathing coming from the boy as Lupin reached one, swishing his wand at the wardrobe, flinging the door near off its hinges as Snape crawled out from inside. He looked so lifelike, so real, but didn't seem like him. Perhaps Theodore had been around him for too long to recognise his body movement patterns. Snape stylishly walked over to Neville, suddenly breaking into a run when Neville cried, ' _Riddikulus_ ', instantly garbing the hook-nosed Professor in clothes that were fit for a 17th century queen. A frilly dress with sequins running nearly everywhere, a ridiculously large hat that had a hole in the middle and a heavy-looking purse which Snape struggled to keep a hold of.

Ron was crying on Theodore's shoulder as he was crying on his. Never had they seen or needed something, so badly. The rest of the class were in tears as Neville straightened his back, triumphant that he didn't make a fool of himself in the first DADA lesson of the year for once. He walked over to the back of the class who formed a line, serving high-fives as it was Parvati's turn next. Theodore was forth in the line, behind Dean and in front of Ron. His mind was running through what could possibly scare him. Like what was the one thing that made him cower in complete fear from the mere thought of it? Theodore never thought too much on fear, firmly believing that it'd only grow stronger, the more you thought about it.

' _Well, I was scared of peacocks when I was three but that was ten years ago. Needles? They scare the shit out of me. Come on, Theo! What scares you, man? There has to be something! I mean, you're in a magical world where unicorns exist! Werewolves and Basilisks! Surely, I must've seen something that really got to me, like-'_

He froze. His breath started to grow thin, brain turning foggy as the one thing that he feared the most, came to mind. No, not that. Anything but that! They couldn't see that, they can't! Theodore had to get away from the Boggart before everything would crumble into a cataclysmic lesson. No. He had to get away before it was too late. They couldn't see it, not even his friends.

"Hey, Ron," whispered Theodore to the red head behind him. "Do you want to go in front of me?"

"What, so that you can see me fight a massive spider?"

"Exactly."

"Move out the way," sighed Ron as he switched places with the Parselmouth. The line had suddenly grown shorter as it was Ron's turn in no time at all. Theodore switched with Lavender, then Fay Dunbar, Elvira, Louisiana Kellah, then finally Harry who was at the very back. The line moved quicker than ever, suddenly finishing with Louisiana as it was Harry's turn to battle the Boggart when Lupin stopped him from doing so.

"Theodore, I've noticed that you are avoiding the Boggart. Surely, you are not scared of it. Are you?" Everyone turned to him, confused on why a top performer such as Theodore, was straying away from something that he'd obviously do well in. Theodore nervously held his hands behind his back as he backed up a little, careful not to stare into anybody else's eyes for too long.

"I'm not scared, it's just… I don't want to do it…" He spoke softly, twiddling his fingers as he looked away from Lupin.

"But you'll do great," chimed in Neville as he smiled cheerfully. "If I can do it, then so can you!"

"Neville, it's not that easy."

"All you have to do is say _Riddikulus_ and-"

"I know, I just… don't want to do it, that's all."

"Please," pleaded Lavender and Parvati, still not letting go of their infatuation over the boy.

"I'm sure that there's nothing to worry about. You'll do fine." Elvira added sweetly, smiling at the handsome boy. Theodore didn't even bother to look at Hermione as he already knew that she'd be pushing him to the front. Theodore sucked in a large amount of air, coughing to clear his throat as he walked slowly through the third year Gryffindors. Slowly, carefully… fearfully walking to the Boggart. It felt so long for a distance that was so small. He swerved around Neville as he gave him a pat on the back with a toothy grin, not noticing how distressed the boy was from confronting the Boggart.

…

"Sir, I can't…"

"It's alright," said the professor back, smiling foolishly as he didn't know what could possibly be the outcome of this whole thing. "Keep calm, keep your head and relax." He inhaled again, edging closer to the Boggart that was still stuck in its previous form.

' _I don't want to see this… I don't want to see this at all… please, don't make me… don't make me see… him…'_

The Boggart was right in front of him, in the form of a tiny shark hanging off a fishing rod that was suspended in the air. Theodore had his wand gripped tightly in his hand as he stared at the shark, it's dead eyes suddenly turning to the fear-stricken boy. Suddenly, it exploded into black smoke, forming a cloud of dark mass as it swirled around the ceiling as if an ominous thunderstorm had arrived. It swirled and swirled, until it started to clump together, soon taking shape of something that looked so horrid and vile. The cloud solidified into something resembling a human, compacting together until Theodore caught a glimpse of pale white feet with nails shaped like talons protruding from the toes, soon obscured by the presence of a loose black cloak. The Boggart had taken the form of something similar to the hooded figure from two years ago, who was really Quirrell that was drinking unicorn blood for his father weakened self. Although that paled in comparison to what was in front of him. A hidden face, chalky-white fingers that looked so thin and needle-like. Claws that ran across the chest area of the black robes, reaching slowly for the hood. Theodore was trembling in fear, unable to raise his wand, brain completely unknowing of the charm as he just stood there… watching. As it held the folds of the hood tightly, it pulled it back even slower, first revealing the lipless mouth that was planted on a scaly white chin, displaying teeth that belonged to carnivores. Next, it was the nose, but there wasn't one. Just slits for nostrils, and nothing more. And finally, when the hood had been thrown back completely, Theodore was exposed to a face that he recognised yet was unaware of, at the same time. He expected no hair, yet there was very dark brown locks falling back as a few fell onto its face. The snakelike irises that held a blood-red shade to them, thinning those demonic slits as the Boggart loomed over the boy, still keeping him held to one place as he couldn't move at all. It only possessed very thin eyebrows but they were still visible against the heavy ridges above it's eyes. Theodore knew that this was his father, he knew that for sure… but it wasn't. His hair was always like that. Those were his cheeks, no matter how contorted they looked upon the Boggart. His ears, his chin, his face shape. Theodore wasn't looking at Lord Voldemort, his own father… he was looking at himself. Him, in his father's perfect image. He knew he held a deep fear for his father, but this was much worst. To see yourself as him… this was what he feared. He feared turning into him…

" _Fresh blood… Slytherin's blood… our blood…"_

"…Theodore!" Lupin shouted as he pulled Theodore away from the Boggart, which turned into smoke once more. Lupin bended his knees as he held the Parselmouth firmly by the shoulders, losing all the cheerfulness that he once displayed to everyone. "Theodore, why didn't you do the charm? Why didn't you respond when I called your name?" The boy shivered as he slowly turned to everyone else. They looked pale, cold and distant. It was like they all witnessed a Dementor that swooped inside of the room, stripping them all of their happiest memories by leaving them empty. Harry looked the least affected, which wasn't saying much as he also looked horrified by what the Boggart. The look on Hermione's face sold it for him as he flicked Lupin's arms off his shoulders roughly as he collected his bag from the corner.

"I said I didn't want a turn. But you didn't listen, did you?" He muttered darkly as he threw his bag around his shoulder.

"Theodore, I'm-" He slammed the door as it shook the wardrobe so much, it broke down into several broken pieces. Everyone stared at the door where the Parselmouth left from, still trying to comprehend what had happened. But only three of them knew, or at least they thought they did. Hermione brushed a lock of hair behind her left ear, her worries for the boy soon rising again. Must this happen every year? When will it stop?

Theodore didn't know it but his eyes had grown scarlet again, but only briefly. He breathed, and released, breathed and released. Inhale, exhale. He was standing in the adjacent corridor on the same floor, trying to control his fear and anger from what the Boggart turned into. His head was pounding, his skin was burning as his throat became parched. All because he saw his father again. The lividness on his face shifted into anxiety, then fear as he staggered against the wall, fanning himself with his hand. He wished he didn't storm out the class like that, nor did he wish that he said that to Professor Lupin. It was his father. Whenever he'd think about him, he'd just… lose it.

' _Not again…'_

"Ron, try this one! I think it's a lion!" Seamus chucked a wrapped chocolate from across the room as the red head caught it in his hand. Ron unwrapped it quickly and chomped on it viciously, emitting a powerful roar a split second later. Everyone laughed, barrelling in their beds as they shared Silic's Sounds Confectionary, chocolates that made the eater create the most absurd noises ever. But the Gryffindor boys were having too much fun with them.

"Hey, Neville! Here, take this," said Seamus as he was ready to throw another at the pudgy boy.

"I already had one, remember? Give it to Theo."

"Theo, catch!" Theodore had no time to think. He grabbed the sweet in midair from his bed as he stared at the wrapper, which had a wolf's insignia in gold. The Parselmouth had remained quiet for the day after DADA, only talking with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and occasionally Neville and Elvira. Neville was apologising endlessly for goading him into facing the Boggart to which he accepted without hesitation. As they left for the common room, Seamus, along with everybody else, seemed to forget the lesson as he told the boys about the sweets he had gotten from his cousin.

"I thought you didn't like your cousin," remarked Theodore as he unwrapped the foil from the chocolate.

"He can be alright, sometimes. Still is a twat, though. Come on, now! Eat the bloody thing!" Theodore threw the chocolate in his mouth and tried to say something, only for the howling of a wolf to escape his lips. He even mockingly posed as one on his bed as all the other boys laughed. The effects soon wore off as he coughed, slapping his chest as he heard faint howling coming from outside his window. He ignored this as he fell back in his bed, face red from laughing too much.

"Man, it's been a crazy week, hasn't it?" Dean asked as he scrunched up all his spare wrappers in a large ball before placing it on his bedside table.

"You're telling me. Trelawney is an absolute nutter! Straight from St Mungo's! Did you hear what she said about Theodore?"

"A gift passed down by blood. What, can you speak to snakes or something?" Theodore scoffed slightly, his throat slightly raspy.

"Don't be ridiculous. If I could speak to snakes, then why am I not in Slytherin?"

"Harry can speak to snakes, and he's here with us," piped in Neville as he stroked Trevor. The boy's murmured in agreement, now casual over the fact that Harry was a Parselmouth.

"You guys… are reaching too far." Theodore yawned as he curled up in his bed. "Too much sugar in the brain, that's what you're on. Talking a whole load of nonsense." The boys all jokingly booed at Theodore as they climbed into their own beds, killing the lights as they soon fell to sleep as well. Theodore would've done so as well, had a certain Maibian Adder stayed underneath his bed.

" _You smell… hot. You were angry today, weren't you?"_

"I'll tell you in the morning. I have to go sleep, Viripin." The snake slithered onto his bed and rested her head near his own, flicking her tongue repeatedly as she spoke.

" _Did anything else happen during the day? How was Potions with the torturer?"_ Theodore sat up and covered him and the snake under his duvet to mask their voices as he whispered to her.

"It was fine, but guess what I saw?"

" _What did you see?"_

"I was handing in my summer homework to Snape, and I saw a bunch of letters on his desk. I didn't get a good look at them, but one of them stood out from the rest."

" _What did it say?"_

"It said the 'Last Will and Testament of Valerie' something, before Snape snatched it away."

" _Valerie, like your mother?"_

…

" _Are you saying that Snape has the will of your mother?"_ Viripin asked worryingly, her hatred for the professor still burning passionately within her.

"I… I think so."

…

"Should I try take it from him?"

" _It would be terribly risky."_

"But it'd be worth it." Viripin waited for a while in the darkness before speaking up again.

" _It's your mother. You deserve to know what's inside of that letter. And if you decide to take it, I'll be behind you the entire way."_

"You're just saying that because you want to get back at Snape," smirked the boy.

" _That is not untrue."_

"I don't think I tell you how much I love you, you know."

" _You never have."_

"Always a first for everything."

" _Oh, Theodore. You flatter me too much!"_

"Haha, so funny." Theodore said sarcastically as Viripin slipped off the bed slowly. "Goodnight, Viripin."

" _Goodnight, Theodore."_

 **I think that Elvira will be the last of my main OCs. I don't think I'll be able to keep track of another after making at least five, but oh well.**

 **So now we know what Theo fears! It was originally just going to be Voldemort but I figured that since almost everyone has the same Boggart, his should be a little different from the others. Also threw in a few hints and bits on the upcoming chapters, as well as what he'll be up to in his next year. But it's not GoF now! It's PoA!**

 **Sorry for the late-ish upload, but I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter. Later.**

 **P.S: The gift that Trelawney was talking about was not about Parseltongue. But you don't need to know that now, neither does Theo;)**

 **War Sage: Thanks man:)**


	26. Chapter 26: An Omen and a Potion

The letter became the boy's new obsession now, his thoughts now fixated on the will that seemingly belonged to Theodore's mother, hidden away by Snape. Theodore frequently lost himself in lesson time, pondering on what could possibly be tucked inside the crinkled envelope that had been sullied for more than a decade, earning elbows to the ribs by his friends. Nobody had forgotten about the Boggart from the week before, and it wasn't just his best friends who attempted to console him about it. Convincing everybody else that he was fine was taxing to his throat, most of his energy being directed to Hermione. But he guessed she had every right to do so. After last year's ordeal, Theodore could only expect her to be a little more overbearing than usual. It's not like he minded it that much anyways. Yes, Theodore couldn't drag himself away from thinking about it. It could be done, sneaking into the dungeons undetected without Snape or anybody else turning their heads towards his direction. But he had to think through this extensively, calculating every possible impediment that could be faced when the time would come. This could be done, if Astronomy wasn't so demanding of his time.

" _So, I was thinking that I should be around you at all times, like a guard. You know, to keep you safe from the Grim if it tries to attack you again."_

"Really appreciate the gesture, Viripin, but I don't think that the Grim has any chance of breaking into the castle, just to try and rip my head off," asserted the Parselmouth casually as he unrolled his star charts across his bed for his Astronomy homework.

" _Okay, but what about Sirius Black? He surely must be after you, as well as Harry."_ Viripin was hanging off the bottom-left post of the bed as her head was poised against the boy's ear, eagerly watching him as he scribbled away at his homework.

"You don't need to worry about him either. He can't just stroll through the front door without having an army of Dementors chasing him down. I'll be fine, you'll see."

" _Well, you must be careful about the Grim, Theodore. When we were fighting on the day it attacked us, I sensed a lot of aggression coming from it."_ Theodore scoffed as he lifted the star chart above his head, rotating it in the air as Viripin dropped her whole body from above.

"Really? I couldn't tell."

" _This is no joking matter,"_ hissed the Adder. _"That thing really wanted to kill you. Like it REALLY wanted to kill you, and I don't think it's going to stop until you're dead."_ Theodore dropped the star chart and turned his head to the snake, face balanced between being solemn and very slight light-heartedness.

"I'll be okay, Viripin, seriously. The Grim isn't going to burst inside the castle looking for me because I'll be ready when it comes. And unless the Dementors suddenly decide to give up on the lookout for Black around the castle, he's nothing to worry about as well." Viripin shook her head as she dropped her straightened self to coil next to the boy's lap, still watching Theodore flicking back and forth between his book and charts. He didn't dare show that he was still unnerved by the dog, as well as the Boggart on top of that. Not to Viripin, at least. He couldn't afford to be stuck in meaningless disturbance, when something that was so vital required his absolute attention. Having finished almost all of the charts, Theodore set them aside as he reached for his schoolbag to pluck out a thick makeshift book made out of fresh parchments, all held together by a small, but effective, paper clip. The Maibian Adder couldn't help inhibiting her curiosity with the boy's sudden change of interest as she raised her head next to his ear again.

" _What's this about?"_ Theodore drew his wand from underneath his pillow to use as a pointer as he read along the scribbled notes, while talking with Viripin at the same time.

"Snape is making me brew something called the Wolfsbane Potion and he gave me the notes for it, a few days ago. I thought that I only had to give in the homework, not make a potion which takes nearly a month to brew! And I don't even think I have the time to make a plan as well…" The Parselmouth grumbled as he turned the page for the ingredients list.

" _A plan for what?"_

"Viripin, you know what plan I'm talking about."

" _I think I don't,"_ remarked the Adder in a snarky manner. _"Come on, tell me this plan of yours. It's not about sneaking around the castle again, is it?"_

…

" _Theodore, I just said-"_

"I'm going to get the letter from Snape's classroom," said the boy quickly as he cut her off. "Look, I'm going to get the letter from his classroom, but the only way to get it is to… go under the radar. Some rules could be broken, but I have to know if it really is from her, Viripin. I have to."

" _But how will you do it? You couldn't possibly roam around the castle freely with Dementors flying everywhere on the outside. I also have a very bad feeling about the Grim as well. You have to think this through, Theodore. It's gotten a lot more dangerous for you here."_ Theodore laid his body back against the soft bed and looked up at the scarlet tapestry above his head. She was right. The Dementors weren't allowed in the castle, but it didn't mean that the security inside would be any less of a deterrent. Dumbledore would surely have multiple prefects in every corridor, as well as teachers overseeing them with watchful eyes. The plan was rough, but sure to work. It was just the timing, the perfect time when nobody would be inside of the castle to catch him out. But when?

"If only I finished making that Polyjuice Potion from last year. It's still inside the bathroom, but there's no way in hell that I'm going back in there again." Theodore said out loud. He tapped his wand against his skull repeatedly, his brain stitching parts of his crude plan into something worthwhile, something to be infallible until a storm of rage emanating from the door snatched his, and Viripin's, attention.

"...FUCKING CAT AWAY FROM SCABBERS!" Theodore brought himself to his feet as he quickly paced to the door, while Viripin managed to wrap herself around him in the nick of time to morph into a green frog on his shoulder. Upon arriving to the main part of the Tower, Theodore was struck as confused on what had exactly happened. He instantly recognised the shouting being of Ron's voice, and underneath heard violent hisses along with the cluttering of fallen objects. But with the crowd of at least ten people blocking his view from where the situation stemmed from, the Parselmouth had absolutely no clue as to-

Ron came storming away from the fireplace with his star charts being half-crumpled in his hands, and a thin Scabbers wriggling in his shirt pocket. The boy's face looked ridiculously red as his eyes expressed pure fury, now explaining the reason for the shouting. The red head was about to furiously stomp his way up to the dorm room, when Theodore halted him in his tracks to ask him of the problem.

"Theo, can I ask you a massive favour, please? Can you tell Viripin to eat that cat before it kills Scabbers?" Ron asked with his arms crossed, completely neglecting the charts in his hands.

"It tried to attack Scabbers again? It really has it out for him, huh? But it's a cat, Ron. It's what cats do." Ron flung his arms up, tearing one of his charts in half as he walked up the steps, mumbling under his breath.

"You're both the same, the pair of you. Can't think of a better match…"

The crowd dispersed as Theodore silently walked over to Harry and Hermione, the Muggle-born stroking the orange cat preciously, with the scar-bearing boy scratching his head while looking at his homework. Crookshanks purred as his leg shook vigorously, while the two noticed Theodore as he sat in Ron's previous spot.

"You really ought to control that cat, Hermione. It's seriously going to kill Scabbers one of these days," said Theodore as he held Viripin in his hands.

"Yeah, and if not from eating him, then of pure fright. He looks like a half-eaten chicken bone." Harry added as he opened his Astronomy book with his quill blotting some of his parchments. Hermione didn't take to this lightly, and scowled at the two cousins as she collected her homework underneath one armpit, and Crookshanks under the other.

"If you can't see that it's basic animal nature, then I don't know for you," snapped the girl as she stepped over Harry's leg for the girls' dorms. "But Crookshanks is a lovely creature who wouldn't harm a fly. I'm sure if Viripin tried to attack Scabbers or Crookshanks, you'd defend her by saying she had a reason for it."

" _For Scabbers, yes. For Crookshanks, however…"_ Theodore sniggered as he told the frog to hush, with Harry cracking a smile as well. The two boys couldn't help themselves as they covered their mouths to contain their laughter, ignoring the Muggle-born's question on what was so funny, as well as her annoyed march to the girls' dorms. The two calmed down after another minute of laughing, and opted to go bed after working on their homework.

"Oh, crap! I haven't even finished my last chart! Oh well. Quidditch practice took a lot out of me, so I don't think I can do any more," yawned Harry as he walked alongside Theodore up the spiral stairway.

"Well, McGonagall said that if we get a detention for not doing our homework, then she'd pull us out for the first trip to Hogsmeade, so you might want to rethink your choices."

"Wouldn't affect me either way. The unlucky one, remember?" Harry said glumly as he pressed his thumb to the middle of his chest. They pushed in through the third-year boys' dorm door to greet Ron, who was carefully tending to the sickly rat. Theodore had his eyes and ears focused on the red head's badmouthing of Crookshanks, but his thoughts went back to where they were before the commotion started.

' _It's a long way away, but it could work. Can't believe I choosing to give up the first trip to Hogsmeade. And if I don't find the bloody letter, then…'_

"…so, Theo? Is Viripin going to eat Crookshanks or not?"

"Sure, if you want Hermione to hate me and you forever." Ron scoffed as he turned back to Scabbers, who was being fed with chopped seeds and apple peelings.

"Don't know what the hell is going on between you two…"

* * *

It didn't stop there in the common room, with the cat and rat situation. Ron was doing a superb job at ignoring the Muggle-born for the following week, only speaking more words than expected on her birthday and nothing more. Hermione glossed over her birthday as if it wasn't such a big deal, but did look rather affected from the red head's actions. Obviously, Ron had taken Crookshanks's attempt on Scabbers to heart, but Hermione was trying to make an effort on her end to understand him. Didn't mean it was working for her though. And like always, Theodore and Harry were the middle men in the petty squabbles that would literally spring from nowhere, always having to support and oppose each party every time. Theodore didn't take any sides however, and was adamant on remaining out of any further arguments, but of course, he'd always manage to find himself roped back in. Like, for instance, now when he was going to the dungeons with the riled-up Muggle-born tagging alongside him.

"…and I really try! I really do! But he always has to make things difficult! All over something that happens normally in nature! I can't believe him!" Hermione said angrily as she gripped her backpack straps tightly. "How dare he say that I don't care for other people's pets!"

…

"Theodore, you haven't said a single thing since we left Transfigurations."

"You won't like what I'll say, though." Theodore said back as they began to descend the Entrance Hall's marble staircase, casually waving hello at Flitwick before reaching the bottom steps.

"What is it? Tell me."

"You're both being extremely childish," replied the boy bluntly, cautiously watching the bushy-haired girl sucking in a large amount of air through her nostrils, before she released. Her eyebrows were deeply furrowed but she didn't reply, nor did she look at the boy as they walked over to the dungeons.

…

"I don't think I'm being childish." Her head was still facing forwards, until she turned around to face the taller boy when they reached Snape's classroom door.

"If you say so. Anyways, this is me. I probably won't be in the common room till like seven, so don't wait up."

"Wasn't going to." Theodore rolled his eyes as he pressed his palm against the dungeon classroom door, until Hermione tapped his shoulder with something eager on the mind to tell. "Do you think we should get Harry something from Hogsmeade? He always looks so down whenever we mention it."

"Actually, I don't think I'll even go for the first trip." The Parselmouth responded as he scratched his head. Hermione widened her eyes at the boy. Well, this was completely unexpected.

"But it's Hogsmeade! What could you possibly do at school that you can't do at Hogsmeade?"

"Something came up. Something that I have to do."

"You aren't going to sneak around with Harry, are you," muttered Hermione with a glance of disapproval.

"You know us so well, don't you?" He returned sarcastically while opening the door with a gentle push.

"You're joking, right? Tell me you're joking."

"See you later, Hermione!" And with that, the Muggle-born was cut off from the boy as he slipped inside the doorway so swiftly, that the draft from the door barely brushed against the curls that were hanging off her forehead. She could burst inside the room and tell him off for what he was implying, but it wasn't worth the trouble of having Snape chastising her for simply showing her face where it wasn't wanted. Besides, he was just being Theodore. He wouldn't actually roam the castle indiscriminately when his life was in danger. Theodore wasn't stupid. She turned on her heels and made her way to the library, somehow unable to take her mind off her conversation with the Parselmouth. Odd, wasn't it?

"You're three minutes late," uttered the Potions Master lazily from across the classroom, which was unpleasantly chilly. Snape had his back turned to the boy, his interest lying somewhere else instead. Theodore slowly walked over to the front desk where Snape usually worked, inhaling the odious smell that was lingering around the professor's proximity. Speculation and rumours circulated around Snape, mostly revelling in the fact that he didn't follow basic hygienic routines. In retrospect, Theodore dismissed them all, possibly because he became immune to the supposed 'scent' around him.

"Sorry. I was walking here with a friend." Snape scoffed as he reached across the desk to grab a handful of vials, uncovering the large cauldron that was hidden in front of him.

"Excuses will not save you when it'll be your final exams, will they? Or if you have a low-paying job at the Ministry."

"I guess not…" Theodore hid his petulance as he kept a neutral expression, walking over to his desk near the back where he usually worked in lesson. Snape had been surprisingly more irritable during the recent weeks, a given example would be barraging Neville with questions that even Theodore couldn't answer, and snatching more points from Gryffindor than expected. Although he never gave it some true thought, Theodore now often wondered why Snape would act in such a way to students. Did he hate all types of children? He supposedly tolerated Theodore's presence, so that wasn't certain. Did somebody hurt him so much that he released his frustration on his pupils? Now that could be possible…

The boy sat on his desk table with the Wolfsbane notes brought out in front of him, flicking boorishly through as the subtle splashes, and the not-so subtle bangs, filled his mind with jaundice that he wasn't doing anything. It was usually like this, with Theodore either writing down notes for an essay, or him arranging and cleaning the cupboard for the next lesson. But now, all of that felt meaningless, a thing of the past. He was more than prepared to make Wolfsbane, and Snape knew that. He couldn't stick him on the sidelines forever.

Theodore abandoned his desk when Snape turned to the cupboard after muttering something dismal and incomprehensible. As he delved around for his search, Theodore was pacing himself towards the bubbling cauldron, too eager and internally rapt to stay away from what Snape could possibly be brewing. Upon reaching the desk, he pulled his head back briefly before closing in once again.

' _Well, at least the smell isn't coming from you, Professor. What even is this, anyways? I can smell… Ammoniacum? I think… And there's… there's… Aah! Can't put a finger on it! It seems so familiar! I think it's Moondew with-'_

...

It could've been so easy to take it right now, then and there. All he had to do was to pluck it, tuck into his robes and Snape wouldn't suspect a thing. He could do it. It was easy. In the amidst of the helplessly cluttered desk on its furthest end, was the letter. Her letter. _The Last Will and Testament of Valerie Potter._ That's what it said. It was like excess fuel was being pumped into his already obsessive drive, his drive which was now unrestricted at the confirmation of his goal. His eyes became immersed in the letter's presence, filtering almost everything else as he instinctively reached for it. His hand, closer and closer to unveil his mother's final wishes, so much that could be revealed at that moment… if he kept on going.

' _What are you thinking, Theo? It'll be way too obvious, as well as reckless. You have a plan, so stick to it. No backing out now.'_

A moment that was so easy to take advantage of prior to his change of judgement, became strenuously difficult as he forced his resisting hand inside of his pocket. He could've done it, yes. But to take it right now meant he had no faith in himself, having to resort to something as basic as luck to retrieve a will from his mother. No, his plan will work. It had to. He turned his head slightly at the clank emanating from behind him, hearing Snape grunt a little as the potion cupboard's doors was closed and locked firmly.

"Professor," asked Theodore as Snape glided back to the cauldron, oddly not scolding the boy for being rather close to his desk. "What are you making?" The Potions Master side-eyed him for four seconds exactly, then sighed drearily as he brought out multiple jars and containers on his working place.

"I'd rather not divulge this information to you right now, but you'll know soon enough." The Parselmouth's eye caught onto a cylindrical glass container housing a plant with violet leaves that looked too broad to belong to lavender. His knowledge from two years ago flashed in his brain as he recognised it as monkshood, a very toxic plant which was also known as-

"Um, sir? I've finished my notes on the ingredients and steps for Wolfsbane, and they're over there. Should I bring them over, or…?" Snape gave a simple swish above the cauldron, and summoned a lid from across the classroom to fit it on top. It whistled weakly as steam was being ejected from the rim of the cauldron, but it didn't gain the teacher, nor the student's, attention as Snape walked back around to his chair. He said nothing as his hand was outstretched with an eyebrow raised. Theodore turned back to his desk to grab his parchment notes and handed them over to Snape, who still didn't say anything. His black eyes trailed from the top of each page to the bottom, flicking through each one as if he was reading a brochure that didn't interest him in the slightest. The boy felt compelled to break the silence, but stopped when he saw the slightest, the almost imperceivable curl of the lip on the Potions Master's face. This wasn't when he'd pour a heinous amount of detentions onto Ron or Harry or anyone other than Slytherin. This… this was genuine. Theodore remained still in his place, waiting for Snape to flick to the final page until he spoke out.

"So, is it alright? It's a bit messy but-"

"Hmm? Oh! It's uhh… it's adequate, yes," said Snape quickly as he returned from his untypical daydreaming, handing the notes back to a puzzled, and disappointed Theodore.

"Just adequate? I spent like a good five days on this, though! Shouldn't it be-"

"Be grateful that I gave you the benefit of a doubt that your work was satisfactory." Snape snapped back, hushing the boy from speaking any further. "Now, I forgot to tell you that you won't be staying for long today. Something has been brought up, so you can leave now."

The Parselmouth stuffed his notes back into his bag, and slung it over his shoulder quite carelessly as he grumbled incoherently while walking out the door. After closing it firmly behind him, he rubbed his eyes roughly, still envisioning the letter, the obvious potion and Snape's dismissive evaluation of his work.

"Theodore?" The boy's hands were released from his eyes as he looked up to see Lupin in his shoddy robes, hands in his pockets as he smiled nervously at the boy. Theodore returned the awkward smile as he straightened himself with his bag properly fixed on his back.

"Afternoon, Professor."

"Hello there. Might I ask what you are doing here?"

"Me? Oh, I'm doing some sort of apprenticeship with Professor Snape. I was in there for only ten minutes, which is much shorter than usual." Lupin nodded his head as he briefly stared at the classroom door before back to Theodore.

"I hope that Severus isn't too rough on you. I've… heard about the way he is during his classes." Theodore shook his head, rocking on his heels as he nervously tapped his thighs. The two hadn't properly spoken to each other ever since the Boggart situation, with Theodore apologising more than once about his little temperament after that specific lesson.

…

"Sir, can I ask why you are here as well?"

"Well… if you must know, Severus and I have some business that cannot be disclosed with stud-" The door behind Theodore swung open with enough force to throw back a small child by the powerful gust created from it. Theodore spun around quickly and saw Snape standing in the doorway with his usual demeanour that slightly soured upon setting his eyes on Lupin.

"Lupin."

"Severus," returned the shabby wizard in a similar tone. "I trust that things are almost in order."

"As a matter of fact, they almost are." Theodore could sense the snarl hanging off Snape's teeth as he held himself back quite poorly. Lupin didn't seem to mind this, and kept his small smile against the Potions Master's glower. "Away with you, Riddle. Get going."

"Goodbye, Theodore," said Lupin modestly as the boy gave a little nod to him before setting off for the common room. As he reached the marble steps of the Entrance Hall, everything that happened during the past twenty minutes or so, came flooding down in his mind as questions arose from the depths of his confusion.

' _Why wouldn't he just tell me that he was making Wolfsbane Potion instead? If you're going to make me… make it, then you could at least tell me! Don't know why he can never be straightforward. And exactly what type of 'business' do they have together? Whatever. I have to focus on getting that letter. Hogsmeade is out of the picture for now, so I guess it's just Hermione and Ron. Huh. Wonder how that'll turn out."_

* * *

"Why are you staying behind again?" Ron asked the uncomfortably whimsical Theodore as the Gryffindor third-years and above clambered out of the portrait hole for breakfast, then Hogsmeade.

"He's going to study with Harry. Aren't you, Theo?" Hermione asked with distaste, still remembering his arcane motives from their conversation before. She gave him a subtle glance from his side as they planted their feet on the next moving staircase.

"Something like that."

"You're a complete madman to skip out on Hogsmeade, Theo," chimed in Dean in front of him. "You really want to miss out on Honeydukes, where they have Pumpkin Pasties bigger than the ones on the Hogwarts Express?" Theodore's stomach gave out a dangerous rumble as its lament was heard by everyone, earning a few snickers here and there.

"Don't make me change my mind now…"

After wolfing down their breakfast, the Gryffindors left for the Entrance Hall, as well as all of the other Houses, where a huge crude attempt of a single line of students were gathered near the castle's main doors, with Filch having a hassle with the twins. Theodore's patience was growing thin as the line kept halting infrequently, due to the caretaker's insistent questioning of each student. Weren't there other doors in the castle that led to Hogsmeade? Five minutes of this had passed and Theodore had enough. If he waited there any longer, the opening for grabbing the will from Snape's classroom would be shut permanently. He tapped both Hermione and Ron on their shoulders as they were nearing Filch.

"We're leaving. Going to do some of that 'studying'." Theodore said as he backed away with an arm around his confused cousin's shoulder.

"You better not sneak around," hissed the Muggle-born as her forehead wrinkled into a frown. "The pair of you are like loose cannons."

"Loose cannons. As if. Come on, Harry. Let's get a move on." The depressed scar-bearing boy sighed, then proceeded to walk alongside Theodore as he slightly pulled him along the Entrance Hall.

"We'll get loads of sweets and stuff for you guys," shouted Hermione as she watched the two cousins slowly walking up the marble staircase.

"And maybe some stuff from Zonko's as well!" Ron added. The two boys gave a simple wave to their two friends and beckoned towards their common room which would've lost most of the liveliness that it was known for. Harry was quite sluggish with Theodore having to stop midway each staircase so that he'd catch up, something that quickly got on the Heir's nerves.

"Harry, if you make me wait for you on another staircase, I'll seriously leave you behind." The scar-bearing boy released an exasperated sigh as he leaned his head backwards, finally reaching Theodore's side as they walked up the final staircase to Gryffindor Tower. Theodore spoke the password to the Fat Lady and climbed inside the portrait hole with Harry following suit. The energy inside the common room was certainly diminished, but not gone. Some first-years were huddled around the sofa near the fireplace, some second-years around the back tables and others who sat in the plush armchairs that were scattered all over the place. Theodore was about to drag Harry to the dorm rooms for privacy when a squeaky voice that called for Harry's name struck his ear.

"Colin! Hi…" said Harry unenthusiastically as the excitable second-year practically skipped over to him.

"Hiya, Harry! How are you?"

"I'm good, Colin. How… are you," said Harry in between a sigh as he stared at Theodore, who had his lip curled in a mocking manner.

"I'm great! Splendid! Just doing some Potions work for Snape with my friends. Bit of a nasty character, isn't he?"

"Yeah…"

…

"Do you want to sit with us?" Colin asked wide-eyed and joyfully. Harry opened up his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Theodore who zipped onto the scene to stop Harry from saying anything stupid.

"Harry and I have to do something, Colin. We can't afford to be distracted." Theodore said as the smaller boy's smile melted slightly, but perked up again at the last second. Colin graciously said goodbye to the two as Theodore and Harry made their way up the spiral staircase and into their dormitory. As he shut the door behind him, Theodore heard the silent hisses coming from his bed, indicating that Viripin was already awake, or that he just startled her. He walked over to his bed while Harry walked over to his, bellyflopping on top of his sheets as he sighed once again.

"You need to stop moping around, Harry. There's lots of stuff that you can do when everybody's gone." Harry lifted his head and stared at his fellow Parselmouth with an eyebrow raised.

"Did you really just say that? We're missing possibly the funnest part of this year, yet you're acting as if this is any better. Why is that, 'cousin Theo'?"

"You'll see," replied Theodore as he ripped open a bag of skinned mice for Viripin under his bed. "Nothing to worry about, 'cousin Harry'. Morning, Viripin. I see that you slept in a little bit." The Maibian Adder's gulps could be heard from underneath, and stopped shortly before she slithered onto his bed and around his neck.

" _I would've slept even more if you didn't interrupt me."_

"Sorry," he apologised as he stroked her skull with his fingers. "Anyways, today's the day. You know, about the 'thing' I was talking about?" Viripin caught on quickly as she remembered.

" _Ahh, makes perfect sense! Barely anybody here to see you blatantly disregard the school rules. I love it."_ Theodore didn't know whether to feel praised or insulted by the snake's comment, but decided that the best choice was to ignore it. It's what he usually did anyways.

"You're coming with me as well. If I'm cornered by Filch, Snape or anyone roaming the castle, I'll need for you to create a distraction so that I can make a clean getaway." Theodore whispered as he grabbed his pocket watch from his bedside desk. Viripin spat in disagreement as she held onto the boy a bit tighter than he was used to.

" _Why should I be the distraction? Why not bring Harry along with you instead? He's clearly bored over there."_ The snake pointed out.

"Unless Harry can turn into a massive lizard… wolf-thing and almost anything else, you're my best hope. Come on, Viripin."

" _I don't know…"_

"Please?"

…

" _Oh, alright! There's no point in trying to stop you anyways…"_

"You're the best. Now, here's what we're going to do. I'll take-"

"So, you just forgot that I could understand Parseltongue." Theodore and Viripin whipped their heads over to the other side of the room as Harry had his arms crossed, peering suspiciously at the both of them. For someone as intelligent as Theodore, he had to admit that he often failed when looking over small details like DISCUSSING A SECRET PLAN IN PARSELTONGUE WHEN HARRY WAS WITHIN AN EARSHOT. Theodore cursed under his breath as the scar-bearing boy walked over to his bed, arms still crossed.

…

"Hi."

"What are you up to, Theo? Are you really going to sneak around the castle, when Hermione told you not to?"

…

"Can I come with," asked Harry, sending his cousin spiralling into confusion.

"Uh, what? You want to actively take part in my rule bre- my risky plan?" Harry sat down on the edge of Theodore's bed with his glumness suddenly being eradicated from his being.

"Well, it's not like we haven't done anything like this before. Plus, I'm seriously bored." Theodore had to think this through first. Granted that Harry could be an asset to him taking his mother's will from Snape, he couldn't just switch the entire plan like that. He had to be cautious of the possible outcomes that could backfire on him. His plan wasn't inherently difficult, but it wasn't one that could be executed so lightly. Harry watched Theodore's face being trapped within contemplation, waiting for an answer.

…

"Well?"

"Alright. You can come with. Viripin, you can stay behind."

" _Yes!"_

"Don't be so excited."

"Theo, what exactly are you going to do?" Harry asked curiously as he watched Viripin slink away out of sight. Theodore didn't say anything at first, but replied soon afterwards.

"I'm going to break into Snape's classroom to get something."

"What is it?"

"My mother's will."

"Your mother's will?" Harry said in a soft whisper. "But… wait, why does Snape have your mother's will? In his classroom, of all places!" Theodore shrugged as he stood up and tucked his watch into his pocket.

"Don't know. But I have to get it. Surely, something about me must be inside. There's no reason why Snape should keep ahold of it anyways."

"What d'you reckon is inside?" Theodore blew a sharp burst of air through his mouth as he scratched his head in thought.

"Money? A house? I don't care, as long as it's from her…"

…

Theodore's watch rung loudly inside of his pocket, breaking the silence between the two. He stopped the ringing and motioned Harry to follow him out of the dorm room, and out of the Tower. As they stumbled through the portrait hole, Theodore was explaining the basis of his plan to Harry, telling him about Snape's routine and how he leaves his classroom at specific times during the day. He told him how he fixed his watch to alert him, with different ringing sequences, of Snape's location in the castle five minutes before he reached there, so that they'd have time to hide if necessary. Harry was marked impressed by this and followed his cousin down the steps of the castle, the Heir's plan now fully in motion.

The two boys were now standing on the platform leading to the second-floor corridor, cautiously looking out for adults, or cat, on the lookout. Theodore's watch buzzed in his pocket in its first pattern, telling the boy that the greasy-haired professor had just left his classroom. The two boys hurriedly ran across the corridor, Theodore shivering so slightly as they passed the abandoned bathroom, and ran down a flight of stairs behind a pillar in the first-floor corridor to see Snape walking around the corner and out of sight.

"Nice! I guess we could get into his classroom at anytime now, huh?" Harry whispered as they scoured across the first floor.

"Here's hoping."

They first tiptoed from their hiding spot behind the pillar, then started to walk more briskly as they covered the corridor quickly, finally reaching the marble staircase until history decided to repeat itself again. A sickening meow echoed from the top of the staircase as Mrs Norris glared at the two boys with her blood-red eyes, sitting comfortably as her owner was sure to come jumping out anytime now.

"Not this shit again," moaned Harry as they backed away from the scrawny cat. "Why is she everywhere?"

"Quick! Before-"

"Before what? Before I report you to the Headmaster," croaked Filch as he blocked the boys from escaping.

"Sorry, Mr Filch. We were just leaving."

"Leaving? Leaving where? To sneak off with-" His face turned pale as he suddenly realised who he had caught in the act. The same two boys from last year, before he became petrified. The one with the scar was nothing to be worried about, but the other one…

"Umm, Mr Filch," asked Harry nervously as he turned his head to Theodore. "Are… you okay?" Theodore's watch was vibrating in his pocket with a different sequence. This one was telling him that Snape was returning to his classroom again, and Theodore wasn't about to squander those precious five minutes for an old man who stopped them. Theodore tugged on Harry's arm and bolted down the marble steps, oddly unable to hear Filch's screams (if there were any) as they dashed across the Entrance Hall and down into the dungeons.

"Why… d'you do that for," panted the Boy Who Lived as they reached Snape's classroom door.

"Snape… is coming right now… and we only have like…" He glanced at his pocket watch. "Three minutes to find the letter. Let's get in before- oh no…"

"Oh no? Why oh no?" Theodore had his hand placed on the door, but it wouldn't budge when he tried to push it. He used both hands and pushed much harder, but nothing happened.

"The door… it's supposed to open when I put my hand on it but…" Theodore said quietly as he backed away from the door. "Why isn't it… did he change something…?" Footsteps were heard from the other end of the dungeons as Theodore looked straight at his watch, realising that their three minutes was spent. Harry luckily dived into the crevasse at the very last second, but Theodore wasn't quick enough to evade Snape's field of vision. Just great. Another plan gone to shit.

"Riddle! What are you doing, snooping around here?" Snape snapped as he loomed over the boy. "I heard you speaking to someone. Who else is here with you?"

"N-no one, sir…"

"An unlikely excuse. It's not unlike you to be sneaking around the hallways with your friends as if the word 'rules' didn't exist. I'll ask you again. Why are you here?" Theodore didn't even try to think this through. He'd just spew out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's about the Wolfsbane Potion, sir. I just wanted to ask when I'd get started but I couldn't get inside."

"My classroom is always locked during the holidays, you should know this by now, Riddle." Theodore looked away from Snape and glanced over to the crevasse, only just making eye contact with Harry hidden inside before Snape grabbed his attention again. "But, as a matter of fact, there is something that you can do for me." Snape pressed his palm against the door as it swung open, and swooped inside as Theodore waved his arms frantically at Harry to leave immediately, to which he didn't hesitate to do. As Harry's footsteps waned until nothing could be heard, Theodore closed the door behind him and walked over to Snape, who was scooping up the Wolfsbane Potion from the cauldron into a normal goblet. The description of the potion matched his research on it, having a silver-white colour that was as pale as a full moon with a formation of smoke. Definitely Wolfsbane. But the real question was: who was it for?

"Riddle, are you listening carefully?"

"Yes, sir." Snape set aside his ladle as he slowly rotated his body with the goblet in hand. His hands were perfectly still, unshaken and calm. He handed it over to Theodore who took it with the upmost precaution. Knowing how long it would take to brew such a potion, none of it could go to waste if spilt.

"What you're going to do is to give this to Professor Lupin, who should be inside of his office. Do you know where it is?" Theodore nodded his head, stopping suddenly when the potion nearly tipped over the brim of the goblet. Snape somehow didn't notice this as his eyes didn't explode with anger. "Do not stop for anything, or anyone. If anybody asks you why you are in the hallways, tell them that you're doing a task for me. And do not forget to tell him that there is a cauldronful. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," repeated the boy. Snape dismissed him as he turned his back once again. Theodore opened the door with one hand, and made his way to the DADA Professor's office, gazing at the swirling potion as his thoughts ran amuck in his head.

' _Scars on his face? Wolfsbane Potion? Tell me he didn't do it… Tell me that Dumbledore hadn't gone and done it. Did Professor Dumbledore seriously hire… a werewolf?'_

It was damn near plausible. All the evidence was right in front of him. Well, almost all of the evidence. But it was enough. Leave it to Dumbledore to hire a man infected with lycanthropy to teach vulnerable students, all cooped up inside of a castle guarded by Dementors. And it wasn't only the old man who must've known about this. Snape. Why would he brew Wolfsbane for someone he didn't know about? It made perfect sense.

Theodore reached Lupin's office door after strenuous amounts of concentration to balance the goblet up several steps, and knocked on the door. He heard Lupin invite him in, and pushed the door open inside. The office was nothing special at all. A desk, a wardrobe, a dusty bookshelf, a water tank with a Grindylow inside and a- wait, what?

"Theodore! How nice to see you again!" Lupin called from across the room. The Parselmouth closed the door behind him with his leg and walked over slowly, careful not to spill a single drop.

"Hello, Professor. Professor Snape told me to give this to you. I mean, I have no idea what it is so… Harry?" His cousin was sitting in the chair in front of the shabby wizard, giving Theodore a slight smile as he handed Lupin the goblet steadily.

"Harry and I were just discussing Grindylows and Boggarts. Fascinating creatures, Grindylows." Lupin said as he set the goblet aside.

"That's nice… I think that you're supposed to drink that straight away. And Professor Snape said that there's a cauldronful, if that means anything." Theodore added, eyes twitching at the prospect of Lupin being a werewolf.

"Of course, of course."

...

"Well… bye." And with that, Theodore exited the office and left for the common room to wait for Harry and the others till the feast started. The theory of Lupin secretly being a werewolf didn't near compensate for the fact that he failed to retrieve his mother's will, but it still was something. Not a lot that he could do with, though. He half-expected Dumbledore to pluck him from one of his classes to give him his usual start-of-the-year talk to discuss about Lupin, but that hasn't happened since. The old man's presence wasn't as prominent as before. Theodore guessed that when your school was littered with Dementors, you'd naturally be stuck inside your office doing-

His blood flow intensified as he saw it. The sensation from a few months ago returned when he was struck with unwavering fear as he saw… it. It was quick, it was fast. Almost too fast. But not fast enough to completely escape without the boy noticing it. Its shape was blurred but huge and black. Its ungodly snarls, as it bolted past, shocked Theodore's memories as it came back to him. It was just like in Divination with Harry's teacup. It was just like Viripin said. It was here to kill him when it failed before. The Grim was inside of the castle.

* * *

It was three in the morning, and Theodore was shuddering in his new setting inside of the Great Hall. The Parselmouth was curled up inside of his sleeping bag, eyes shut tightly to tell his fellow Gryffindors, no, his fellow student body that he didn't want to be disturbed. Like he wasn't thoroughly disturbed already. Theodore was situated in the right corner of the Great Hall, huddled against the Gryffindors, namely his three best friends, as his eyeballs flickered wildly under their lids. He didn't dare tell Harry, Ron and Hermione what he saw the day before. He couldn't chuck the weight of something so concerning onto them, on top of the current situation.

' _Not only is the fucking dog in the castle… but Black is here as well? I'm done for, so is Harry. If the Grim isn't going to maul us to death, then Black will. He already tried to break into Gryffindor Tower. What's stopping him from breaking into here…?'_

Viripin, who was disguised as a puffy green and black Chinchilla, snuggled against the Parselmouth's chest upon feeling his heart racing faster and faster. She didn't speak, but could feel him grow wearier by the second. Just like the year before when he was controlled by the diary. All she could do was to wait until the morning came around, but other than that… silence.

Theodore had his eyes fixated on the golden and white stars above, entranced by how they swirled and mixed in ways which soothed him almost. He couldn't sleep, and he was sure that the others weren't sleeping as well. He didn't bother to check as Percy was on the lookout to catch anybody talking with one another. The stars realigned and scattered repeatedly along the enchanted ceiling, nearly lulling him to sleep when he felt a slight tap against his skull. He shifted Viripin to the side, rolled over onto his stomach and brought his head up to be face to face with his Muggle-born best friend, whose hair was tied in its usual tight bun. Hermione had a face of anxiety which was mostly obscured by the darkness of the Great Hall, but Theodore still noticed.

"Yeah," said the boy softly.

"You've been extremely quiet about everything. Just wanted to know if you're okay, that's all." Hermione said in a whisper. Theodore nodded. The two turned their heads to Elvira on Hermione's left, who was shivering slightly inside of her sleeping bag. He looked at the Metamorphmagus some more, his hazel shimmering in suppressed fear until he turned back to Hermione.

"Are you alright?" He asked, to which she returned with a smile. She nodded her head, leaning on her elbows as she saw the handsome boy look away at Percy and Flitwick on the far end of the Hall.

"I'm sure that Black won't be able to break in again. Dumbledore would've surely put up new defences by the morning."

"Yeah…"

The Muggle-born squeezed his arm and said goodnight before slipping herself fully into her own sleeping bag, with Theodore doing the same. He held Viripin a little closer this time, a special type of warmth that came from her and Hermione's reassurance alike easing him into sleep. And he didn't even know how, with everything on his mind.

The next few days served nothing more than annoyance for the Parselmouth as the air was filled with Sirius Black's name being flung from about every corner of the castle, at every single hour. It was especially annoying for Harry as he was being dragged around to each of his classes like a wild dog that would disappear the second you'd release them from their leash. It didn't help when Lavender and Parvati would start to cry every time Harry would cross their paths. He'd always mutter something darkly under his breath, and would simply stay as far away from them as possible. An appropriate response. Theodore also noticed how Hermione would stick around his side a bit too often than usual, accompanying him whenever he'd go to Snape's classroom and waiting for him near the Entrance Hall when he'd finish. Naturally, Theodore wouldn't say anything about it and would carry on as if nothing had changed. Like he said before, he didn't mind.

Theodore was walking alongside Ron and Hermione to their next lesson, which was DADA, angrily discussing about Sir Cadogen, a particular nuisance of a painting that replaced the Fat Lady when Black slashed her portrait. It was today when he was nowhere to be seen during their free period, forcing them back into the Great Hall for nearly two hours until they made their way to DADA.

"Black oughta rip him from portrait instead. Why does the bad things happen to the wrong people," complained Ron out loud, earning murmurs of agreement from his peers, even from Hermione. They all cursed the knight painting as they opened the door for Lupin's classroom, chattering away loudly as usual. "And you know what else? I could've sworn that-"

"Silence!"

Every jumped back at the sudden screech from the front of the classroom, soon holding in their groans and faces of confusion at the sudden change of their lesson. Snape was sitting in Lupin's chair, writing on Lupin's desk while he waved his wand to enchant a stick of chalk to write the date on Lupin's blackboard. What? The Gryffindor third-years slowly walked to their seats, glaring at the greasy-haired professor as he narrowed his eyes on all of them. Nobody dared to ask him where Lupin was. Theodore took his seat next to Hermione and remained silent just like everyone else. Snape started the register as he spoke each name with severe bitterness like usual, until he reached Harry's.

"Where's Potter," asked the substitute with a distasteful look on his face.

"He's probably late, sir." Seamus said quietly from the back of the class. Snape's lip curled into a horrid smile as his quill screeched when he drove it across his register in a seemingly cross shape.

"I supposed that Lupin would've let him off? Five points from Gryffindor for Potter's tardiness." Several sharp sniffs of anger came from nearly everyone as Snape continued with the list of names. Once the register was finished, Snape stood up from Lupin's seat and stalked through the classroom as he glanced at each child disapprovingly. "Professor Lupin is currently… unable to teach, and it shall be none of your business as to know why, so no questions will be asked or answered. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Lupin has not given any record on what he has taught you so far, and by the looks of it, hasn't followed the proper curriculum. Typical." Hermione and Theodore both exchanged looks and turned back to Snape as he carried on berating Lupin's teaching methods. "Not even a piece of parchment from the previous lesson…" Hermione raised her hand to most likely inform Snape of what they've covered, but was dragged down by Theodore who knew the consequences of her actions.

"Why did you stop me from asking him a question," hissed Hermione as she glared at him annoyingly.

"I know what you're going to ask, and it's not going to end well for anyone. Especially you." Hermione pulled her hand away from Theodore's grip and huffed as she turned her head to the back of the classroom, where none other than Harry came rushing inside breathless. Harry panted as he balanced his arms against his knees, catching his breath finally as he raised his head to be locked in eye contact with Snape.

…

"Well, would you look at that, children? It seems that your famous peer lacks any manners to apologise for his lateness. The cost? Ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down."

"Where's Professor Lupin," asked Harry bluntly, refusing to sit down.

"Sit down, Potter."

"Is he not well?"

"I said, sit down, Potter." Snape gritted through his teeth. Harry obliged as he trailed towards his desk next to Ron. The Potions Master then dramatically swished his cloak as he returned to Lupin's desk, flicking his wand to summon a book from the shelves. "Turn to page three hundred and ninety-four."

…

"Werewolves?"

"Yes, Finnigan. Werewolves. Two points for speaking out of turn." Hermione raised her hand again to say what was on her mind, but was wrestled by Theodore as he kept it down. Hasn't this girl ever heard about self-restraint? Everyone flicked to page 394 as Snape watched them all intently, eager to scold one of them for taking too much time. The page was found as the questions began.

"How can a werewolf be distinguished from a normal one?" Obviously, Hermione's hand was raised straight into the air as everybody else kept theirs down. Theodore knew the answer to the question, and from the subtle glances of the substitute, Snape knew that he knew the answer as well. Theodore was aware of the trickery of Snape from how he'd detract points from given answers, even if they were correct. He never fell victim to this before, unlike Hermione on many occasions, but he wasn't going to try at a time like this.

"Nobody? Not a single one of you?" Snape drawled as he blatantly ignored the Muggle-born's desperate attempt to gain his attention. Snape glided in between the desks slowly and silently, humming in an eerie fashion until he settled on Neville, who was beyond frightened by his presence.

"Longbottom? Care to spill your 'extensive' knowledge to the class? I hear that you're an expert around here." Neville squeaked incoherently, avoiding eye contact at all costs. "No? How disappointing."

"He wouldn't know," said Parvati out bravely. "Werewolves is not until the end of the year and we-"

"Five points!" Hermione couldn't retain her patience anymore, blurting out her answer as Theodore was too slow to stop her.

"The distinguishable factors between a normal wolf and a werewolf is very minimal. For example, the snouts belonging to a werewolf has-"

"Are you so far up your own backside that you feel superior among your peers, just for the sake of being an insufferable, conceited know-it-all, Granger? Hmm?" Snape snapped at the Muggle-born.

"N-no, sir… I-I was only trying to-"

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor. Talk out of turn again and it shall be fifty." Her face burned with embarrassment as she was mortified, hanging her head low as tears formed in her eyes. But she wasn't the only person that was burning. Theodore's cheeks became hot with anger as he watched her weep silently, hidden underneath her bushy hair in undeserving shame. Snape had his moments, but this was crossing the line by a mile, and he had enough. The Parselmouth unknowingly placed his hand on hers as he did the one thing that the absolute brave, or the pitifully stupid, did to Snape. Call him out.

"But she was going to answer your question. If you ask a question, then you should expect an answer," countered Theodore as Hermione's head came up to stare at him.

"I suggest you watch that tongue of yours, Riddle. Be careful. Granger spoke out of turn, so she met the punishment." Theodore scoffed loudly. Big mistake.

"Punishment? Really? For answering a question correctly? That's just pure pettiness!" Gasps came from here and there, including from Hermione, but Theodore didn't care. Someone had to say it. Snape frowned maliciously as he walked over to the boy's desk, arching his back slowly as he brought his face closer to his own.

"Ten points for speaking out of turn," said Snape coldly as he exaggerated each syllable through his imperfect teeth.

"That's not fair!"

"Twenty points!"

"What?! But-"

"Detention, Riddle!"

"But that isn't fair," Elvira butted in from the front of the class. "He's only defending Hermione after you gave her an unjust punish-"

"Detention for you too, Pierre-Sayre. There will be no privileges for anyone, including new students!"

"But how can you punish someone for something as little as speaking out of turn by taking twenty points? That's ridiculous!"

"TWENTY POINTS AND A DETENTION FOR YOU AS WELL, WEASLEY! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS TYPE OF DISRESPECT DURING MY LESSON!" Snape bellowed across the classroom, face sweltering with pure lividity that was rarely shown by him.

The rest of lesson felt like it would never end, with Theodore still feeling ridiculously hot with the internal anger that was barely seeping out every passing second. He kept his head down, avoiding Snape and Hermione's eyes alike until the lesson would finish. The final bell for the day suddenly pulled him out of his seething trance as he grabbed his bag and stood up while everyone else left for the door, presumably cursing Snape under their breaths and giving the three unlucky children sympathetic looks on their way out. The rest of the class soon cleared out as Theodore, Ron and Elvira trudged to the front desk to receive their detentions. Ron went first.

"Weasley, you'll be cleaning the bedpans in the hospital wing this Saturday, from six o'clock to ten thirty. Do not be late." Ron snatched the slip from Snape's fingers and strutted off near the door to wait for the other two. Elvira was given the same sentence as Ron as she took her slip with a reddened face and stood by the red head. But Theodore's detention was rather different.

"You'll be in my room tomorrow at three, cleaning every single crevasse of the room as well as replacing all the ingredients in the storage cupboard till seven thirty."

' _So basically, the same thing that I do every fucking time?'_

"But I'll miss the match tomorrow," disputed Theodore calmly with undertones of anger.

"Then you should've thought about that before letting your lip loose now, hmm?" Theodore took the slip and stuffed it inside of his robe pockets and scowled dangerously as he joined the other two.

"Just when I thought he was alright, he had to go off and be the prick that he is again," muttered Theodore a little too loudly as they exited Lupin's classroom. Ron put an arm around his shoulders as he smiled darkly at the thought of Sirius Black ripping Snape to shreds like the Fat Lady's portrait.

"We all know that the fucking twat had someone shit in his cereal. Everyday. But we'll get him back. Sorry that you can't come to the game tomorrow." Theodore sighed as he shook his head, scowl still strong across his face. It this meant anything, it was that he wasn't going to hold back on getting his mother's will, even if it meant blowing Snape's doors off its hinges. The three children barely made it out of the corridor when Harry and Hermione came out from around the corner, apparently waiting for them.

"Guys, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for you guys to get detentions! I just didn't know that he'd go off like that. I'm really, really sorry!" Hermione apologised frantically.

"Yeah well, only we can call you an insufferable know-it-all," said Ron as he calmed down. The Muggle-born smiled nervously as she looked down to her feet. The five children started to walk to the common room with Theodore trailing behind. It was hard to believe that even after a full year from being possessed by an evil diary which forced you to attack other students, your control over your anger hadn't improved at all. He took deep breath after deep breath, clearing his mind of Snape as he tried to think of something else, anything else.

"Thanks."

"Huh?" Hermione fell back from the other three to Theodore as she walked alongside the angered Parselmouth. "Don't mention it." He suddenly felt something cold against his cheek as Hermione pressed her hand on it, sending something almost electrifying through the boy's system.

"You're burning." Theodore softened his face as he gently removed the Muggle-born's hand from his cheek, reddening her own with his smile. "Sorry for the whole thing."

"If you apologise again, then I won't forgive you."

"You're joking, right?"

…

"Theo? Tell me you're just kidding."

* * *

' _Where the fuck is it?!'_

His ears were pounding by the deafening sound of his blood pumping along with his frustration being risen to new heights. He was looking everywhere for it, every corner, every drawer, crack and shelf, but it wasn't there. It didn't turn up. Snape must've known that he'd try to search his entire classroom for his mother's will, there was no other way. The screams of cheer and jeers from the Quidditch game were somehow heard from the dungeons, inciting the boy with jealously but he couldn't lose focus. Not when it could be around here somewhere.

"Come on… come on! I know it's here somewhere!" Theodore left Snape's drawer as he returned to his shelves, emptying the various potions books as he flicked through to see anything hidden between the pages. Nothing. He cleared the ingredients cabinet and emptied out its contents to search the insides. Nothing. Every single corner had fucking… nothing. He slammed his fists against Snape's desk, angry at himself for failing. Angry at himself for not taking the opening sooner, instead of leaving it for later. Angry at himself for giving up. Giving up on his own mother's will. He didn't care if he got a house, a few Galleons or even a simple book. All that mattered was that it was from her, but now it was gone. He gave up on it, and now he gave up on her. He gripped his hair, ready to tear it all out when he suddenly ripped out Snape's bottom drawer without touching it, sending its contents sprawling all over the floor.

"Shit," hissed the Parselmouth as he bent down to gather the parchments off the ground. "Snape will do my head in if he sees the place like this." He scrunched up the parchments and threw them on the desk, brushing himself off until a few more slipped off the edge. Cursing once more, his hand reached for the soiled papers until he saw something hidden between them. Something smaller and… moving. He brushed away the insignificant parchments and took the image from the ground, bringing it closer to his face as he straightened himself against the desk. In the moving picture was three children, a little older than Theodore himself but still children. The girl he recognised instantly as his mother. Young, beautiful with vicious hazel eyes. That was Valerie Potter alright. The two boys were somewhat harder to distinguish, however the boy on the right of Valerie came to Theodore's mind soon enough. This had to be James, Harry's dad. He looked just like him, from the messy hair to his face shape. Theodore's eyes moved over to the third boy, who had his arm wrapped around James's broad shoulders, smiling behind his dark long hair. He thought that it had to be some old schoolfriend of Valerie and James, but upon closer inspection it started to become clearer to him. His skin wasn't as sallow as it was in his older years, his hair having a much more healthier sheen to it. His eyes seemed alive and so was his face behind his smile. Theodore could've guessed anybody else except him. Anybody else, if it wasn't for his hooked nose that he was well known for.

' _Snape… was friends with my mum and Harry's dad? What… the fuck…'_

No, this couldn't be right. Harry's dad and Snape hated each other. That's what Ms Padalin and Erveris told him last year. Yet here they were, smirking together in a photo as if they were the best of friends. Theodore knew that drawer to be locked at all times. No wonder. Wait… so if he was supposedly friends with Harry's dad, then why did he hate Harry so much? Did they stop being friends after the photo? Was it because of something else? This was all too much to process. Too, too much. Theodore didn't even know if he should tell Harry about his discovery. Would it do him any good?

 **BRINNGGGGG!**

Theodore whipped his head at the clock in the corner of the room, showing seven o'clock on the dot. He stuffed the photo back inside of the bottom drawer and waved his wand to lock it. After that, he stashed it away into his robes and grabbed his bag as he left the classroom after four hours of torturous labour. He wondered how Ron and Elvira would fare in the hospital wing. Finally freeing himself from the dungeons, he ran across the corridors and up the stairs, unshaken by the thunderous weather that was outside. The wind kept on crashing against the oddly-arranged windows, but the castle's fortitude was to be admired at. He reached the third floor corridor, and sprinted along. The game was probably over but he didn't want to spend another second in the hallways, just to meet Snape around corner. He'd probably lose control and hex him then and there.

Specks of rainwater sprayed onto his face as he crossed past the corridor next to the Clock Tower Courtyard, ignoring the accumulating water on the right side of his face-

" **Grrrr…"**

The Grim was there in the rain, fur completely drenched in water, eyes still retaining that same madness from before. Theodore didn't know if it was rain dripping from its mouth or saliva, but it didn't matter. It was staring at him, thinking, planning, ready to dive for the kill. One paw forward, one step back. Another paw forward, another step back. Scared out of his wits, body and brain barely functioning, the Parselmouth couldn't do a single thing. He couldn't even reach for his wand without fearing that the dog would attack in a blink of an eye. The thunder crashed above as streaks of lighting illuminated the Grim's pale eyes as it… retreated? It backed away slowly from the boy, nostrils still flared as it continued to snarl, teeth still bared as eye contact was unfaltering until it was lost, as well as the Grim. It vanished. Theodore couldn't believe it. It had him right there with nobody to help him. Right there, but it left. Left without so much as attacking him. He couldn't believe it.

"Theo! Theo, you're here! I was looking everywhere for you," cried Hermione as she ran down the hallway to see the boy stuck in a single position, staring out into the courtyard. The Muggle-born's hair was completely soaked from the storming weather outside, as well as her clothes, leaving a trail of water behind her as she reached the unresponsive Parselmouth. "Theo! What are you doing here?"

"I… I… what…?" Hermione stood in front of Theodore, hoping to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at before spinning back around to look up at him.

"Theo, why are you still here?" He blinked confusingly, then set his eyes on the girl in front of him. The Grim was there, but now it wasn't. He saw it for real this time, but it didn't do anything. Didn't attack, nothing. It just left. Yeah, that's what happened.

"Just a little out of it, that's all." He replied as he scratched his right temple. Hermione raised her eyebrow, trying to read his eyes. Hazel to brown.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

…

"Well, come along then," declared the girl bossily as she locked her fingers with his own, dragging him along the humid hallway. "Harry fell unconscious during the match because of the Dementors and now he's in the hospital wing! His broomstick is also broken, so go be a good cousin and support him!"

"Careful, Hermione! You're going to tear my fucking arm off!"

"Stop swearing!"

"Sorry, Mum."

"One more time, Theo. One more time…"

 **Wasssuuuuppp! Sorry for the late upload, had to keep cutting and re-editing this chapter but it's here now. That little retcon that I told you about before starts in this chapter, so don't flame me for inconsistencies in the story please, thank you. I've also decided not to respond to reviews publicly as I feel like I should be more direct if there are questions, speculations, all that jazz. So remember, if you posted a review on here, make sure to keep an eye on your PMs. And I think that's about it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you later.**

 **P.S: 100 FAVOURITES!**


	27. Chapter 27: Valerie's True Colours?

The more he thought about it, the more it waned on him to hold back. The more he thought about it, the more it dwelled upon him that he needed it in his hands, the outer envelope ready to be torn so that its contents could be revealed to him. The thought of Snape tarnishing his mother's last will while he was sitting idly in class, like the fool Snape thought he was, just maddened him. Theodore was forced to endure a sleepless weekend, tortured by his anger and obsession, all because of the Potion Master's trivial temperament from the week before. What did he have to gain from hiding the letter from him? Was he wallowing in self-comfort from keeping a letter that belonged to his 'friend', without so much as acknowledging its actual purpose? Snape wasn't the first person, and definitely wasn't the last, who the boy expected to feel genuine contempt towards, but it was there. He felt it. And Theodore could only see it growing stronger every passing second when the will wasn't in his palms. This wasn't stemmed from childish behaviour, no. He swore to himself that his past, his reason for walking on this Earth, would be uncovered from the moment Dumbledore left his room on that day. He swore to himself that he'd find out, and that meant that nothing was going to stop him. Nothing and no one, especially Snape. Determination; obsession, whatever you wanted to call it, it didn't matter. All that did was getting that letter.

"…which is why I advise you to take extra precaution, should you encounter such a beast. Now! Before the lesson finishes, feel free to have a good look at the Hinkypunk in the corner. Please, it will do you no harm, so do not worry." Theodore's head suddenly lost its equilibrium as someone shifted his arm that was supporting his head during his stirring of thoughts, almost crashing his jaw against his desk. Hermione apologised briefly before she told him that they were allowed to view the creature of the day, prompting the boy to lift himself from his chair as he joined the crowd.

"Look at that," said Lavender in awe as she pressed her face against the large glass cage containing the Hinkypunk. The creature sidestepped inside the tank eerily with its one thick leg, bearing no distinguishable features that even resembled a face while the Gryffindors gawked at it with such interest. Theodore stood around the back of the clumped students, not even mildly intrigued by the gasps and squeals of his peers as his mind was somewhere else. His eyes roamed across the classroom, finally landing on Lupin's desk as he couldn't keep his gaze away from the goblet that he presented to the shabby man.

' _A werewolf. An actual werewolf is teaching us right now. Here he is, acting as if nothing is out of the ordinary while casually teaching kids. Dumbledore's seriously lost it. No wonder why Snape doesn't seem to like him. Yet again, why would I care about what that parrot-beak nosed, filthy scum of-'_

"Are you alright, Theodore? You haven't looked at the Hinkypunk yet," said Lupin as he jogged the dazed Parselmouth's shoulder lightly. Bewilderment, then a lucid expression grew on the boy's face as he gave the scarred teacher a little nod before the bells rang throughout the castle. Returning to his desk to retrieve his bag; aiming for the classroom door, Theodore couldn't rid himself of the scowl that had become quite permanent in the past few days. His repressed anger had almost clouded him from responding to Ron and Hermione's voices calling his name inside of the hallways, requiring a nudge from Dean as he spun back around.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry," asked Ron as he caught up with Theodore. The Parselmouth shrugged lazily with his eyebrows still furrowed.

"Got the biggest headache. I just want to get this day over and done with."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey" suggested Hermione as they waited outside the door for Harry, who was held back by Lupin. "I'm sure that she'll do something about it."

"It's a different kind of headache, Hermione. You know, the ones when you can't think straight, and you need to sleep on it. My head's not actually hurting." Theodore said in a slightly irritable tone. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other with concerning looks, looks that were reserved for Harry whenever he'd complain about his scar. Theodore's sudden shift in behaviour didn't go unnoticed by them, not even by Harry. Although it had only been roughly two days since Snape's cover lesson, the Parselmouth looked exceptionally sour ever since, not even curling his lip at the twins' stupidity in the common room. They both knew the problem, but they were certain that there was more to it. The real problem was for them to get him to talk about it.

…

"Does that mean you're not going to Snape's right now?" Hermione elbowed Ron hard in his rib, causing him to squeal and shoot dirty looks at the Muggle-born. Theodore ignored her blatant attempt to shut Ron's revival of the conversation and decided to continue it.

"He's lucky to even see me in his lessons. I swear, if we could drop Potions, then I'd do it in a heartbeat." The Parselmouth muttered as he clenched his fist tightly.

"You don't mean that," said Hermione quietly. "You loved Potions from the first day, and you know that. I know that you and Snape aren't on good terms, but it doesn't mean that you should ruin what's going on for you here. I'm sure if you go down there and-"

"Not happening, Hermione."

"But… Alright. Do what you want to do." He raised his eyebrow at the girl's strange choice in avoiding conflict with him. Ron copied his expression as well, taken back that a girl like Hermione wasn't going to oppose a decision that was reckless in her eyes. She took her time to look at the two, finally asking why they were staring at her in such a way.

"Nothing…" The boys spoke in unison. She opened her mouth to possibly harass the boys into asking again, but was silenced when Harry came through the classroom door, face oddly full of unwavering determination and boldness.

"What's gotten into you," asked Theodore to his cousin as the four made their way to the common room.

"Nothing," replied the scar-bearing boy coolly. "Lupin just wanted to know about the whole Dementor thing, that's all." Theodore was curious as to what really happened behind the closed doors of the classroom. No doubt that they had to be talking about the Dementors, given Lupin's title in the school and the category that the Dementors fell into as 'Dark Creatures'. But the anger returned, fogging whatever Harry was hiding from the three as the letter and Snape resurfaced. Theodore kept quiet along the journey up the moving staircases; through the portrait hole and into the boys' dorm room, throwing his bag onto his bed before he changed into his Muggle clothes.

The Maibian Adder was sleeping soundly underneath his mattress as he sprawled himself above it, no hisses being heard from below. He was hoping that he could talk to Viripin, seeing as how easy it was to just spill these things to her, but he refrained himself from doing so. Lifting himself from the bed once more, the boy trudged towards the door, and left the dorm to regroup with his friends below. Hermione and Ron were sitting on the fireplace sofa, their area and conversation being quite tame compared from before, with Harry and the Quidditch team being huddled in the corner, Oliver standing tall above them as several broomstick manoeuvres and techniques were drawn on the black board.

"…don't care if she's forty. I still think she's proper fit."

"I can never understand you, Seamus. The things you say, man…"

Theodore followed the conversation to Dean, Seamus and Neville, who were sat around one of the common room tables near the back, surrounding a large copy of the _Daily Prophet_ as it was turned to an article that spanned over a page and a half. The headlines read _Black's Escape a Blunder, Or A Set Up…?_ with Black's crazed portrait being centred in the left page. The Parselmouth's eyes skimmed across the moving images until he found the subject of the three boys' conversation. Although slightly faded and in black-and-white, Theodore could feel the exuberant colours of the woman's clothing bursting from the image, nearly glowing in the photograph as she made exaggerated poses. Heavy-jawed, curls that didn't seem to naturally bounce on her head, and her glasses twinkling from the flashes of the camera led the boy to read the byline underneath the headline.

"Rita Skeeter…?" Theodore mumbled as his head was looming above Neville's. "Who's Rita Skeeter?"

"She's a-" Seamus popped up, but he was instantly blocked by Dean's hand as his other grabbed the newspaper and forced it into Theodore's hand.

"Please take this as far away as you possibly can. I can't deal with another 'I'd actually shag her' monologue from this kid." Dean said wearily as Theodore took the _Prophet_ under his armpit. The Irish boy's face became flooded with anger and blood as he removed Dean's hand away.

"I didn't say that, Theo! He's lying, you know he is! I mean, look! He's smirking! You have to believe me," emphasised Seamus defensively. "Neville, you believe me, right?"

…

"Neville!"

Theodore turned his back around to ignore Seamus's utter embarrassment as he lethargically turned each page over whilst he heard Seamus storming upstairs with the other two following him. Each page seemed similar from the previous one, most of the articles revolving around Black while a few elaborated on the endeavours of the magical world inside and outside Britain.

' _Bulgarian Minister of Magic Makes Amends with President of the MACUSA After Recent ICW Conference... Barty Crouch Off Sick for The Third Week in A Row… Public Demands Retrial of Durmstrang's Headmaster After Suspicious Disappearances… Didn't know that there was a Ministry of Magic in America or Bulgaria. Learn something new everyday.'_

The boy became immersed in the various articles and advertisements that littered the newspaper, unknowingly finding his way to the sofa as he sat on Crookshanks's tail.

"Watch where you're sitting, Theodore!" Hermione shouted as the cat screeched, nearly slicing the Parselmouth's shirt as it clawed at him. Theodore managed to stand back up in the nick of time with Hermione grabbing the furious cat in an even more furious embrace as they both stared at him.

"Sorry," apologised the boy half-heartedly as he sat back down again with the newspaper in his face. The Muggle-born's tutting went unnoticed by Theodore as he carried on through the article concerning the Durmstrang Headmaster.

"Ahh, you saw that as well? Yeah, Igor Karkaroff. Dad told me about him. Said that he was one of You Know Whose lot that managed to escape life in Azkaban, although a lot of people have petitioned for him to stand on trial again." Ron explained as his head was leaning over to the newspaper.

"How did he avoid Azkaban?"

"Ratted out a lot of his own people, apparently. Guessed it was enough for a shorter sentence." While she was still rather annoyed by Theodore's uncaring attitude towards Crookshanks, Hermione found herself listening in to the conversation between the two boys.

"Hmph. So much for loyalty," remarked Theodore as he folded the _Prophet_ and placed it onto the table in front of him. "The Ministry is run by idiots to let him free, especially letting him be a headteacher for a school. Would've left him in Azkaban without question."

"Probably safer in there than out here. Sucks for him if he crosses paths with You Know Who again."

"Yeah… sucks for him…"

…

"Theo, you know about the Hieroglyphs homework? I was wondering if you got the same answers as-" A chorus of ear-splitting shrieks erupted from the boys' dorm, snatching everybody's attention to the stairway. Theodore and Ron were the closest ones to the archway, and were the first to run up to their dorm where the screams came from, with most of the House tagging behind them. As they reached the third-year boys' dormitory, they then frantically burst into the room, heads darting everywhere, trying to find the source of the random wails.

"Neville? Dean? Seamus? Where are you guys," called out Theodore, suddenly remembering that he heard the three leaving the main room. "Neville? Neville!"

"Everyone move out of the way, please! Let me through! Head Boy, coming through!" The crowds of Gryffindors all spilled into the room to make way for the eldest Weasley as he entered the scene with an authoritative stance which made him look winded instead. "What's going on? Why are you screaming your lungs out at a time like this?"

"We weren't the ones who screamed, Percy. And it's only six thirty…"

"Then who was the one that scre- ARGGH! SNAKE!" The screams multiplied a hundredfold as the hysterical Gryffindors backed away through the door and out of sight, tripping and falling over each other to leave behind eleven children: Theodore, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred and George, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Ginny and Percy, who was unfortunately overwhelmed by the crowd as his robes was sullied with dusty footprints after being trampled by nearly everyone. Ginny helped her older brother to find his glasses as Theodore quickly dived under his bed. Viripin wasn't there.

"Viripin, where are you," hissed the boy in English as he furthered himself under his bed. "What the hell were you thinking, leaving your basket so recklessly! What was one of the first things that I told you? _'Don't leave'_ , yet it's like you- huh? What?"

"Viripin is over here, so you can come out now." Hermione said from above after tapping the boy's leg. Theodore slid out from underneath and brought himself to his feet, slapping off the dust from his shirt as he asked where the Maibian Adder was. They all pointed at the top of the bottom right poster, which the snake had winded herself around so elegantly, head poised against the boy.

"Neville, Dean, Seamus. You can come out now." Theodore ordered to the hidden boys as he frowned at Viripin. A quick scuttle across the room and it was down to eight. "What the hell are you doing?! Why are you exposing yourself to them like that? What if they tell McGonagall that I have a snake in the room?"

" _It wasn't my fault! Seamus kicked your bed because he was angry at something, which woke me up, and I went to peek my head out from under the bed, but Neville nearly squished my head flat so I tripped him up, but realising my mistake, I quickly slithered onto your bed because he looked underneath, but then he told Dean and Seamus about my basket and wouldn't stop staring at it so I couldn't go back, then they came back up and could clearly see me on the bed and got scared, and then I heard everybody else coming and I panicked so I went up the post, thinking that nobody would see me but Percy did, and everybody went crazy and-"_

"Okay, okay! Alright, Viripin! I can barely understand half of it, when you're speaking that fast." Viripin stooped her head low guiltily, realising what this could mean for her stay in the Tower, let alone the boy's grasp.

…

" _Are you angry with me?"_ He lifted her head and gently pulled her growing body from the post, allowing her to slink along his arms as he gave her a smile which had become a rarity from the boy these days.

"No… Of course, I'm not mad with you. I just don't know what's going to happen, now that everybody else knows about you."

" _It was the stupid glasses-wearing idiot with the badge that gave me away! If it wasn't for him, then nobody would've seen me!"_ Theodore suppressed his laugh as he could hear Harry doing the same.

"But, Viripin, somebody did see you. Neville, Dean and Seamus, remember?" She dropped her head again in shame as the other three, the twins and Ginny closed in, Percy still being too shaken up to confront the Adder.

…

" _It's still his fault, the twat."_

"Viripin!"

"What? What did she say," asked Percy nervously as the sight of the younger children, especially Ginny, crowding around a snake that large was quite alarming to him. Theodore covered Viripin's mouth to stop any more churlish comments from leaving it.

"She was just apologising! Yeah, she's sorry about scaring you, and she just apologised." Theodore reassured as Viripin moved herself away from his hand, clearly annoyed. Percy straightened himself again, nodding courteously at the Maibian Adder as he spun on his heels, and out through the door.

" _Pompous dick…"_ Harry and Theodore couldn't hold it in as they sniggered loudly, infecting the others as they had a good idea on what she had said to the older boy, who speedily turned back around to face them all.

"What's so funny? What did she say this time?"

"Nothing, Percy. Nothing… at… all…"

* * *

" _So, I can't come with you?"_ The Maibian Adder murmured as she was being carried by Theodore up the stairs, and to her basket.

"I wish I could, but bringing you to Hogsmeade is crossing the line a bit too much after everything that just happened," reminded the Parselmouth as he set her on his bed sheets.

After Percy had 'accidentally' slipped out the previous commotion in the dorm room, along with some others as Theodore suspected, Viripin was trialled with an examination by the teachers, namely Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Sprout and a few government board members who were alerted by the snake's presence. Nearly four weeks it had been since he last saw her, nearly four weeks when his mood took a turn for the worst after many people 'apologised' for giving her up. Theodore obviously accepted none of these (except for Neville, Dean and Seamus's), and regularly stayed out of his fellow Gryffindors' paths as he patiently waited for any news on Viripin. Granted that the majority of the adults involved, including Snape, were against the boy keeping such a rare and dangerous snake among other vulnerable students, their thoughts and contributions to the situation meant nothing as the final decision landed ultimately on Dumbledore, who didn't hesitate to allow the Parselmouth to keep Viripin. Heavily thankful that he prevented the two from being separated permanently a second time, Theodore returned with the Adder from Dumbledore's office early in the morning, grinning smugly as he carried her through the common room like treasure while ignoring the shocked faces of his peers. If he had to thank them for anything, it was that Viripin didn't need to hide anymore under his bed. He could have her in the common room and nobody could complain about her.

" _You know I can just disguise myself on your shoulder, or inside your hat. Come on! Everyone knows that I'm here, yet I can't come with you? That's unjust!"_

"You can't just look at something that you don't like and call it unjust." Theodore responded as he began to remove his winter clothing from his trunk. "This'll be a fun experience for the both of us. You can roam around the common room with Harry, in the daylight mind you, while I'll be going to Hogsmeade for the first time. That's relatively fair, right?"

" _Relatively fair doesn't mean equally fair, or however you want to phrase it. Must I stay?"_ Theodore jokingly pouted his lips as he displayed a 'sob face' to the Adder, annoying her greatly as she slithered back into her basket, hissing quietly to herself.

"That doesn't mean that I didn't miss you, because I did."

" _Yeah, yeah. I missed you too…"_

After he tore open the Maibian Adder's breakfast near her basket, the hazel-eyed boy then quickly dressed himself in his clothes for the excessive weather that was currently raging outside. Madam had taken it upon herself to buy the boy new winter clothes as his old ones from last year had been severely outgrown by his limbs' sudden growth, forcing him to replace them. And like every year, Gretchen was always the one that knitted his hats, something that killed the boy to admit that she was quite good at. After finally wrapping his scarlet and yellow scarf around his mouth, the boy eagerly grabbed his sack of Galleons, brought his scarf down briefly to give the grumpy snake a kiss on her broad head, and made his way down the stairs to join his friends.

Theodore met up with Harry, Hermione and Ron near the portrait hole, and climbed through to the Great Hall for breakfast before they'd set off for Hogsmeade without Harry. The scar-bearing boy did his best to hide his glumness, smiling every time Fred and George would discuss the next set of joke items that they would salvage from Zonko's; when Lavender, Parvati, Neville and many others would ramble on about Honeydukes. Theodore could feel his pain from across the table, but that pain was to soon be forgotten the second he'd step outside of the castle.

Waffles, eggs and bacon alike were wolfed down savagely by the Parselmouth, readying him for the seemingly exhilarating day ahead. Who knew how much fun was being held in the wizarding village? Hermione and Ron did. They wouldn't stop going on about it, even when they entered the line in the Entrance Hall.

"Theo, you must come to _Tomes and Scrolls_! The number of books that are inside of there is amazing!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Honeydukes is where it's at! You should've seen Neville trying two Acid Pops in one go! Classic!" The two's vivid descriptions of the shops became faint in Theodore's ears as he noticed Harry standing beside him, probably hanging onto each word to paint a picture in his head about Hogsmeade. Hermione and Ron's attention turned to each other as Theodore leaned into his cousin's ear, whispering so that the other two wouldn't notice.

"Don't sulk. Viripin is going to keep you company."

"Thanks for that, Theo. I feel tremendously better already." Harry sarcastically returned. Theodore placed a sincere hand on his shoulder before the line shifted forwards so that the three were closer to Filch. They waved goodbye at a sullen Harry and reached Filch, whose fingers trembled upon crossing Theodore's name off the list. The slicing breeze of the frigid air slapped his face instantly the second he walked through the Entrance Doors, forcing him to lift his scarf above his nose. This weather was no joke, he was lucky that he had such thick clothing.

The walk over to Hogsmeade was admittedly sluggish for the Parselmouth, the trio having to halt numerous times whenever the piercing gust of wind blew too harshly against their small bodies. The wind had created a blast of air so mighty that Ron was being held onto by the relatively shorter boy and noticeably shorter girl like a lamppost with great fortitude. This linkage carried on all the way until a towering golden archway with the word _Hogsmeade_ touched the boy's eyes, the beginning of the Main Street being visible to him. Theodore compared it to Diagon Alley at Christmas time, only the High Street was a little wider with several junctions branching off; shops and little cottages lined up on the sides that were covered in snow, and countless wizards and witches going in and out of buildings, some empty handed; some not.

He tried to take it all in at once, then realising his mistake as some of the early morning sun's glare reflected off the snow and into his eyes. He then felt two hands on each arm dragging him blindly underneath the archway as the two pulled the Parselmouth into Zonko's first. Although a surprising number of objects piqued Theodore's interest, such as the Whizzing Worms and Sugar Quills, he couldn't help himself from staring at the building opposite to the prank shop. Call it an unnatural attraction to ominously-obvious things and places, Theodore had his eyes fixated on the inn where a hunched-back dodgy-looking witch had entered after suspiciously darting her head around, as if she were being followed. And she was. Before he knew it, Theodore had already found himself on the other side of the street without Ron or Hermione noticing. The crisp layer of snow beneath his boots crunched quietly as he neared closer to the chipped black door.

"Hog's Head Inn…" He read off the hanging sign that was making a futile attempt to fight against the growing blizzard. It seemed as if it were mandatory for every wizarding village/market to have an inn, although he said this as if he visited many. Feeling no hesitation, and oddly no fear, Theodore gently pushed against the door and peered his head through inside. One word. Dingy. Three words. Dingy as hell. It was like a layer of dirt had encompassed every square inch of the main room, which was too cramped to begin with, however, he only assumed this as the hole-ridden bar that was swaying under the weight of something large, was all that could be seen. He entered through the door a little further, silently astonished by how nobody could notice him sticking his head through the open door.

' _This place smells like gone-off Butterbeer and shit… and goats…? This place is terrible, I mean, who would want to sleep here of all-"_

"Professor Dumbledore?!" The man behind the counter scowled as he twisted his head to face the trespassing boy. Nope. Definitely not Dumbledore. He had a similar grey beard, the same thin frame with their eyes being near identical, but it wasn't the old man. The lack of a crooked nose explained everything to Theodore. "I'm… sorry. Didn't mean to come in like this, so… I think it's best that I leav-"

Theodore was yanked out of the sketchy inn, and back into the dazzling white streets of Hogsmeade as the Muggle-born held a firm grip on his forearm, wearing disappointment across her face. Ron, however, was grinning at the fact that Theodore had just went inside of Hog's Head so discreetly, possibly eager to give him a pat on the back.

"Stop smiling, Ron! It isn't funny!" Hermione chided as she released Theodore. "You shouldn't be going inside of there, Theodore. Hog's Head is the one place you want to avoid here, apart from the Shrieking Shack. It's full of dodgy people."

"You don't have to tell me twice," mumbled Theodore back as he rubbed the area on his arm where Hermione clenched onto for too long.

"Why did you even go in there? It's literally screaming _no place for kids_."

"Just wanted to look around. I'm allowed to do that, right? That's part of the whole reason for coming here." The bushy haired girl rolled her eyes and held onto the boys' shoulders to keep them from running off as if they were her children. That was to be expected when you were the only girl among a group consisting of an arrogant boy, a sarcastic one and the famous Harry Potter. But nevertheless, they had to press on.

The trio soon arrived at Honeydukes, which had a wafting aroma of sugar in multiple forms hanging near the end of its street alone. And my, was it overwhelming! Sweets stacked onto shelves high above that he was familiar with, sweets that he had never seen before being displayed lower down for everyone to hound on like it was the last piece of food on Earth. All of it was thrilling, invigorating if you will. And Theodore wasn't going to waste a single second.

"I'm going to look for some Pumpkin Pasties. Don't bother following me because I'm not leaving."

"My god, Theo…" Hermione muttered as she facepalmed. "Don't you think you've eaten enough Pumpkin Pasties to last you a lifetime?"

"No." He replied bluntly before he spun around to disappear into the crowd.

"I'm telling you, Ron, if it's not all these stupid life-threatening adventures that'll kill him, it's Pumpkin Pasties. He's crazy for them!"

"Mmm hmm…" Hermione gave him a haughty glance from the side as she knew he had something off the tip of his tongue, eager to spill it out in front of her. Arms crossed, face red from the cold, the Muggle-born asked the red head what was the problem with what she said to which he responded with, 'Nothing. Simply nothing, Hermione. Absolutely nothing to worry about."

"No, you can tell me now, thanks."

"I just think how it's funny that you and-" Ron flinched instantly at the sounds of rampant shouts that caused him to spill all of his Jelly Beans onto the floor. Ron bent down to clear away his mess quickly before the owner of the shop arrived, cursing under his breath as Hermione helped him grudgingly.

"You were saying," hissed the girl as she poured the handful of beans back into the container that weren't covered in dust.

"I prefer not to say it anymore. The moment's ruined."

"The moment isn't ruined! You just don't want to say whatever came up in that head of yours! How is the moment ruined?"

"For starters, you guys are picking up Jelly Beans off the ground with people staring all over." They both shot their heads up and smiled nervously at the crowd of intrusive students, with Theodore munching on a pasty whilst grinning mockingly at the two. "Not about to make a scene in here as well, are you?"

"Of course not! Anyways, I thought that you were going to buy more of those," pointed out Hermione as she fitted her hair comfortably inside her spacious woolly hat.

"I was, but there was only two left. Apparently, somebody bought the lot before I got there. Bet you it's those fat idiots, Crabbe and Goyle…" Theodore took another bite at the pasty.

"Actually, it was me." Theodore might've had a mouthful, but that didn't stop him from producing a garbled noise from his throat. He felt somebody slap his back as he coughed loudly, clearing his airways as he saw Harry holding several Pumpkin Pasties in his arms. Ron and Hermione were also shocked by the green-eyed boy's sudden appearance, but were fortunate enough to not have any food in their mouths.

"Sorry, Theo. Didn't mean to scare you." Harry apologised as Theodore straightened himself.

"You mean kill me! Jesus, Harry, you can't just sneak up on people like that!"

"How did you get past Filch? Did you freeze him? Apparate? Just walked out like it was nothing?" Ron asked rapidly. Harry was about to answer, but looked back and forth before closing in on the other three. Carefully reaching into his jacket, Harry pulled out a folded piece of parchment that looked like, to Theodore, absolutely plain. Well, until Harry explained to them what it was.

"Really?! Everyone in the castle can be shown?!" Ron nearly shouted in amazement. Harry, Theodore and Hermione hushed him to let the scar-bearing boy speak at a quieter volume.

"Yeah. You can even see Dumbledore in his office; Filch, McGonagall, Snape, pretty much everyone. I used these secret passageways, that only show up on the map, to get to the Honeydukes cellar." Theodore's eyes glowed a little, his brain now functioning at high speeds that only happened when ulterior schemes were forming only so quickly. He greedily scoffed down the rest of his pasty, and dropped his head for further inspection.

"'Ow does it work? Tell me," spoke the hazel-eyed boy through a covered mouthful of pasty. Harry shook his head, nearing closer to him in a lower whisper that could barely be heard by Theodore, through his insistent munching.

"I can't tell you here, not when everyone's around. I'll show it to you later."

"All righ', let me see et then."

"Swallow, Theodore! Good god…"

Harry, once again, refused Theodore's 'request' to look at the Map more closely, already fearing that people were starting to give him suspicious looks from behind their backs. They bought all that they wanted from the sweet shop, and returned to the chilling village outside. Theodore's thoughts on his sudden quench for something to drink, was read by Ron as he suggested that the four should go for a Butterbeer. The Parselmouth's initial guess was that they would go to Hog's Head, seeing as it was the only place that would serve the beloved beverage, but instead he was led to a place elsewhere. The red head and the Muggle-born led the way through the numbing blizzard, with the two cousins trailing behind them, into a different inn called _The Three Broomsticks_.

"At least it's always warm in here," chattered Hermione as she shook off the melting snowflakes in her hat. This inn in particular, was noticeably smaller than the Leaky Cauldron, but still held a similar air to it. Clumps of wizards and witches downing several pints in one corner, hags waving their hands flirtatiously at the younger wizards who walked by, clearly disgusted. Theodore's neck was overcome with a creeping sensation that was similar to the wizards' reactions. He couldn't forget his first meeting with Ms Padalin, no matter how much his opinion changed about her later on.

"You guys find a place somewhere, while I'll get the drinks," proposed Ron as the others nodded. As he parted ways with the other three, Harry and Theodore followed Hermione to a table near the left of the front counter, where a pretty woman with blondish hair was writing down the red head's order. The table was for four, Harry and Hermione on one side with Theodore and an empty seat for Ron, on the other. They all settled in quite comfortably until another thought, which slightly irked him, crossed his mind.

"Harry? Where's Viripin?" Harry looked up from the table and made no change in his expression.

"Well, when I went back up into the common room after you guys left, she came to me because she thought that I was staying, and I was going to. We talked for a bit, until she suggested that we should walk around the castle. We did that for a while until I found Fred and George, and you know the rest of the story."

"But you didn't tell me where she is." The scar-bearing boy scratched his messy hair guiltily and tried to avoid his cousin's annoyed gaze. "Harry, where is Viripin?"

"She kinda… flew off and vanished… But it's not my fault! I didn't know that she was going to do that! I'm certain that she just went back into the common room through the window, or to the owlery with Sawer. Right?" Theodore slid down his chair a little as his levels of annoyance and concern for the Maibian Adder became more apparent in his face.

"Yeah… sure…" He said quietly, tapping his fingers against the table. The silence between them became disturbing for Harry as he broke the silence by pointing out to Ron, who was returning with a tray full of Butterbeer tankards. Theodore pushed Viripin's possible whereabouts out of his mind as he made a small smile, taking his Butterbeer from the tray, as did the others. He brought the warm beverage to his lips, the second Ron stood up with something to say.

"Now, you guys may, or may have not noticed, that this is actually our first Christmas together as a four. I'm not the type to be soppy and stuff when it comes to this, but considering what happened last year, which I will not mention for Theo's sake…"

"Gee, thanks, Ron…" Theodore remarked sarcastically.

"…it's times like these where I ask myself, 'how in the hell have we not been killed yet'? Makes me appreciate this time of year and with that, I say, Merry Christmas, you bunch of maniacs." The other three applauded the red head in a jokingly-pompous manner, pretending to chuck roses at him while Ron bowed humorously.

"You're a treasure, Ron. An absolute treasure."

They all clanked their tankards against each other, and chugged the heavenly drink that drowned them in pure delight and contentment. After downing their Butterbeers, the quartet panted slightly, grinning as the Butterbeer did its job to rid them of the snow's effect from outside. Theodore was wiping the remnants of the drink under his nose, sucking on his fingers until he felt something chilling slicing against the back of his neck, followed by a firm closing of the front door. His head rotated to see who was responsible for dampening his mood, but stopped halfway, and turned back around when he saw Hermione stuffing Harry's head underneath the table.

"Hermione, have you gone mad," spluttered Ron in confusion and irritation. "What are you doing to-" Hermione used one hand to point at the front area of the inn while forcing a resisting Harry under the table. Theodore didn't realise it at first when he saw Hagrid, McGonagall, Flitwick and Fudge walking up to the front counter, casually talking amongst one other like the quartet would do, but immediately understood the Muggle-born's actions afterwards. Ron bent his head under the table to see if Harry was perfectly hidden; Hermione was tapping her fingertips together very nervously, while Theodore sat calmly, balancing his head against his arm.

' _Really inconspicuous, Hermione.'_ The girl kept on darting her eyes to the side, looking as if she'd crumble under complete pressure if McGonagall so much as turned towards them. Luckily and strangely enough, none of the adults batted an eye to the three children as they ordered their drinks at the bar, smiling happily at the innkeeper, who went by Madam Rosmerta, settling into a booth that was right behind Ron and Theodore's backs.

"Rosy, you're a lifesaver. Thank you. One needs a good drink or two, these days. Come along, have a seat." Fudge. His voice was slightly obscured by Hagrid, whose hulking body blocked most of the sound from the others as he was the one who was behind Ron and Theodore. Didn't mean that they couldn't hear them at all.

"It's quite nice of you to drop by, Minister. I guess you're here for 'obvious reasons'." Madam Rosmerta hinted as she motioned a vacant chair towards her with a flick of a finger. "You should've seen the entire place last week. You'd think it was a graveyard, the way nobody left a single building! Dementors…"

"Don't 'ave to tell me twice." Hagrid chimed in as he took a swig of his mead from a keg-sized tankard. "Those things bin loomin' round the castle, even near my hut. Scary creatures, Dementors. Really scary creatures, they are." He took another gulp.

"Agreed. It was right for the Headmaster to chase them away when they came intruding during a recent Quidditch game. A student in my house nearly died because of them, Minister. If it weren't for Professor Dumbledore's intervention, I'd hate to see how Potter would've looked like against the ground from such a height."

"Harry Potter was attacked by the Dementors," asked the pretty landlady with widened eyes. McGonagall confirmed this with a nod as she took a gracious sip of her Gillywater. "That boy can't catch a break, can't he?"

"Unfortunately. But that is the way it goes. We can't afford to let Black out of our grip again. There's already enough embarrassment roaming about in the Ministry. Not only is the public being paranoid over everything, but Skeeter is going off at the quill. I admire the _Prophet_ for putting up with a person such as herself." Fudge added. All four of them mumbled in agreement, prompting Theodore to think what kind of a character was Rita Skeeter.

"But you know, what I've heard," said Madam Rosmerta in a low whisper as she clinked her manicured nails against her tankard, "is that the ICW is getting in on this. Don't ask about my sources though." Fudge let out a small huff as he took a sip from his cup.

"That is true, Rosy, I cannot lie. Barty was in Bulgaria and Albania this year and was supposed to update me on what was happening, but I guess even the toughest has their lowest days. Of course, Albus, being Supreme Mugwump and all, has been quite kind to let me in on a few things over there."

"Wasn't Mr Crouch the one who sent Black to Azkaban without trial?" Flitwick squeaked curiously.

"Yes. Quite brash, but very well deserving. Barty took one good look at him and didn't even need to raise a finger."

…

"I still can't believe it," said Madam Rosmerta a little louder than before. "Sirius Black, a Death Eater. Didn't strike me as the sort to join You Know Who. You put him next to his family and he'd stand out like a massive Galleon in a cup full of Knuts. Sirius was such a nice boy." McGonagall nearly snorted lightheartedly as she drunk some more of her beverage.

"Sirius Black? Nice? Sirius was no Death Eater back when he was at Hogwarts, but he certainly wasn't a saint either. Far from it, in fact." The three professors and Madam Rosmerta began to chuckle.

"Ahh, yes. He was quite a handful back then. Him and his group of friends, always together, the five of them. I've never seen a group of boys crazier than that lot. Especially the _Big Three_."

"I beg your pardon?" Fudge said, confused.

"The _Big Three_. That's what I used to call them, Sirius, James Potter and Severus Snape. The three leaders of their little gang." Theodore felt Harry dropping his tankard on his foot, earning a kick from Ron.

"Was definitely something to be admired at. James and Sirius were inside of my own House, but they still managed to make a best friend in Slytherin. The rivalry between the two Houses didn't mean a thing to them on the day that they met, I suppose. You wouldn't believe how many times I caught Severus sneaking into Gryffindor Tower, even when I was right there. They always seemed to find a way in."

"There is something quite odd, though. I remember seeing all the boys walking cheerfully into here one day, the next without Severus. This happened around the time they should've been starting their O. , mind you." Madam Rosmerta said casually as she flicked her finger again for another drink for herself.

"'Ad a massive fallin' out, I heard. Words wen' back and forth, wands brough' out finally, something very nasty happening on that day until nothin'. That was the end of their friendship. Poof! Like it never 'appended! You should've seen James's sister break up the fight! Seemed to be defending Snape for some reason." Fudge's face slowly darkened upon remembering who she was, but he didn't say a word, choosing to swirl his near empty cup as McGonagall carried on the conversation.

"Valerie Potter. Oh, how I loved that girl, even though she wasn't in Gryffindor. She had clear ambitions, much clearer than her younger brother. Top of her classes, always in control of her own life. For me, she was the perfect student. Couldn't have asked for anyone better!" Fudge scoffed. Theodore swallowed painfully. "Care to share your thoughts, Minister?"

"Well… we all know what Potter did after she left Hogwarts, right? I don't deny the brilliant academic record that she left behind, but we shouldn't forget what horrors she inflicted when she turned." Everyone's faces fell, including Hermione's and Ron's. Theodore didn't look at them as he continued to listen silently.

"Couldn't believe it," muttered Hagrid sadly as his mead was finally finished. "When I 'eard bout what she did ter the Shafiqs… A family full of Aurors, completely wiped out by a single person. Jus' couldn't believe it."

"It only got worse, Rubeus. Potter wasn't just any Death Eater. She was You Know Who's most dangerous and loyal follower, possibly more dangerous than Black himself. Taught her everything he knew, he did. Everything. No wonder why she was so powerful, and not only in magic as well."

"What do you mean?" Flitwick asked. Fudge told them all to lean in closer, with Theodore doing the same as well as Hermione and Ron.

"There was a time when Sirius was an innocent man, free of corruption. You know that, right? His entire family were pureblood fanatics, while he was the only one to not care about this. That's why he befriended James. Even made him Harry's godfather during his wedding with dear Lily. But there's a reason why he went to the dark side. You Know Who had everyone in the Black family under his finger except from him. He saw the potential in him to make him a useful Death Eater, but did not concern himself with personal recruitments at the time. The only probable cause of action was to order his most faithful servant to induct him into the Dark Lord's ranks. From what I heard, Sirius refused at first immediately, noting that she was everything that he hated. Unfortunately, just like a typical schoolboy, he fell under Potter's charm as she seduced him to join her."

"That can't be true!" Hagrid exclaimed, completely outraged.

"I'm sorry to say that it is, Rubeus." Theodore was breathing heavily now, his forehead pounding with so much blood pumping through, heat created from his intense rage desperately trying to dissipate into the air. It was seeping, trying to spill out from the smallest of cracks. He could barely hold onto it at this point.

' _How dare he! How dare he accuse my mother of being… a whore! What the fuck does he know, other than carelessly letting prisoners escape?! The fat bastard is so much of a coward that he can't even say Voldemort!_ '

Hermione saw the flickers of unyielding rage being held back by the Parselmouth as he sat in his seat, his pupils thinning slightly as they almost looked snakelike. His knuckles were paler than usual as he pressed them against the table, his body even shaking as if he was about to detonate right there. Her hands remained on her lap as the quartet carried on listening.

"She did everything for the Dark Lord. Every single atrocity she committed against the wizarding and Muggle community was all for You Know Who. She worshipped him like he was her god, and I think he knew that. According to some of the inmates over at Azkaban, Valerie was thought of so highly by You Know Who, that he rewarded her with anything that she wanted. A fulfilment of a lifetime among the Death Eaters, for sure."

"What did she want from him," asked Madam Rosmerta quietly, longing for an answer yet hesitant to hear any more. Fudge breathed in heavily, setting down his cup before he muttered his answer to the other four adults.

"She had the Dark Lord's child." Flitwick gasped as did Madam Rosmerta. Hagrid leaned backwards slightly, pushing Theodore forwards as he held onto his silence. McGonagall pursed her lips against her own drink, but didn't sip at all. The thoughts of an offspring coming from the Dark Lord darkened their thoughts greatly. Still, nobody said anything until Madam Rosmerta spoke up again.

"Does… anybody know where the child is? Is it a boy, is it a girl, I mean… how comes nobody ever heard of them? Because I certainly didn't."

"Didn't know myself until a few years ago. Tried to get it out of the prisoners but they went back into their 'usual' state of mind when the Dementors came around. Felt like we were hogging them to ourselves. Nobody knows who or where this child may be. Most likely out there alone, resentful… maybe even trying to emulate their father's actions. Rather upsetting to born by two of the worst kinds of people. A cursed child. So tragic."

"The Dark Lord's child… Valerie really was a lost soul…"

"Wouldn't know the half of it. Crafty woman, she was. Rosy, do you by any chance know of the Fidelius Charm?" Fudge asked the innkeeper. Madam Rosmerta shrugged while Flitwick explained how it worked briefly. Her eyes grew upon realisation as she made the connection quite quickly.

"So, the Potters' Secret Keeper was Black? That would make perfect sense. But he gave them up, didn't he?"

"Yes. Yes, he did. And none of it would've happened without Valerie's actions. The Dark Lord had divulged this information with his closest follower, and devised a ploy which involved the murders of her brother's family. She was merciless against her own blood, willing to fulfil any command her master gave to her, even if it meant her brother's death. She was lost, I tell you. The Dark Lord knew that Black was their Secret Keeper, and that he had been a double-agent for a long time, however, he must've still had a soft spot for James. But Valerie didn't hesitate to bed him, stooping to a new level of low just to please her master. Demented, I'll tell-"

Fudge almost screamed in pain as his cup blew into many glass fragments, shooting in nearly every direction as Madam Rosmerta ducked, Flitwick sank under the table and McGonagall quickly transfigured the incoming glass shrapnels into snow. Hagrid brushed the broken glass away from his grizzly beard, however the Minister was not so lucky. Fudge's hand was now pouring with blood, bits of glass sticking inside at every angle quite deeply as a few grazed the skin on his face. The innkeeper nearly screeched as she used her wand to summon a medical kit quickly, but the oddly calm Fudge assured her that he was fine.

"You have bloody holes in your hand, Cornelius! Part of your bone is showing! Here, give it to me!" She took his wounded hand and cleaned away the blood and glass with a simple swish, and wrapped a tight bandage around it with another flick. "My cups don't do that at all, Minister! I… I don't know how it happened!"

"It's alright, Rosy. Perhaps I was getting a little too carried away there. Anyways, what was I saying? Ahh, yes! Valerie Potter and Sirius Black! Black couldn't face his former friends when the Potters were unfortunately found and killed in Godric's Hollow on Halloween night. His master vanquished by baby Harry Potter, the Dark Lord's temptress out of sight as she fled with her child, Black surely went mad. No surprise that he'd blow a couple of Muggles up in You Know Who's name. He didn't even hesitate to slaughter his own close friend, Peter Pettigrew, who was foolish enough to get in his way." McGonagall tutted as she tilted her hat.

"Oh, Peter. Such a hopeless young boy. Always clenching onto James, Sirius and Severus, like they were his heroes. They always seemed like the popular ones during their time at school, so he'd obviously draw himself towards them. Not once did I think that the Sorting Hat made the right decision to place him in Gryffindor. Poor, poor boy… was it true that all was left was his-"

"-finger, yes. Black used a Blasting Curse in the Muggle street and killed them all. The maniac was laughing the entire time! All the way to Azkaban, mind you! Pettigrew was posthumously awarded the Order of Merlin, while one of his friend was dead, and the other imprisoned. Terrible week, that was. So many casualties. And You Know Who and Black weren't the only ones to fall after their reign of terror. On the night after the deaths of James and Lily, Valerie's body was found in Lambeth in a morgue. She lost so much blood, and her body looked broken beyond repair. Her fatal wounds were no doubt the cause of Dark Magic."

…

"So… ya think that You Know Who and his lot, killed her? After everythin' she did fer him? But why?" For the first time in this conversation, Fudge had no answer for that question. Whatever reason the Dark Lord had to turn on his favourite servant was a mystery that would never be proven, lost to time. He was gone, she was dead, and her associates were now reduced to mindless beings that were rotting in their cells. Nobody had the answers, and neither did he. Hagrid rubbed his eyes roughly. He refused to believe it all. He knew that Valerie fell into the wrong sort of crowd, but he didn't think that she was capable of doing all of… that. He just couldn't. Not little Valerie…

…

"But now that he's free, nobody's safe, aren't they?" Madam Rosmerta blinked at the Minister, face drained from colour. Weakly nodding, Fudge rubbed his bandage and spoke back to her.

"We'll catch him, Rosy. Don't you worry. He can't run from the Dementors for so long. All we'll have to do is pray that Harry pulls through all of this. Having a homicidal madman as a godfather would be most unnerving."

"Potter is well protected. Black wouldn't so much as touch Harry with the Dementors around, let alone around Albus. He's a strong boy."

"I hear that." Hagrid said proudly.

"Oh, would you look at the time! Albus has invited me to dine with you later on. I wouldn't dare miss it for the world"

"Well, we should get a move on then, I suppose. Thank you ever so much for the drinks, Rosmerta." McGonagall expressed as she slowly stood up from her area in the booth. Flitwick, Hagrid and Fudge followed suit as they rose from their seats, thanking the innkeeper before they briskly strode to the front door, and vanished into the blizzard. Madam Rosmerta sighed quietly before returning to the back of her counter, clicking her heels against the wooden floor, not noticing the children that she passed by.

Rage. So much rage and confusion. That was all that could be felt by the Parselmouth after all of that. That rage slipped out for a moment when he caused the glass to explode in Fudge's hand. And he would've done so much more, something that was downright unlawful, to him if he didn't try to hold himself back. He didn't know what to say; what to think. Everything became blurred by unadulterated anger, clouding his thoughts, and a bit of his sight as well. His instincts told him to follow Fudge, make him pay for talking so vulgarly about his mother and that's what he went to do. He left his seat and tried to get to the door before Fudge would get away, but was held back by a strong arm on his left one, and another on his leg.

"Theo… don't. Don't do what I think you will." Ron said quietly, hand grasping Theodore's bicep. Harry held a firm grip on Theodore's shin, but was silent underneath the table. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"Sit down, Theo. Please," urged Hermione, unable to get a reach on the Parselmouth, but still keeping him in place with her words. He didn't look at her, knowing that his anger would come down if he did. He wanted to feel hatred. Hatred to everyone who thought that his mother was truly like this. Hatred to his father and everyone who ever followed him, including Black and his moth… It couldn't be true. Theodore knew that his mother wasn't the greatest woman in the world, but she couldn't be a complete monster like his father, right? What would that make him? He knew now. A product of his mother's wish to be closer to his father. She probably never really wanted him, for him.

' _No… why am I thinking like this? She… she couldn't… That wasn't her… none of that could've been her… please… not her as well…'_

He didn't say a single word on the way back, to Hermione or Ron. His face was nearly completely hidden underneath his scarlet and yellow scarf, his hazel eyes was his only feature to be shown to the thick snow that was encountered on the way back to the castle. Theodore shook off all the snow from his clothes and was the first to make his way up to the Great Hall, eyes still unable to see anywhere else but the ground below. The Hall soon filled up with excited students, all happy to wolf down the last meal of the year before they'd return to their homes with their families.

Gryffindor table was as lively as ever, with several Christmas Crackers continuously being spewed out from the grand Christmas Tree in the corner, courtesy of Flitwick who charmed it with an unknown spell. The atmosphere of Christmas burned strong within the children of Hogwarts, except for the two Parselmouths, who didn't bother to speak to Ron; Hermione, or anyone for that matter. It remained that way from dinner, all the way to when they returned to Gryffindor Tower. Harry immediately went up, with Theodore staying with the other two as Viripin was there waiting for him. A quiet _hello_ was all that he gave and nothing more, forgetting what she had done earlier as a result of Fudge's words. He sat there listening to Hermione and Ron talking over something unimportant, noticing their glances towards him as if they were inviting him to speak. Fat chance. Theodore just sat there, holding Viripin. Silent.

"Guys, I think I'll just go to sleep. My eyes are burning." The Parselmouth declared as he wrapped a sleeping Viripin around his neck while standing up. "Good-"

"Theo, please stay," said Hermione quickly as she blocked his path. "You and Harry haven't said a thing all evening. I'm sure if we talk about this, then-"

"Not this time, Hermione. I really need to sleep, right now. Goodnight." He moved around her and said goodnight to Ron as well, whose gaze also followed him up the stairs. Theodore pushed into the dorm silently, but heard ruffling of bed sheets the second that he entered. He closed the door a little bit and walked into the centre of the room, watching his cousin as he 'slept'. Theodore knew that Harry knew that he was only pretending to ward him off. But he didn't give himself up though. He waited, still, until he felt the prodding of a few fingers against his back.

"Harry?" No response. "Harry. I know you're not sleeping, Harry." The scar-bearing boy slowly turned on his side and sat up as he reached for his glasses on his bedside table. His sullen, dead expression mirrored his cousin's as they stared at each other, not speaking a single word.

…

"Do you want to-" Harry shook his unkept hair, nearly throwing his glasses into his lap. "Yeah. Me neither… Hermione may want to, though. If you want, that is."

"I'm fine."

…

"I'll be going to sleep, then. Goodnight." Theodore moved away from Harry's bed, and to his own. He gently lifted the Maibian Adder from around his shoulders and brought out her basket to set her in. As he pushed her back under the bed, he quickly changed out of his clothes and into his pyjamas when-

"Do you believe what he said?" Harry questioned from afar. It felt like he was miles away. Theodore could barely hear him.

"What?"

"The things that Fudge said about your… Do you believe him?"

…

"I don't know…"

He left it there as he closed the tapestries hanging on the sides of the posts, blocking all sources of light from outside. He wanted this. He needed this. To be alone with his thoughts, no one to disturb him. He knew that his mother was a Death Eater, that part was true. He knew that she must've done terrible things when she was under Voldemort's rule. That had to be true as well. But never did he stop to think that she was so devoted to the Dark Lord, to being directly connected to Harry's parents' deaths. Her own brother, her baby brother. How could she do something like that? How could she betray her own flesh and blood… for _him_? Why? He wanted to know so bad, but he couldn't. Fudge was right about one thing. His mother was dead, his father was wherever the hell he was, and all the other Death Eaters were locked up in Azkaban. He'd never know the truth and because of that, it would always hang heavy in his heart. He didn't want that. He needed… he needed…

The boy took out his wand from underneath his pillow, and reached his arm through the tapestry to guide him to his trunk nearby. He peered into the little hole and rummaged through a little compartment on the side of his open suitcase, searching for that one thing that kept him calm, ever since he first stepped into Hogwarts, ever since he was told that he was a wizard. Theodore dug some more until he felt it in his hand, bringing it back onto his bed as the hole closed.

" _Wingardium Leviosa… Lumos_!" The tip of his wand glowed instantly with white light, hitting each corner of the closed-off bed with such intensity. Theodore had to shield his eyes momentarily, not because of the spell, but because of what he caused to levitate above his face. Louise's necklace was floating in the air, completely weightless and free. There was a time where he knew none of this. He didn't know that his father was the evillest wizard on Earth, he didn't know that his mother could've been just as bad, he didn't know that he actually had a cousin; had Slytherin's blood running through his veins. He never thought that he would be a part of something that he hated so much, all because of his father, and mother. Back then, when he first touched this necklace, all he knew was Stuggle's and Louise. And now, he found himself wishing for it all back, wishing back the days that he never truly knew Tom Riddle and Valerie Potter.

 **So this is sort of like a two-parter with the next chapter as it will lead off from the last moment in this one, but it won't be titled as such. I originally wanted this chapter to be longer but saw my word count and I was like WHOAA! Needed to slow down a bit. But it'll be out soon, so hold your horses. I like how Theo is being more affectionate to Viripin, compared to how they were in when they first met. Probably my favourite parts about this story is writing about her. Anyways, this is where I'll leave it. Feel free to PM me if anything feels off or confusing or whatever. Later.**

 **Guest #2: It's like Harry forgets who the hell Theo is in that school lol**


	28. Chapter 28: A Mother's Final Wishes

Sleep couldn't be attained. Theodore had risen early in the morning's birth, laying straight along his bed, his setting still lacking in light and happiness. He'd sparingly doze off during the night, sometimes so close to falling into deep slumber, but would always seem to recollect the conversation in _The Three Broomsticks_ , blocking him repeatedly. The boy was clutching his friend's necklace tightly throughout the entire night, almost certain that deep red marks were embedded in his skin because of that. The moments that he shared with Louise were flashing in his head, scaring him as he could barely remember the sound of her voice. She felt… surreal. As if she never existed.

He rolled over to his side, taking the necklace in his other hand as he stared through an opening in the tapestries. Everyone must've left already, as the only person who he heard coming through the door last night, was Ron and nobody else. His attempt to speak to Harry about what happened was less successful than Theodore's, and he didn't even try to console the hazel-eyed boy as well, taking the closed curtains as a sign. Just the three of them, best friends; they didn't speak to each other.

The night hadn't fared him well, and the day wasn't getting any younger. Theodore finally hauled himself off his bed, expecting his eyes to burn from the overexposure of the sun, upon realising that it wasn't present. He slid Viripin's breakfast under the bed, got himself clean and entered the empty common room. The boy felt an urge to snuff the crackling fire in the corner; it broke his train of thought. It flickered and moved unnaturally in the fireplace, oddly spitting out a shower of sparks whenever the Parselmouth would think about the day before. He sighed dismally, dropping on his back against the sofa whilst trying to think about anything else. Anything other than _her_.

' _I should get back to bed, I barely caught a wink last night. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to light my wand in my face for nearly two hours straight… I wonder how she'd react to all of this. Imagine telling her that I'm a wizard, and that magic was real! Louise would probably love it, and freak out at the same time! Well… maybe she'd love it. Haven't spoken to her in months… What the hell is wrong with you, Theo?'_

"Good morning _*yawn*_ Theodore." Theodore watched Elvira swaying down the stairs tiredly with his head upside-down, unbothered by the appearance of her hair which fell all the way to her feet in an orange heavy-looking braid. The boy positioned himself on the sofa properly so that he could speak to the Metamorphmagus, keeping his misery to himself.

"Hey," he replied dully, pocketing Louise's necklace away. "Didn't know that you were staying here for Christmas."

"Well, why not? It's beautiful here, the decorations are lovely, and I know that the food will be just splendid!"

"What a way to have high expectations. But what about your family? Are they… I don't know, okay that you're spending Christmas without them on your first year here?" Elvira's lips quivered for just a second before she wandered over to where Theodore was sat as her hair changed into curls that seemed to be an amalgamation between Hermione and Louise's.

"Oh, they're fine with it. There's only four other people in my family anyways."

"Five people in a family doesn't seem that large," returned the boy, vividly remembering her saying such statement during their first Divination lesson. He half-expected her to come up with a dubious excuse, but she didn't, supposedly.

"I don't share the same mother with my older siblings. My father remarried and had me, along with my younger brother and sister." Elvira explained while she ran her fingers through her thick locks, smiling at the boy as her lips quivered once more. His eyes were too fast to not see her masked agitation through her lips. What she said could've been a lie. After all, her presence in the castle wasn't something that happened so often. In fact, Theodore was confident that such a thing never happened in Hogwarts ever, a student being transferred from outside Britain. It was unheard of.

"So, you're staying because you want to see Hogwarts at Christmas time? It doesn't really get wild or noisy around here, since everyone's gone back home. Unless you prefer it like that." Theodore spoke as he turned to the fireplace.

"Was it like this last year?"

"I'd rather not talk about last Christmas."

"Why not," queried the girl, seeing something similar to regret seeping from his eyes before it vanished again. The Parselmouth left the question unanswered, lifting himself from the sofa whilst twisting his neck, which had grown rather stiff in a short amount of time. Theodore then turned to the portrait hole, an urge to walk off everything suddenly overtaking him until Elvira called out his name again.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to wait for Ron, Harry and Hermione? They're the only other people here."

"They'll be fine," replied Theodore as he neared closer to the portrait. "We don't have to spend every second of the day with each other. If they ask about me, then tell them that I went to breakfast early."

"Are you going to breakfast early?"

"See you later, Elvira." Theodore left the Metamorphmagus behind in the common room, and proceeded to go… well, he didn't know where. As long as he was moving, he didn't care where he'd go. Following his dulled instincts, the boy began to trek through the emptied castle again, feeling that every passing Christmas had been robbed of its spirit. Of course, that's what HE thought. He hopped onto and waited on several moving staircases, descending from floor to floor as he failed to keep his mind off his mother. So much for walking it off.

' _Ms Padalin and Erveris must've known about this, that is, if any of it is true. What 'good woman' kills an entire family off, betrays their own family and has a child with a genocidal tyrant? Ms Padalin knows who my father is, there's no denying that. Her being schoolmates with him and seeing my face, instantly knowing my surname when I said something different… Makes me wonder if everybody else knows about her… Snape, Dumbledore… Wouldn't even be surprised if Draco knew as well-'_

"Goodness gracious, be careful where you are stepping, Riddle!" His hands instinctively reached and clutched the stone bannister as he didn't feel the sole of his foot coming into contact with anything below. Theodore clumsily walked off the stairway and faced his Head of House, who seemed to be balanced between disappointment and relief. "The castle may be enchanted to relive you of a fatal fall from up here, but it doesn't mean that you can waltz around aimlessly! Do I make myself clear?"

"I didn't know that we couldn't die if we fell over the edge…" Theodore muttered as he looked behind his shoulder, and down below where all the other various stairways were constantly moving.

"That's not the point. I expect caution from every student, wherever you go in the castle, especially from you, Riddle. Eyes UP."

"Yes, Professor," replied Theodore quickly as he started to walk off. McGonagall's hand suddenly halted him in his step, causing him to groan internally, but he still kept a straight face. "Yes, Professor?"

"I'd be a little more cheerful, Riddle. The Headmaster has requested to see you, and it is not a choice. You shall arrive there shortly, although I doubt that it is anything urgent."

"Seems quite convenient that it's always the same thing when we meet, huh Professor?"

"Quite. Now, off you go." The Parselmouth gave a simple nod and turned back to the stairway (looking before he stepped), journeying to Dumbledore's office for the first time this year. Theodore couldn't possibly imagine what the old man wanted to speak about. He was doing fine in class, he wasn't blacking out or prowling the castle with a Basilisk, nor was he possessed by a diary. Knowing him, however, their conversation could fall into a completely different category. It was always like that with Dumbledore.

…

"Shit. I didn't ask her for the password…" Theodore was standing right in front of the gargoyle that paved way for the Headmaster's office, which was staring at him coldly, seeming almost lifelike to the boy. "Surely, you wouldn't have a password that you've used previously? It has to be a different sweet… Sugar Quill!"

…

"Umm… Apple Rings!"

…

"Alright then. Upping the difficulty, I see. Fizzing Whizbee!" Nothing.

"Chocolate Frog!" The gargoyle remained still.

"Jelly Slug?" Theodore felt that if the statue was sentient, it'd be mocking him thoroughly with his unsuccessful trials. Sweet after sweet, he tried almost every single one that came into mind, but it didn't budge. He even delved into dishes and drinks, knowing fully well that he had no chance with them, until he gave up.

' _You've got to be kidding me. Not a single sweet is the password? I've tried literally everything except-'_

…

"Sherbet Lemon…" The gargoyle sprung back to life, twisting around as it raised the spiral staircase from its bottom. Theodore sighed heavily before walking up the steps after the gargoyle stopped moving, wondering if it was Dumbledore who was foolish to have the same password for nearly three years, or him to not guess it on the first try. He pushed through the office's door, re-entering the wonderfully bizarre quarters that belonged to the old man. Dumbledore was sat by his wide desk table, a quill in hand that looked too flamboyant for anyone to use, scribbling on an excessively long roll of parchment, not even twitching at the boy's entrance.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir? I'm here." Dumbledore lifted his head instantly, his grey wizard hat tipping slightly to the left as he beamed brightly at the Parselmouth. He set his quill aside and motioned the boy to take a seat, which he did without question. "Sir, I think you ought to be a little more creative with your passwords. It was so easy that even I overlooked it." The old man gave a chortle as he leaned back slightly in his chair.

"Well, I guess that my age is starting to show itself in the smallest of ways. One cannot hang onto youth forever, no matter what you do."

"Then I'm guessing that you've excluded yourself from this _rule_ then, huh?" Theodore returned with a slight smile.

"I admire your flattery, but that isn't the reason why I called you here today. My apologies for being quite silent recently. With Harry's incident against the Dementors and Sirius Black's presence around the castle, my focus needed to be directed elsewhere." The mention of Black's name flooded Theodore's thoughts from the previous day, spawning question after question to ask the old man. But he kept them contained within himself.

"My sources, or should I say _source_ , has told me that you have stopped attending a certain duty inside of the castle. Care to tell me why," asked Dumbledore as he leaned on his elbows against the desk, eyes twinkling like it always did.

"I… don't follow."

"Then perhaps I shall be clearer. You've stopped attending Professor Snape's apprenticeship program, Theodore. For nearly a month." The Parselmouth broke eye contact with the Headmaster, glancing over to Fawkes who was gently nipping at his wings. He didn't want to speak about that. Anything but that. Of course, Snape would go complain to Dumbledore instead of saying anything to him directly. Who else was he supposed to turn to when Theodore would go off the Potion Master's tangent? Theodore kept quiet as Dumbledore continued, the air of happiness soon thickening with tension as the old man became serious.

"There's no doubt that you stopped going for… _personal_ reasons involving Professor Snape, no? Reasons that you don't wish to disclose with anyone."

…

"Theodore, silence at times may be a good thing. It allows us to think more freely than when we are speaking. But then, some thoughts become useless if we never speak at all."

"Professor, have you seen his classes," seethed the boy, his anger towards Snape being suppressed as much as possible. "Like actually seen the way he treats students, or the way he 'teaches'? Have you?"

"Severus is not the most amiable teacher around, I know. But-"

"He's a bully, Professor! Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville especially! All he ever does is pick on them for the pettiest things and… It's not fair. Far from it." Theodore still kept his gaze away from the old man, afraid that if he looked at him, he'd be forced to go back to Snape's again, and that was the last thing that he wanted. Dumbledore procured his handkerchief from thin air without a wand, cleansing his spectacles before laying them on the mahogany desk. Theodore was oddly reminded about the man he saw in Hog's Head, when he saw the old man like this.

"I've expressed my concern with Severus's teaching methods during the past year. I understand that he is more than overbearing… I will have words with him, but until then, you are to not speak out during his lessons."

"Professor, how can you say-"

"Theodore," spoke Dumbledore in a hardened voice, his face still emptied of his usual bright self. "Please, do not make this any more difficult than it has to be." The Parselmouth fell silent once more. This sounded more like an attempt to avoid the situation, than to solve it. The man was Neville's literal worst fear, yet all he was going to get was _words_. How pathetic. Theodore was suddenly yearning for solitude, wanting to remain on his lonesome to think some more again. Nothing to gain here with the old man.

…

"Can I be excused, please? It should be breakfast time right about now." Theodore asked in a monotone. Dumbledore simply nodded his head, eyes following the boy as he pushed his chair in and walked towards the gargoyle stairway. He briefly stopped to scratch the phoenix before reaching the stairway, halting only just, when he remembered something. "Professor Dumbledore?"

"Yes, Theodore?"

"Have you, by any chance, been inside Hog's Head Inn before?"

"Only when I'm feeling a little down. Why do you ask?" Theodore shook his head and said goodbye to the Headmaster, whose face seemingly displayed that he was intrigued by the boy's peculiar question. Theodore trotted down the stairs once more with his hands in his pockets, trying to recall what he was thinking about beforehand. At this point, walking it off was just futile. He moved through the castle's corridors, brushing past his fellow students silently, wondering who else knew the truth about his mother's nature. He could've asked Dumbledore, then and there. Asked him if he knew who Valerie Potter really was, but knowing Dumbledore, he probably had all the answers. Answers that he wouldn't share until the time would suit him otherwise.

* * *

" _Merry First Christmas, Theodore!"_ Viripin hissed happily in the boy's ear as she draped herself around his shoulders.

"And a Merry First(?) Christmas to you too, Viripin! And I can't forget about you too, Sawer!" The grey owl hooted joyfully in Theodore's other ear as well, his spirits being lifted much higher than the Christmas prior. Theodore didn't mind the owl's excitable nature, given that he hadn't used him to send a letter, meaning that visits to the Owlery was very minimal. But that didn't matter now, none of it did.

Theodore was sat on the end of his bed, peering over the edge to see several brown parcels, and neatly wrapped presents arranged quite disorderly underneath. His arm extended for the closest one to him when he heard his name being called out from across the dorm.

"I see you've gotten up early. Merry Christmas, man," said Ron from his own bed, beaming at the Parselmouth who returned the smile.

"Merry Christmas, Ron. I've never seen this many presents for me before! Wait, hold on. I think this one is from your mum…" Ron walked over with a sleeping Scabbers in his hands. Theodore ripped the brown wrapping off of the sturdy parcel, catching a glimpse of deep emerald green before the contents spilled onto his lap. A woolly knitted jumper was held up in the air by the boy as he twisted and turned it around, looking to see if it held any letter attached to it.

"Mum's jumpers. Reckoned she'd make one for you. I hope she doesn't give me one, especially one that's maroon…" Ron sulked as he sat next to Theodore. The Parselmouth gave up his scouring for the letter and fitted it on top of his t-shirt, looking down on his chest to see a golden 'T' emblazoned on his front.

"I think it's nice. Bit itchy, but nice." Harry's snores drowned his words, and gained the two boys' attention as they faced his bed. They turned their heads to each other, grinning, thoughts being simultaneous to each other as words didn't need to be said. They both grabbed a pillow from Theodore, and hurled it across the room and onto Harry's face and stomach. The scar-bearing groaned lazily as he lifted himself with difficulty, putting on his glasses before he dashed the pillows back at the two.

"Alright, alright, we're sorry! Okay, Harry? We're sorry!" Harry stretched and walked over to his presents, fumbling through them with Ron as Theodore descended to the common room with his animal companions. Sawer fluttered over to the fireplace, with Viripin briefly growing wings to accompany him. He thought that waiting for Hermione and Elvira downstairs would stop the two, or rather Hermione, from barging into the boys' dorm uninvited.

"…nothing like that! He and I are just best friends, not- Theo! Merry Christmas!" Hermione walked out from the archway leading to the girls' dorms, wearing her usual dressing-gown with a grumpy Crookshanks in her arms, while Elvira trailed behind her, her hair worn in a simple blond ponytail. The Muggle-born's cheeks was glowing pink, but soon returned to normal as she set her eyes on the boy, who returned the greeting to the two of them.

"Where's Harry and Ron," asked Elvira as she pocketed a Christmas card in her hand.

"They're awake. Although, we should wait for them down here, so that-" A raucous laughter erupted from the boys' stairwell, enticing the attention of Hermione as she stuck her head through the archway. "Hermione, that's the boys' dorm, you're not allowed up there!" Hermione gave one last look up the stairs and sighed while she walked back out.

"Okay, fine. We'll wait out here. Whenever Ron's too happy about something, it isn't usually a good thing…" Ron laughed again. Hermione raced up the stairs with the cat juddering in her arms, ignoring the boy as she vanished into the room. Theodore and Elvira remained below, listening to murmurs from above, the sudden shrieking from Ron, then the return of the Muggle-born, who was unsurprisingly huffy. The two other boys came bundling down the stairs happily afterwards, Harry clutching onto what looked like a broomstick, as they explained everything to Theodore.

"Got yourself a secret admirer, Harry," jested Theodore as his cousin merely scoffed.

"Like you can talk, _Mr_ _I-Can-Make-Any-Girl-Bow-To-Me_."

"Hilarious, Harry. You really are."

"Are we going to wait for the girls? I'm starving! I can feel my stomach eating itself!" Harry and Theodore's stomachs wailed in perfect timing, causing them to agree with the red head. "I just hope we get the tables to ourselves. Imagine sharing with the teachers. With Snape!"

"Or Trelawney. I'd hate to sit next to her" piped in Harry before he pushed his glasses back to mimic the teacher whilst waving his hands in such a manner. " _This Christmas Day shall be your last, my dear Potter, for you will suffer a painful death by… choking on a wishbone!_ " The three boys howled with laughter as they returned to the dorm to change for the day, for once forgetting about Black, Valerie and the Christmas before. Just an arrogant boy, a sarcastic one and the famous Harry Potter, all together as the greatest friends that they could ever wish for.

* * *

It was safe to say that the current Christmas holiday was exceptionally better than the last. Theodore never felt any better. The food was spectacular (aside from eating with Snape and Trelawney, two people who he was most eager to avoid during the holidays), he had the castle to himself to roam freely without cautiously looking over his shoulder for prefects; the Grim, and he spent it all with his friends, just like how it should've been. And of course, things would never decide to not take a turn for the worst when it included the four of them. Spats and squabbles were the last thing Theodore would expect during this time of year, but this was coming from a boy who… well, look at him! Having a normal Christmas consistently was not exactly his forte, neither was it Harry's, Ron's or Hermione's. Not once could it ever run smoothly without a problem arising between them, and that was the truth.

The Parselmouth, now clothed in his uniform again, was exiting the dungeons to enjoy his free period after starting the brewing process of Wolfsbane in Snape's classroom. It took a great deal of profound reflection, and insistent nagging from Hermione, for him to reach his final decision, a decision that would benefit his goal only, to take the will from Snape's hold. No more infantile constructions of a plan which can easily fall to pieces, no more distractions that included leniency for his friends to tag along, no matter how useful they'd be. Simple aid from them at most, but nothing more. It was for him, and for him only.

Theodore reached and entered the library on the floor above, swinging his bag off his back to finish his Runes homework, which included translating basic manuscripts and completing the essay alongside it. All of his free time that was directed to his schoolwork, had been spent in seclusion in his room, creating and solidifying his motives for gaining the letter, his determination being fuelled to immense levels after witnessing Snape 'discreetly' read the letter from earlier on. Failure was not an outcome, nor a choice in his eyes.

Theodore turned right into the _Reference Section_ , and placed his bag on the table while emptying out his work in front of him. He brought out his quill and dipped it in his ink bottle, the tip of the quill just an inch from the parchment until he ducked his head, feeling something heavy whoosh above him. Theodore glanced to his right, and saw the giant book suddenly halting in mid-air, falling gracefully in the hands of Hermione, who he didn't notice at all.

"Sure, just look away when you nearly decapitated me. I'm perfectly fine," said Theodore as he returned to his work.

"Oh, I didn't see you there! I'm sorry, I'm just really stressed out right now. Can't think straight with this essay, and I don't know why." Hermione called from the other end of the aisle.

"You have a Time-Turner, Hermione. You could-"

"Sshh!"

"You literally have all the time in the world," carried on the Parselmouth at the same volume. "Plus, since when did YOU start stressing over schoolwork?"

"It's just about Harry's broomstick. They're still not talking to me about it." Hermione muttered back. The obvious cause for the temporary divide within the group. Theodore was left out of the commotion between Hermione, against Harry and Ron, when she had gotten Harry's broomstick confiscated. Although he was, for once, on Harry and Ron's side, he didn't involve himself in the matter; other things required his full attention. And now she was here, taking refuge in the only place that could comfort her other than the common room.

"I don't know why you went off to McGonagall. Why would Sirius Black, a man on the run, buy Harry a broomstick? Did you even consider the fact that there's literally no place in Britain that he can go to, without anyone recognising him?"

"Of course, I did," snapped the Muggle-born as she crossed her arms. "He's a criminal, so I would expect him to steal the broom from somewhere, of course! It makes sense, and you know it."

"Sure, Hermione. Makes complete sense." Theodore returned to busying himself with his essay, his thoughts that revolved around the will held at the back of his mind as he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Hermione placed her things next to the Parselmouth and sat beside him, not wanting to continue the conversation, judging from the irritation on her face. It was only after twenty minutes of silence between the two, did she speak to him again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah."

"When we went into the Chamber of Secrets to rescue Harry and Ginny, I remember asking you if you had a photo of your mum. And you said yes."

"So…?"

"I mean, I'm not asking to see it! I just wanted to know… does it still feel the same, when you look at her now? Or is it different?" Hermione asked carefully, cautious in case he wouldn't take to the question so well.

…

"Sometimes…"

' _Sometimes? What does he mean, 'sometimes'? Is it the same, is it different? Maybe I shouldn't have asked him in the first place…'_

Lesson changeover arrived with the bells, as Theodore stuffed his incomplete essay inside of his bag, thrown off during the remainder of his free period. Too many thoughts, too much thinking. It wasn't good for the brain at all. He cooled his burning face down with his hands, and exited the library with Hermione walking behind him.

' _It'll be here soon. Everything will go according to plan, just like it should be. I can't fail.'_

After dinner had been polished off and devoured by all the returning students, Theodore was walking up to the common room with Harry and Ron, who were both still touchy on the subject of forgiving Hermione. This was only a suggestion on Theodore's part, as there was no use into pressuring the two to gloss over the incident and to move on. He doubted that he could even succeed anyways.

The other Gryffindors were happily talking amongst each other about their holidays, from the moment they sat down in the Great Hall, to the second they entered the common room, scattering all over the place in their usual groups. After saying goodnight to a quiet Hermione, who scampered through the room to avoid the other boys' gazes and up to her dorm, the Parselmouth joined his two friends at the back tables. From here on out, he was in motion. No turning back.

"Oh well, would you look at who it is! You've been speaking to Hermione lately, right? Have you used any of that _Riddle Charm_ to make her apologise to us?"

"No, Ron. I haven't used the _Riddle Charm_ on her," replied Theodore as he frowned at the red head. "What the hell even is the _Riddle Charm_ anyways?"

"I think we already established that, _Mr I-Can-Ma_ -"

"Alright, I get it! By the way, Hermione is not going to apologise. You know how she gets when she thinks she's right. Only way to prove her wrong, is to actually prove her wrong."

"Yeah, which is looking like a lifetime away from now," sulked Harry as he leaned back in his chair, sighing loudly. "Doesn't look like McGonagall's giving up the Firebolt any time soon." Theodore's attitude towards Quidditch still remained the same way, ever since he first heard of it. But Harry's Firebolt was exceptional, nonetheless. Being stripped of a professional broomstick whilst being in school must've been a hard blow to the stomach. But that was none of Theodore's problem.

"You have my complete sympathy. But I need to ask something from you, Harry."

"Does it include wiping McGonagall's memories so that she can forget about my broomstick?"

"A bit extreme coming from you, but no. I need the Marauder's Map." Harry brought himself forward towards his cousin, wrinkling his forehead in curiosity and hesitation. Theodore, however, remained completely neutral.

"Why d'you want it for?"

"I've recently grown a crush on Pansy, and I want to track her every single movement in the castle." Theodore admitted sarcastically, earning a face of disgust from Ron. "It's for the 'thing', remember? Will, Potter?"

"Who's Will Potter," asked Ron, eyeing both of his friends as they exchanged glances that looked like they were communicating between themselves. Harry told Ron that it was nothing, and that he'd be back soon, motioning Theodore to follow him to the dorm.

"You're playing a risky game, man," pointed out Harry as he pulled his trunk's contents out to rummage for the Map. "It's not going to be like Hogsmeade, you know. Snape would've surely thought of something to stop you."

"Snape will underestimate me, just like you're doing right now. I've got it all in my head, don't you worry. He won't see it coming." Theodore gloated. He heard Harry sigh again from below, and watched him raise himself to his feet with the Map in hand. "Great. How do I work it?"

"Theo, you know I'm only letting you do this because I know what you're after. I'm not being a pushover or anything. You remember that, yeah?" Theodore only nodded, hand still outstretched in front of him. Harry pulled out his wand and lifted the Map so that they could see it properly in the slightly darkened room. "Alright, you see how the Map is plain? That's because I didn't activate it yet."

"How d'you do it?" Harry pressed his wand against the parchment, and began to mutter something under his breath.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

It was like Harry's wand was leaking with ink, blotting the parchment with a spot of black liquid until they trailed all across, forming intricate lines and curves, saturating the entire parchment. Theodore looked on with awe, having never encountered such magic since he knew of its existence. A sharp sensation of fear stabbed his brain, wondering if the Map was anything like his father's diary, an object which contained a fragment of one's soul…

The lines finished crossing over each other, the detailed mappings of Hogwarts Castle presenting itself to Theodore as he held his tongue. This was good. This was very good. All he needed to do was to study its true workings, how it detected everyone's position in the school and it would all come into light. His eyes lingered to the top of the Map to see if he could find himself, but instead caught the green cursive words that appeared out of nowhere, reading them aloud:

 _Messrs Moony, Hookwing, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Connoisseurs of Aids to the Collective Conjurers of Calamity, are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP_

"Wow…"

"And that's not even the half of it," continued Harry, grinning as he used his wand to tap the Map. "You can choose to hone in on a single person, so that it'll be easier to follow them. All you have to do is tap them twice, like this." He did so likewise, and double-tapped a single black dot, labelled 'Argus Filch', which was moving quite slowly alongside another dot that was labelled 'Mrs Norris'. All of the numerous dots on the Map vanished to display Filch alone.

"And you just double-tap again to show everyone?" Harry nodded while Theodore used his wand to reveal everyone. "This is incredible! Moony, Hookwing, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs… Any idea as to who they are?"

"Not a single clue. Fred and George didn't know either. Oh! I forgot to tell you how to make it clear. You use your wand again and you say, 'Mischief managed'. It's not that hard to remember; I'm sure that you know it by now."

"Noted," said Theodore as he turned the Map blank. "I won't lose this, Harry. I promise you that."

"Oh, you better not," retorted Harry as he began to stroll out of the room. He looked like he was having a laugh, yet joking with Theodore at the same time. "There's no way I'm going to Hogsmeade only once this year. You just promise me that you get that letter from Snape, yeah?"

"You have my word." Theodore replied mockingly with a hand on his heart. "I'll even cut you in on whatever I get." Harry gave him a lazy thumb up as he disappeared down the stairs, leaving Theodore alone with the precious enchanted parchment.

" _Theodore…? Are you there...?"_ Theodore turned to his bed and saw Viripin peeking her head out from underneath, flicking her tongue to smell him. From the way she spoke to him, the Parselmouth could tell that she had been sleeping all day.

"What took you so long to wake up?" Theodore asked as he threw himself on the bed, inviting the Adder to rest on his stomach.

" _Shedding my skin takes a lot out of me. I could barely move afterwards. And I'm hungry."_ Theodore moved her off and grabbed his last bag of mice, dropping two at a time in her mouth so that she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of exerting herself. Fed, and even more tired than before, Viripin curled her growing self on the boy's lap, hissing silkily as he stroked her gently.

" _Thank you, Theodore. You know, I wouldn't know what I'd do if you left me in the dungeons with torturer."_

"Neither would I, Viripin. Neither would I."

* * *

Theodore glanced over at his pocket watch, which was glinting as it reflected the exuberant glow from his wand, once again enclosed within the shut tapestries. It read 02:44AM, a clear sign that he had to stop punishing himself with glaring at the Map for too long. But he couldn't. It took him a while for him to realise that him clinging onto an object which displayed everyone's presence in the castle was disturbing, but he didn't care. Its existence was too much of a convenience to throw aside. It was a treasure, the absolutely perfect aid to his plan. Well, almost perfect.

He guessed that no matter how magical one single thing may be, it would always have its faults. A given example would be Ron. Although it was quite hard to notice at first, Theodore could see that something was off with the red head's dot, or rather, name. Ron's name was being obscured somehow, by a different one. It wasn't exactly clear, requiring closer inspection to see the problem, and even that didn't help. Theodore strained his eyes to read the name hidden underneath Ron's until he gave up. If he carried on looking any further, then Harry wouldn't be the only one to wear glasses. He dimmed his wand and opened the tapestry on his right to grab a drink of water before he'd finally go to sleep.

"Maybe it's just Scabbers," yawned the Parselmouth as he filled his glass quite clumsily. "Wouldn't be surprised if he's sleeping next to him." Ron gave a little groan in his bed, and rustled his sheets as he turned. The Parselmouth then sipped on his glass slowly, drank another glass then returned to his bed, until a faint noise of something dropping caught his attention from downstairs.

' _Now who can be awake at this time of the night? Let me just take a quick look at the Map and see… Of course, it had to be you.'_

Theodore smiled tiredly as he trudged to the common room with the Marauder's Map in hand, almost tripping on his final step as he looked over to the fireplace to see who was awake at this hour, the word _awake_ being relative here. He couldn't see her face underneath her hair, as it was planted firmly on top of a book on the table. Parchments and open books were sprawled all across the table, one familiar big book on the floor, surrounding the girl who was clearly sleeping. Theodore hobbled over to the sofa and sat down, eyes still on the slumberer.

"Hermione?" She didn't reply. No use saying her name twice without doing something. Theodore leaned forward and poked her side, calling her name out again. The girl shot up the second she felt Theodore's hand, spluttering loudly as she ridded her tangled locks that were in her mouth.

"Wha- huh? Where am…? What time is it," she asked sleepily with one eye barely closed and the other completely shut.

"You got a little bit of hair on the right side of your mouth. And it's almost three o'clock in the morning."

"It… it is?"

"Yeah, Hermione. It is." He glanced over to the various books and parchments, recognising the many subjects that the girl was taking. A little Potions over here, a little bit of Astronomy over there, and a whole lot of Arithmancy all over. She was breaking and for some odd reason, Theodore felt a little joy in noticing this.

"Must've… dozed off a little." Hermione yawned as she rubbed her eyes while sitting on the sofa beside him. Faint purple bags were hanging below her eyes when she removed her hands, and a noticeable red mark from when she was sleeping on the book, was on her left cheek.

"A little? What are doing up this late?"

"Clearly, I'm doing my work, Theodore."

"I can see that, but why?" Hermione collected some of the notes in front of her, but most fell out of her hand as she refused to catch them.

"It's just a little clash of work, that's all. My schedule for different subjects went into a little rut, but it's nothing that I can't manage." She yawned as she scratched her head, stretching before she sat cross-legged on the floor again to resume her work. Theodore slid down as well, staring at her as if she were a maniac, which he was seriously considering.

…

"You know you have bags under your eyes, right?"

"So?"

"So, maybe you should consider dropping-"

"Of course, I won't," snapped the Muggle-born as she scowled at the Parselmouth, which made her look as if she drank a bottle of lemon juice. "I'm doing completely fine! You can't expect to… get the… grade… if you don't work…"

…

"Hermione!"

"Hard! Hard work and… oh, just leave me alone, Theo! I've got a lot work to do."

"As you wish. I'll leave you to torture yourself until you can't take it no more. Goodnight, you lunatic." He stood up and tucked the Map into his pyjamas, having spent too many hours awake in the day. Although he wasn't going to pull it off on the same week, his bed was calling for him.

"Wait, Theo! Could you come here for a sec?" Hermione called from the sofa as he reached the first step.

"Just because you're not going to sleep, doesn't mean I'm not," groaned the Parselmouth. "Goodnight, Hermione. I'll see y-"

"But I need your help!" He reluctantly turned around and remained still, arms crossed. What help could she possibly want from him? He wasn't going to clean up her mess. He was far too tired to even blink right now.

"What is it?"

"Could you help with this," said Hermione as she pointed at her head whilst yawning once more.

"You want me to help you stay awake?"

"What? No! I want your help to tie my hair!" His eyes fluttered wide open as he became fully awake. No girl had ever asked him a question like that before (excluding the numerous advances from Lavender and Parvati alike). Not even Louise, although he never cared for how she let her hair loose. In fact, he liked the way she kept it like that, but that was beside the point. Theodore kept a deadpan expression, frozen at the boys' archway as she stared at him strangely. "Shall I take that as a no, or…?"

"Err… yeah! Yeah, I'll… I'll help with your hair…" stammered the suddenly nervous boy as he walked over to the Muggle-born, who had her back turned to him with several hair-bands in her hand. He dropped down to his knees and took the bands as the girl lifted her hair, she too suddenly trembling at the realisation of her request. She was beyond glad that he didn't see her face; she knew that it was burning with redness.

"Have you… done this before?" She asked quietly as she released her hair for him to hold as gently as possible.

"Um… no. But it can't be that hard, right? It's only just hair." Theodore swallowed quickly for his voice broke on the last word, Hermione giving off the faintest giggle before it became awkwardly silent once more. It took him many turns and quite a lot of time before he managed to tie the girl's hair into a decent bun, always having to restart from the very beginning at every failed attempt. He could barely hear the cracking from the fire with the blood pounding in his head, his hands shaking at every passing second. Once he finished on the final hair-band, he pulled away quickly, hiding his hands behind his back as she faced the Parselmouth.

"Is it alright," asked the boy in a near whisper. She felt the bun with two hands and nodded at him, smiling as they both gazed at each other while the light from the fire danced on their faces, illuminating both their eyes to the fullest extent. It wasn't until Theodore felt a spike in his heart, the fire snapping a little louder than usual in synch, did they break contact. He instantly stood up while the girl stretched again, seemingly returning to her work.

"Well! I think that I'll be going back to bed now. Good luck on your work," said Theodore as he slowly backed away to the boys' archway, unable to return his line of sight to Hermione.

"Thank you. For the hair as well." She replied as she brought her knees to her chest, also looking away from him.

"No problem."

…

"Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Theo."

He made his way up to the dorm room, feeling more restless than ever. Theodore couldn't shake the feeling off at all. That felt… more. A poor word to describe it, but how else could he? This felt more than the previous times when they were alone, when it was just the two of them… Theodore always felt that whatever was between him and Hermione was just platonic, just a boy and a girl who were close friends, and nothing more. That's what he thought, but in a split fraction of a second, that infinitesimal moment when they were looking straight into each other's eyes, Theodore could've sworn that he felt something… more. Surely… it couldn't be…?

' _More…'_

* * *

He was becoming distracted, and he hated that. That was what caused him to fail the first time. So many thoughts, all running rampant in his head, and he couldn't keep them in check. He couldn't find order and peace in his mind, forcing him to fall under the distractions that occurred around him. How was he to succeed, when all he thought about was his mother's horrid reputation? How was he to retrieve his mother's will, when his mind would always bring him back to the week prior with Hermione? He couldn't afford to slip up, no matter what it could cost him. He was so close, so close to knowing what was inside. Until it hit him. Hard.

' _Do I really want to know what's inside after everything? What if there's nothing for me? How can you think like that, Theo? She saved you, she's your mother! She gave up her own life to save you, and you should never forget that! The reason why you're still here, is entirely because of her. Don't forget that, Theo. Don't forget that…'_

" _I wished that it'd never come to this. I love you my boy. Please do not hate me for what I've done…"_

"Don't forget… don't forget… don't-"

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT! I'VE FUCKING HAD IT, AND NOW I'M- ARRGGGHHH!" Theodore, along with everyone else in the common room became struck with something resembling fear as they heard the violent shrieking from the boys' dormitory. He felt his insides turn disgustingly as he recognised the scream of pure anger, somehow one hundred percent aware of the outcome that was approaching dangerously fast. Theodore was sat on the sofa next to Neville, whose Potions grade was crying for the Parselmouth's help, when he heard the screams, then the thunderous steps, and then the blur which raced all the way to Harry and Hermione in the corner, in an instant. It all happened so fast, but he managed to catch every single word. Some shouting from Ron, who was holding a bloodied bedsheet with Crookshanks's supposed hair, a little of shouting back from Hermione as she countered the red head, it was all just spiralling in a disaster. Harry was not doing a good job at calming the situation down as the shouting turned into screams, then silence as the two lividly stomped up to their respective dormitories.

"What was that all about," asked Neville quietly as the room slowly began to pick up on volume.

"I'm not too sure, but I think I have a pretty good idea." Theodore returned, knowing perfectly well on what happened. "Neville, carry on with the diagram. I'll be back in a minute." Theodore left Neville on his own as he aimed towards the stairway with Harry having the same idea. They burst into the room to see Ron on his bed making indistinct sounds, which could've been him cursing or crying. Theodore closed the door behind and walked to the red head, unsure if he'd pounce on him like he did with Hermione.

"Ron? You want to tell us what happened?" Theodore couldn't see his face as he hiccupped loudly before turning around with the sheet still grasped tightly in his hand.

"It ate him… flipping cat ate Scabbers…" muttered Ron sadly as he fluttered the sheet in an attempt to show it to the two.

"I… well-"

"Don't you dare try to defend her, Theodore!" Ron snapped.

"I wasn't! I was just going to say…"

…

"Spit it out then, will you?"

"He was already dying, Ron! There! I said it!" Ron looked completely scandalised by Theodore's words, crawling back in his bed as if he carried an incurable form of Dragon Pox.

"How can you say that?! After everything that bloody cat put Viripin through?!"

"Ron, unlike Scabbers, Viripin would happily kill Crookshanks, not run away from him. He didn't put her through anything." Harry spoke as he stood next to his cousin. "And you have to admit, Scabbers wasn't the prettiest looking rat either."

"You've got an owl Harry, and not only does Theo have an owl as well, but a snake that can turn into anything. All I've got was a stupid rat, and I can't even keep that as well…" Theodore and Harry looked at each other, saying nothing as they couldn't help but sympathise with the mourning boy. Theodore knew that he'd go mental if Viripin or Sawer turned up eaten; killed by somebody else's pet. And knowing Ron's family's money problems, it looked like Scabbers was going to be his first and last pet for a long time. The two boys just hoped that they'd make up soon, fearing that their friendship could truly be over.

* * *

Theodore gave them five days to reconcile, and those five days went unfulfilled. Hermione and Ron didn't argue at all, but pretended that they simply didn't exist to one another, whether it be in the common room, the Great Hall, even lesson time when they'd be partnered up in Potions. Snape called Ron a 'mindless twit' when he attempted to brew a potion on his own accord, nearly melting the table as he called Hermione an 'overconfident narcissist' due to letting him do so. It irked Theodore greatly that despite whatever _words_ Dumbledore had with Snape, nothing had changed in the last few weeks, but the two did deserve some of it. They were practically begging Snape to go in on them.

Beyond frustrated that they were forced to be messengers between the two, Harry and Theodore had come to a decision to stop talking to one of the two, Harry stopped talking to Hermione and Theodore stopped talking to Ron, so that the choice for communication came down to one, and that was by talking directly to each other. If they wanted to be petty, then so be it. The Parselmouths were done playing the middle men.

Although this meant that he wasn't dragged into pointless arguments and snide remarks towards each other, Theodore had to live with the consequences of his decision to avoid Ron, no matter how much he didn't want to. Being the only one that would talk with him meant that Harry was around Ron for most of the time, with the same going for Theodore and Hermione. Not to say that he didn't enjoy her company, which he did, but not speaking to Ron as well as having the shortest conversations with Harry didn't feel right at all. In his moments of slight weakness, however, when around the Muggle-born, Theodore often felt the need for another charged moment between them, just to know what it felt like again, to understand what really happened. But it would always be overpowered whenever he'd think about the will. He held it off for so long that he didn't give himself time to go over it again. Days of talking with Hermione alone had made him lose vision of what was important at the time, and he couldn't let it happen again.

"…and he's just going to drag my Potions grade down without a single care in the world! What if I don't pass on to the next year? What then?!" Hermione shrilled as she trotted next to Theodore, face red after a lengthy hour and a half of Charms.

"Hermione, we already had this exact conversation yesterday," said the Parselmouth exasperatedly, rubbing his temples as they walked through the corridors for their free period had just started. "We can talk about anything else, other than Ron. Can we? Please?"

"Alright, fine. I'll stop. I just don't like the fact that he's accusing me, when he was the one who-" She caught the boy's glance and closed her mouth, furrowing her eyebrows as she was forced to bottle her frustration. Theodore was the only person other than Elvira, who would talk to her and it looked like he was starting to lose interest. She didn't mean to vent towards him, her options were just limited. Very limited.

Theodore reached into his robes for the Map when they reached a bend in the hallway, and brought out his wand as well. Gazing at the Map intently, he pictured how everything would go, how his plan could run in two different directions. It all just depended on his gut-feeling. It went against his method of planning and thinking overall, but when did they ever work out like he wanted them to before? Theodore was about to slip away into a well-hidden broom closet when he felt someone tugging at his robes.

"Um, you know that's a broom closet, right?" Hermione asked suspiciously. Theodore hid the Map behind his back and tapped his wand against his thigh repeatedly. He had to get rid of her, or at least, steer her away. If she knew what he was about to do, then it'll all be for nothing.

"Yes, I knew that," replied the Parselmouth as he paced along the corridor, still hiding the Map from Hermione. "Just wanted to make sure that it was there."

"Okay…? So where are we going now?"

"We?"

"Yes, we. We've got a free period, so we have to spend it somewhere." Theodore smacked his face in false realisation.

"I just remembered! Professor Babbling said that I missed out a number of vital points on my essay! I need to go to the library to finish it off quickly, before the deadline closes."

"Okay! Let's go to the library!"

' _Well, you're a fucking genius now, aren't you?'_

It wasn't until halfway to the library did Theodore stop to make another excuse that he hoped the Muggle-born would swallow up.

"Wait, is today Thursday?"

"It's Tuesday, Theodore…"

"Shit! I nearly forgot about Snape!"

…

"Well? What about Snape?" Hermione asked, looking somewhat irritated by the boy's sudden change in choice.

"The guy has been badgering me on about my homework, because I missed out so many of his apprenticeship lessons. I've got to give them all to him now, otherwise…"

"Then I'll come with you."

' _Are you being serious?'_

"Hermione, I think it's better that you wait in the common room instead," said Theodore after a minute of walking. "I can go to the dungeons by myself."

"But I always walk with you to Snape's classroom…"

"Yeah, only because you're not talking to Ron or Harry. I appreciate you coming with me, but you don't have to do it all the time. I'd rather go myself." Theodore felt a stab in the gut when he saw the Muggle-born's face fall into a hurt expression, which quickly shifted into one resembling anger, but it was all too clear that she took his words to heart. Hermione spun on her heels without saying a word, and soon vanished out of sight as the Parselmouth watched her stilly before walking off to the dungeons. So much for wanting a _charged moment_ again. He knew that he had to apologise to her, sooner or later, but now? He had to ignore her, regardless of the guilt that was building up within him.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," muttered Theodore as he pointed his wand to the blank Map. The lines reappeared and so did the dots as they were spread all over. Theodore squinted his eyes near the dungeons, searching to see if the Potions Master was there, when he saw Elvira's dot in the Great Hall, meeting with Hermione's. He shook it off and moved his eyes back to the dungeons, still no notice of Snape in his classroom. Quickly scouring the other parts of the Map, preferably Lupin's room, Theodore found Snape descending from the third floor, and briskly moving to the direction of his classroom. Theodore wasted no time, and hurried down to the dungeons, darting his head up occasionally to avoid crashing into anyone while tracking Snape's position, and by the time he reached the bottom steps of the marble staircase, Snape was already in his room.

' _Oh, I've got you now. Should've stayed in Lupin's classroom.'_

"…who is he to say that I'll fail next year? Why can't we get a new teacher?"

"He's probably drugging Dumbledore to keep his position. There's something off about Snape, the smelly git. But don't worry about it, Cormac. You'll pass, I know you will."

"Don't have to tell me something that I already know, Katie. I can easily pass this class with flying colours."

"I take it back. I don't care anymore." Theodore was sneaking around the entrance to the dungeons, listening to the forth-year Gryffindors' discussion as he remained hidden. If Theodore met anyone who was more narcissistic than Lucius Malfoy, then it'd be Cormac McLaggen. Every time he'd speak, Theodore had to fight the urge to use the Pimple Jinx on his tongue. But from where he was standing, Theodore only had to do one thing, and the rest would work out for itself. He slipped through the entrance to get a clearer view of Snape's classroom door, knowing that he had to make it perfect, otherwise everything would crumble.

"…well, it doesn't help when you're chucking leeches around the classroom, does it," scolded Katie as McLaggen put his hands in his pockets as if he couldn't hear a word that she was saying. "He's got a reason to fail you, unlike us."

"Thing is, I won't fail. Not exactly a word that I like to associate with. Potions is easy. You have to have shit for brains if you can't-"

" _Verdimillious_!"

A blinding flash of a green projectile blitzed straight past the forth-years, shooting through the dungeons corridor at such incredible speeds that it took only half a second for a loud bang to occur. The teens peered nervously to the area of contact, not even bothering where the large spark came from. McLaggen was in the front of the group, a mistake that he had to pay for, very dearly. It was all so quick. The sound of a door being opened violently, then a black shadow zipping through the green-tinted smoke was all that it took to terrify McLaggen as he nearly stumbled backwards.

"HOW DARE YOU THROW FIREWORKS AT MY DOOR WHEN I'M WORKING! THIRTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR, MCLAGGEN!" Snape screamed, grabbing the teen boy by his shoulder so tightly, you'd think he wanted to break it.

"B-but it wasn't me! I-I didn't-"

"You didn't just what, McLaggen," spat Snape as he cut the frightened boy off. "Attempt to blow my door off its hinges, did you?!"

"No, P-professor, I swear…" McLaggen squeaked.

"Well, you can swear to your Head of House instead. We'll see what she has to say about this. Come on!" Snape dragged McLaggen by the shoulder as he pleaded with the man to give him a detention, rather than to speak with McGonagall herself. Katie and the others didn't try to defend him, but merely tagged along for their amusement. What they didn't know, or notice, was the smaller boy who managed to pass by them without earning a single eye in his direction. And for that, he felt more than elated by how smoothly that ran. Too theatrical for his taste, but successful nonetheless.

The door closed behind Theodore as he wafted away the green smoke that had entered the room, checking the Map to see where Snape was. They intercepted McGonagall on the fifth floor, relieving Theodore as he pocketed the Map after turning it blank. Theodore then walked to the desk at the front of the classroom, giving his half-brewed potion a quick sniff before searching for the letter again. His gut was telling him that it was there, right in the classroom. Theodore believed that with every fibre of his being, but where? Where could it possibly be? Fortunately for him, the Parselmouth had already thought about everything well ahead. He brought out his wand, and pointed above Snape's desk, hoping that it'd work.

" _Revelio_ …" A faint golden glow formed from the tip of his wand as he swished it over the desk like a metal detector, waiting for something to appear when…

It was like it was hidden underneath a shred of an Invisibility Cloak, suddenly stripped away by a single spell. Theodore lowered his wand as his mother's letter was laying on Snape's desk beneath the cauldron that was simmering without a fire. It was in front of him the whole time, but he never saw it. No matter. He snatched it quickly and carefully stuffed it in his robes, not wanting to damage it any further. He actually did it. It was his. In his hands, for real this time. Theodore brought the Map out from his robes again, and checked to see if Snape was anywhere near the dungeons. Still on the fifth-floor. This was too perfect. Trust Snape to resort to his resentment towards Gryffindors, so that he'd allow a student to waltz in his classroom like the idiot he was. Theodore half-wished that he could laugh in his face, mock him for being so careless. Oh well. He could do that later. He needed to be alone, somewhere private, where he could open it without any distractions.

"The Last Will and Testament of Valerie Potter…"

* * *

He closed himself off again, keeping himself to himself. He spoke to Harry about it only briefly, returning the Map to him as he had no further use for it. It served its purpose and his goal had been accomplished. Theodore barely spoke to anyone later that evening in the common room, sitting quietly on the back tables as he observed his Housemates talking, laughing, the usual. It wasn't his fault that he kept silent. Harry and Ron were huddled in the other corner of the room, talking about something private, leaving the Parselmouth alone by himself. Or perhaps it was his fault. Hermione didn't even acknowledge him as she walked through the common room an hour after Theodore had arrived, walking straight up to the girls' dorm with her tearing bag behind her back. His guilt returned, and his guilt had to be suppressed again when he'd open the letter. Of course, he was going to apologise as soon as he knew what was inside, he promised. Only when he knew what was inside.

The night fell across the castle as everyone else in Gryffindor fell asleep, except for Theodore. This time, he didn't even bother to close the tapestries. He knew that nobody would bother him anyways. Theodore somehow managed to keep a ball of light suspended above his head without it staying on the tip of his wand. It wasn't exactly strong enough to illuminate the entire room, but it was sufficient for reading. He tucked his wand underneath his pillow, and brought the letter out in exchange. His fingers were oddly still, but his body was trembling. Just the nerves, he thought. He'd been waiting for this moment for a long time, so it was natural for him to feel nervous. But he had to calm down. Inhale… Exhale…

Theodore made a little tear through the side of the brown envelope, for it was constructed differently compared to the ones used by Muggles. Each rip made his heart jolt a little, possibly fearing that he'd rip straight through the letter itself. But no. He didn't. Soon enough, the tearing halted and the letter inside slipped onto his lap. He discarded the envelope to the side, and took the will in hand, reading it so slowly; that every word could be burnt into his mind for him to recite forever.

 **THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF**

Valerie Avilasa Potter

 _I, Valerie Avilasa Potter of the Potter family, being of complete sound and disposing mind, declare this document to be my final Will and Testament, revoking all and any previous similar documents made by me._

 _FIRST: I declare that I am married to nobody, to whom I refuse to refer to as a spouse, and that I have one child who is living under the name of: Theodore Silas Riddle_

 _Birthday: April 6_ _th_ _, 1980_

 _Any reference to 'my children' or 'my child' shall refer to the child, and only the child, above, taking in the account that I have no other._

 _SECOND: I am executing this will on my own, any will of my child's father being invalid and not applicable. I am not making this will under any contractual means or agreements with him or anybody else, and may be revoked at any time by myself solely._

 _THIRD: I give, devise and bequeath all of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, the Potter Residence of Elmbridge, to my child, provided that he is of the age 17. I leave the estate's current conditions under the company name Reaguls' Reality Group, until then._

 _FORTH: I request that my funeral and final resting place, shall be in the village of Godric's Hollow, in St Jerome's Graveyard, where I frequently visited as a child with my family. The expenses shall be covered by part of my inheritance from my parents Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, and the rest shall be given to my child._

"Godric's Hollow," whispered Theodore to himself. "That's where you are… So is James and Lily…" He kept his eyes peeled to the letter, the ball of light burning a little brighter to aid its caster as he read further, shuddering disturbingly on his mother's final request. "No…"

 _FIFTH: I have made no provision for my child, for the child's father is not eligible to care for the child. My child's needs and requirements are to be held at Stuggle's Orphanage for Boys and Girls, should I be unable to care for him. Under these circumstances that I shall not survive to care for the child, then I rest my child's needs and requirements in the boy's godfather, Severus Silas Snape, wherever located, should the child's care at Stuggle's meet unsatisfactory levels._

 **THIS IS THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF**

Valerie Avilasa Potter

"Snape… Him…? No…"

 **Theo is… kind of a dick here, I cannot lie. But when hasn't he had dickish moments in the past before, right? Well at least he got some of what he deserved from the 'jaw-dropping' revelation in the end. I'm sorry that the Christmas part was short because in my honest opinion, PoA had the least exciting Christmas in the whole series, at least for me. At least it wasn't as shitty as the last one. I changed a few things, hinted at a few things, just to keep you thinking but for now, later.**


	29. Chapter 29: Reconcile and Realise Pt1

"…and this isn't to be confused with the Befuddlement Draught. Simply reading ahead to fifth-year textbooks will result in failure for the childish incompetence that you all possess so if you feel the need to do so, be my guest. Otherwise, make notes on what I'll say. The Confusing Concoction is…"

Theodore was too wrapped up in his own mind to make notes, regardless that it was for his end-of-year exams. He hadn't muttered a single word from the moment he stepped into the dungeons, purposely steering his eyes away from the poisonous glances that would be thrown at him by Snape from the front of the classroom. It had been three days. Three days since he uncovered the contents of his mother's will, and he wholesomely wished that he could take them back. He had been unusually quiet with Harry and Ron, the latter finally speaking to him after luckily catching the Parselmouth in his weaker moments; his face was more sullen than what the other boys were used to. They didn't question it, thinking that Hermione being broken off from the four may have been a factor, but this was false. At least, partially false. In fact, Theodore was dwelling on his insensitive jab towards the Muggle-born as much as he thought about Snape. Intense guilt, coupled with immense confusion. Well deserved, he thought. Karma working at its finest hour.

He then suddenly touched upon the fact that he was too engrossed in his contemplation, and quickly ducked down to his bag to grab his quill, parchments and ink bottle. Although he knew most of the potions that led up to the fifth year at most, it certainly wasn't worth being caught out by Snape. Theodore smacked the parchments on the desk and dipped his quill in the ink bottle, and then proceeded to write down notes from his own memory of the potion.

…

The quill didn't even blot the parchment let alone touch it. His fingers were squeezing the quill tightly in response to him plummeting straight back into his thoughts again. There was too much to block out. Theodore couldn't possibly hold everything back when his thoughts had set themselves permanently in his brain, branching out, and clouding his normal train of thinking. He slowly returned to doing nothing, ignoring Snape as he became lost once more.

' _My godfather, of all people… What else were you expecting? Harry's mum and dad to be your godparents? I doubt that Mum would even consider Harry's dad, after what she did to him… Idiot! She didn't do anything! She wouldn't betray him at all! She couldn't be that bad of a person…'_

He placed the dried-out quill onto his right and balanced his head with his arms, eyes wandering around the room of their own accord. Everything just felt wrong and he couldn't believe that he came to such a realisation, given who his parents were. It was true that he should've expected such a thing to come to light, but it didn't dampen the effect that it had on him. It just didn't feel right, and maybe Snape knew that as well. Perhaps that was the reason why he was hiding it from him, to prevent whatever feeling was crawling inside of him. And of course, Theodore could never control himself. Always poking his nose into places where he didn't belong. That's how he opened the Chamber of Secrets; that's how he learnt the nature of Horcruxes. And he'd always pay the price for it.

Theodore's eyes stopped at the far left of the classroom and settled on Hermione, whose face was firmly kept forward, not even turning to show her cheek to the Parselmouth. He lifted his head and brought his hands to his lap, wishing that she'd turn around to see how guilty he felt. Three days was more than enough time to apologise and reconcile, but it was his stupid refusal to believe that anyone could forgive him which was holding him back. On multiple occasions could he have just said sorry, but it didn't come out. He didn't think that his stubbornness would extend to his guilt; wasn't that the case all along?

"Hey, Theodore."

Theodore pulled his eyes away from Hermione and looked onto Draco who was appearing to do work, but like Theodore, had his quill away from his parchment. Theodore simply lifted his brows to which Draco continued, "Apparently, you've got a pet that's different from the usual. A snake, right?"

"How d'you know about that?"

"People in your House don't seem to be able to keep their mouths shut," replied the blonde boy in a snarky tone. Theodore, however, agreed with him. If it weren't for the others in the dorm, Viripin would've never been in any danger of being taken away from him. Then again, he didn't have to hide her all the time now.

"I hear that. They saw the snake and just went nuts. Almost would've lost her if it wasn't for Dumbledore. And of course, this slimy-faced git was against me keeping her," Theodore muttered as he glanced over to the Potions Master before back to Draco. Draco could only respond with a slight tilt of the head, twirling his fancy quill in hand as he too looked at Snape. The man was still drawling about the potion, somehow unaware of the conversation between the two boys.

"Is it true that you stole the snake from this classroom," whispered Draco after a moment of silence. Theodore leaned backwards and looked across the extended wooden table to check if anybody was in an earshot. Although her eyes were trained towards Snape, Pansy was too close for Theodore's liking. Leaning forwards once again, Theodore looked at the blonde boy and smirked, raising an eyebrow before looking back at his parchments. Draco's nods of approval didn't go unnoticed by the Parselmouth as he could see him in the corner of his eye, but forced himself to write the rest of Snape's words on his empty sheets.

An hour of tedious listening and writing down notes finally passed as the faint bells told the students that it was the end of the lesson. Theodore was clumsily stuffing his unused parchments, quill and bottle into his bag while his eyes flickered over to Hermione, who was already walking out of the dungeons with a blonde Elvira trailing behind her. Realising that his chance for a useless attempt of an apology was squandered, he remained frozen and quiet on the spot, staring at the door as if she were waiting outside for him like she always did.

' _You're playing yourself, Theo. As if she's out there waiting.'_

A sudden black blur from the corner of his eye told him that he stood still for too long; he hastily rushed for the dungeon doors before Snape would have a chance to grab him. A faint calling of his last name was silenced as he already made it to the Entrance Hall and up to the common room.

Theodore, in all honesty, felt like a coward. There he was, not taking initiative to make up with his best friend whilst constantly dodging his own living godfather, in fear that he'd bring retribution upon him for taking the will. Although Snape had no proof, he knew. It was all too obvious. Perhaps Theodore was careless when he retrieved it; maybe Snape just speculated that he was the culprit. No matter what, he knew and Theodore was going to suffer for something. He just didn't know when.

"Theo! Thank god," huffed Neville as he ran to the Parselmouth the second he climbed through the portrait hole. He was fluttering a handful of parchments that seem to flail uncontrollably until most of them fell to the ground.

"Hey, Neville. Look, now is not a good time-"

"I'm not asking for your help! Well, I am, but I couldn't get all the notes from Potions, and well…" He leaned in to whisper in Theodore's ear, "Hermione seems pretty cross with something." That was true. Theodore could see from the other end of the room that the Muggle-born's brows were horizontal, almost on the verge of pointing downwards to form a scowl. Theodore could've sworn that she must've heard Neville as she looked up to the two boys, before turning her head away from them.

"Yeah, she does, doesn't she?" Theodore said, making an effort to hide the guilt in his voice.

"So? Can you help me, or…?"

Theodore sighed and walked into the centre of the common room, narrowly avoiding a pair of rampant first years. "I didn't make any notes in that lesson, but I'll write all the stuff that you'll need for that potion," said Theodore to Neville as the pudgy boy's spirits became lifted. Theodore told him that he was going to do the work in the corner so that he'd have an easier time to recall everything he knew. Leaving him to his devices, Neville regrouped with the others while Theodore brought out his writing equipment.

"The Confusing Concoction… I must've done this last year, I'm sure of it…" Every ounce of information: the method, the ingredients, the risks, all flowed from the back of the Parselmouth's memory, everything being jotted down as he remembered everything. It didn't take long for him to create a list of realistic notes for Neville to copy, and he was about to alert him that he was finished when he heard distinct hissing that was emanating from below the table.

"Viripin? What are you doing down here?" Theodore hissed quietly while lowering his head as if he dropped his quill.

" _We need to talk. Now."_ The Maibian Adder's voice was stern and forceful, a tone that Viripin rarely adopted when she was with Theodore. Nevertheless, Theodore complied with the snake's wishes and left the parchment notes for Neville to collect as he scooped Viripin up, and walked up to the boys' dorm. After gently placing her on his bed, Viripin then elongated herself to match the boy's height as they were face to face.

"Is there a problem?"

" _As a matter of fact, there is. Mind telling me what that is?"_ Viripin hissed as her black-tipped tail pointed at his pillow. Theodore was confused for a second, but instantly knew after remembering what he had hidden underneath there. He grabbed the will from its hiding place and frowned at the snake as he stuffed it in his pockets.

"Why were you looking through my stuff?"

" _Why were you trying to hide it from me?"_

"Trying to hide- what? I wasn't hiding it from anyone!"

" _So I'm assuming that you already told Harry, Ron and Hermione, right?"_

Theodore opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it upon realising that nothing worth saying was going to come out. He rubbed his face and brought out the crumpled will, throwing it on the bed as he sat next to Viripin sighing heavily.

…

"You read everything," asked the boy silently as he leaned his elbows against his thighs. Viripin nodded her head as she twisted her body to face him once more. "Sorry for not telling you. It was just doing my head in, I can't focus properly anymore. But it's not like this kind of thing ever happened before. This just feels… weird. I wanted to think about this properly before I'd tell anyone, but lately… no progress. Just still can't believe that he's my godfather."

Viripin took her time to speak again, to which she asked, _"Why did your mother choose him? Didn't she know how much of a bad person Torturer was?"_

"They were close friends, my mum and Snape. Must've stayed that way when she had me. She even defended him over her brother when they got into a fight. When he must've called Harry's mum a…" Theodore grimaced slightly at the word which he hated so much. It was like poison on his tongue. And to think he spewed such a slur so casually in the year before. He felt disgusted with himself. Even more with Snape. How could his mother defend-? He slapped his forehead and rubbed it to force Fudge's words out of his mind.

…

" _It… It can't have been all that bad. I-I mean, there's some good stuff inside as well, like…"_ Viripin used her tail to grab the will and held it in front of her as she read through it quickly. _"Look! Reaguls' Reality Group! I may not know a lot of people in the world, but certainly it's the Reaguls that we know about! They're keeping a house for you until you become seventeen! Who knows, you could even see Louise again!"_

"I… guess so. But that's nearly four years away. I'll be lucky to even be alive by that time, with all the near-death experiences that I've been having so far," Theodore returned gloomily, smacking his back against the mattress as he stared at the tapestry above.

" _Don't be such a downer, Theodore. Wait, I'll look for something else… Here!_ 'The expenses shall be covered by part of my inheritance from my parents, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, and the rest shall be given to my child.' _I'm betting on my life that you have a fortune as big as Harry's, maybe even bigger. No more borrowing from the school! Isn't that what you want?"_

"Viripin, if I had an inheritance somewhere and it was just as big as Harry's fortune, don't you think I wouldn't have needed charity from the school in the first place? Maybe it's hidden; or somebody stole it; or- OW! Why d'you hit me for?!"

" _For goodness sake, Theodore! Stop moping about and just say what's really bothering you! Seriously, I can't stand it when you're so… moody! Tell me what's wrong, right now."_ Theodore straightened himself as he caressed the back of his left hand. There was no use hiding anything from Viripin now. Not when she was barraging him with insistent overbearingness.

"Hermione's not talking to me because… well, this," said the boy as he fluttered the will before chucking it behind him again. "She wasn't already talking to Harry and Ron because of the whole 'Crookshanks and Scabbers' situation, and would always follow me around, but me being the dickhead that I am, just pushed her away because of this stupid will. And now, not only did I find out that Snape's my godfather, but I've also lost… her." Neither of them moved. Theodore was keeping his head low, hands clasped together until he felt a shiver around his neck as Viripin draped herself along his shoulders.

" _Hey. You're overreacting. You didn't 'lose' Hermione. I can guarantee you that she'll forgive you if you just apologise."_

"Don't you think I've been trying? She's always avoiding me every time I'd get close to her as if she doesn't want my apology. I could probably wave like a madman right in front of her and she wouldn't even blink." Viripin nuzzled against Theodore's temple, adamant on making him feel better. He brushed his fingertips along the centre of her head, knowing that all she wanted was his happiness. This affection was not expected at all, feeling that spitting and hissing were to be more appropriate, given whose name was inside the will.

…

" _You must really like her to feel this guilty, huh?"_

"Viripin, please. I'm trying to-"

" _In a strictly, platonic, we're-best-friends, sort of way. Look, all you have to do is apologise and it'll be fine. You'll see. Both of you have soft spots for each other, there's no way that she won't forgive you. But know that the longer you leave it, the worse it may get, so I suggest you do it really soon."_

Theodore scratched the right side of his neck, only able to agree with the Adder with a simple nod. He was going to have to apologise sooner or later; it was only a matter of time. But was Viripin right in thinking that the longer he left it, the more difficult it would be for Hermione to accept whatever he had to say to her? Surely, if she could overlook him being who he really was, then she'd forgive him for his idiocy, right?

' _I am overthinking this. It's just Hermione. I'm an idiot to think that she'll stop talking to me forever. She'll forgive me. I'm sure that she'll forgive me…'_

* * *

Theodore was doing an incredible job at retaining the accumulating frustration that came from his wasted efforts. It was as if the universe rejected Theodore's claims to regret, always managing to bestow minor inconveniences onto the boy whenever he'd try to apologise to Hermione. In retrospect, it had only been two days since he spoke with Viripin about it, yet he felt as if he was getting nowhere which was true. He'd see less of the Muggle-born each passing day, barely able to find her when classes were finished. Theodore refused to use the Marauder's Map to look for her, deeming that if he did, his motives would definitely be seen as alarming. All he wanted to do was to make amends and to leave it behind, was that too much to ask? Apparently so. Maybe he was forcing himself too much, just like when he wanted the will. Perhaps things would unravel on their own, out of the boy's reach. He hated that.

The air among Hogwarts was cool and clear as opposed to the extreme weather from the recent weeks. It'd been quite a while since Theodore had last seen a Quidditch match in its entirety, the cause of his absence mainly falling into _breaking the rules_ elsewhere. An odd sensation of awaiting exhilaration was filling Theodore's stomach as he was very much interested in what Harry's new broom had to offer. A model like that was sure to outperform the others in the game, even much more so when Harry was flying. Theodore did his best to focus on the match so that he could set his problems aside for a few hours. He was allowed to do that, right?

"Been a while since you set foot in this place, huh?" Ron shouted over the noise of the supporters, which erupted from the Gryffindor stands to the Ravenclaw ones. Theodore was lucky that he was so close. Had he been an inch further from the red head, he'd be screaming his lungs out to respond back.

"Forever a stranger to this place. But at least I haven't been given any stupid detentions for today," Theodore replied as he loosened his scarlet and gold scarf to allow the cool breeze to brush against his sweaty neck.

"By the way, thanks for helping me with those notes," squeaked Neville from a row in front as he turned to talk to the two. "I really thought I'd be completely clueless about the final exam. Although, I still don't have that much of a good idea about- Oh hi, Elvira!"

Theodore and Ron panned their eyes to Elvira, whose hair remained the same all week. She too was clad in scarlet and gold, but had an additional hat to go with it. She greeted the three boys and looked forward onto the pitch where the teams started to roll out. While everyone began to applaud the teams as they took their positions on the ground, Theodore leaned forward and tapped the Metamorphmagus on her shoulder.

"Elvira, did Hermione come up here with you," asked Theodore in a loud 'whisper'.

"Umm… yes, she did come with me. She's over… over- The match is starting!" Theodore's eyes flickered to the pitch as the players began to rise on their broomsticks, Harry pelting off into the sky in a near instant. Theodore was nearly astonished. A Nimbus Two Thousand couldn't go that fast, and he only saw its performance a few times. A whistle from Madam Hooch rung across the stands, starting the game.

"It's a beautiful Spring's morning, the breeze is… astonishing. The sun's out, and we have Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw and my god, does that Firebolt look near-orgasmic!"

"Jordon!"

Sniggering and jokes aside, all eyes were on the players as they zoomed and streaked through the air, chasing and escaping the balls that were released into the air with them. Theodore was still awed by Harry's speed on the Firebolt as he witnessed a magnificent increase in acceleration, nearly losing him in the amidst of the match.

"Look at that speed! Theo, are you seeing this?!" Ron asked excitedly, squeezing Theodore's shoulder as he followed Harry in the air.

"Did you see that dive," added Neville, who decided to move up a row just to grab Theodore's other shoulder, rocking him uncontrollably as he jumped up and down.

"I could, if you guys would let go of my-"

"Goal for Gryffindor, after Katie Bell puts one in through Ravenclaw hoops! The Quaffles are back in play as the Keeper passes- Look on, everyone! Potter and Chang are making the dive for, what seems to be, the Snitch!"

Theodore, along with the rest of the Gryffindors, leaned forwards near the edge of the stand, all wanting to snatch a glimpse of the possible game-winner beneath them. Harry had caught the Snitch in less than five minutes before; there's no telling what he could do now. The narrow misses with the rampant Bludgers; the dangerous dives that made the game all the more interesting: it was just exhilarating. Even McGonagall was on the edge.

"Ravenclaw scores twice, making the score sixty points to thirty! Angelina easily evades the Bludger sent at her, absolutely flawless in her attack, but then again, when isn't she flawless? Her skin is- alright, Professor! I'll stop." Lee ignored the nasty stare from McGonagall as he continued to commentate the match, cheering along with his House as Gryffindor scored another point.

"We're winning, but it's not over yet," shouted Ron above the slowly dying cheers. "They can still win if they catch the Snitch. They've got to play it safe, otherwise…"

"Harry's going for the Snitch again, look!"

Theodore watched Harry pelting downwards with the Ravenclaw Seeker tailing him closely, only to be left behind when Harry made a sharp turn upwards. He rose slowly above the Chasers and Beaters, darting his head all around until he broke into another dive. The Ravenclaw Seeker chased him again, causing everyone to lower their eyes as they saw Harry shoot up once more. Everyone's eyes were up in the sky to follow the chase for the Snitch. All eyes, except Theodore's.

' _What… is that?'_

They looked like tiny specks of dirt from where he was standing, barely able to even follow their moments. Theodore focused on the unknown figures that were waddling across the grounds of the pitch while doing his best to block out the screams from the other Gryffindors. Ron didn't notice that the Parselmouth had moved away from him, still slapping his palms together as Oliver made a brilliant save. Theodore narrowed his eyes, his vision so thin that he could barely see; the idea of what he was looking at seeming quite incomprehensible upon further thinking.

' _What type of Dementor walks like that? Idiot, Dementors don't walk, they glide! Why am I still thinking about this?"_

"Everyone look! Dementors on the ground, right over there," Theodore shouted, pointing at the three hooded figures that were approaching the centre of the field. Everyone scrambled over to the edge once more to see if he was telling the truth. Lavender and Parvati gasped while all the boys of Gryffindor waved madly at McGonagall for her attention in the closest stand.

"Can she not see us? We're trying to warn her about flipping Dementors, yet she's going off at Lee!"

"Quick, Seamus! Use your wand to get her attention," suggested Theodore as he kept his eyes on the moving Dementors, feeling that there was something off about them.

"Use your wand, there's no way I'm using mine!"

"It's a life and death- you know what? Forget it. I'll do it myself. So much for-"

" _Expecto Patronum…!"_ Theodore barely had a finger to his wand as he heard Harry's voice bellowing an incantation that he never heard before in his life. From the depths of the game, a faint silvery-white light became sudden with intensity as it shone brightly, momentarily, before vanishing. It was short, very quick and Theodore didn't understand what the hell happened. All he saw were three black figures squirming on the ground and Harry zooming away from the scene with a hand outstretched. Theodore was still dazed for even the final whistle did nothing to break him out of his silent wonderment.

"Gryffindor wins! Potter ends the game on his terms, his Seeker skills nearing to legend! How does he do it? How?!" Lee screamed with so much enthusiasm, you'd think his throat would rupture at any second.

Ron led the charge onto the field where the players landed after celebrating in mid-air. All the Gryffindors from the stands fell into a full-blown sprint, surrounding Harry in an instant as he was hoisted on Fred and George's shoulders.

"What did I tell you? What did I tell you," shouted Ron as he managed to grab hold onto Harry despite the other supporters' jubilance. Theodore didn't bother to try gain Harry's attention as it was useless above everybody else's screams, but did his best to show his congratulation.

Harry couldn't help but grin madly at his first victory with his new broom. The Nimbus Two Thousand felt like nothing to the Firebolt; it _was_ nothing compared to the Firebolt. He felt too high to be brought down by anything. The sheer joy that he was feeling was simply immeasurable. It was all too much.

Harry finally dropped down to ground level upon seeing Theodore's face in the tight crowd, pushing his way through to sling an arm around his cousin's neck.

"You really hit those Dementors hard, Harry. I'm just curious about what the hell you actually did to them," Theodore spoke in Harry's ear as they brought their heads together to talk quietly under the noise.

"Wait, something that Theodore Riddle has no knowledge about? Is this real life," Harry retorted as Theodore elbowed him in the stomach. "Alright, alright! I won't tell you here, but I can-"

"DETENTION, DETENTION, DETENTION, DETENTION!"

Theodore turned his attention to McGonagall's furious shrieks from the centre of the field. Everyone held back the hugging and screams to follow the livid professor as she loomed above four struggling hooded figures who were kicking themselves on the ground. Crabbe and Goyle's husky bodies were easy to discern under the tangled cloaks, and Draco's muffled shouts could be heard underneath Crabbe. Flint was the final Slytherin masquerading as Dementors while the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, who seemed to forget their loss, joined together in fits of laughter at the four.

"I guess we found your Dementors," said Theodore to Harry, whose expression was stuck between disappointment and amusement.

"Goyle, get your foot out of my- GOYLE!"

* * *

The cheers still led on into the common room that day. Victory was strong within Gryffindor Tower as they couldn't help themselves but to celebrate their first win of the year, not giving a single care as to who they disturbed. It was only fair, right? The House had never been in such higher spirits. They felt as if it were over, as if they were champions. With Harry's new broomstick (and consequently, his winning catch), the Gryffindor Quidditch team were certain that nothing could stand in their way. They would be the ones to hoist that Cup high above everyone's heads at the end of the year. Them.

Theodore, however, was feeling slightly less joyous than his fellow Gryffindors. Huddling up with Lavender and Parvati on either side, followed by five other people occupying the same sofa as well, along with great annoyance aimed at himself, tended to put you in a bad mood. At least Lavender and Parvati weren't talking to him. Not by a lot anyways.

"That catch was brilliant, wasn't it, Parvati?" Lavender chattered in his right ear while she looked at Parvati on his other side.

"That dive was… _whoo!_ Harry certainly put Ravenclaw in their place with his new Firebolt," Parvati returned as her nose literally brushed against Theodore's cheek, causing him to move his head away in annoyance. He had no idea why he chose to sit in between the two. Listening to them squealing to each other on a casual day was bad enough. Having them right in your ears was a whole different story.

And it continued like that until the day led into the evening, and the evening into the night. Theodore would occasionally swivel his head out of boredom to give subtle glances to Hermione, who was working furiously hard, from the front of the common room. He'd sometimes catch himself staring a little more than he needed to, swearing to himself that she shot a stare back before turning to face the fire once again. His objective to apologise to her was faltering as he saw no outcome where he would succeed. Hermione didn't want his apology at all; it was fruitless.

The noise was slowly starting to dwindle as the time rolled by. The twins were merrily toasting to the Quidditch team, ignoring Percy's shrill _shut ups_ as they clanked their Butterbeer bottles together. Lavender and Parvati were still at it with their boorish chatter drilling into Theodore's ears who still didn't move from his spot. He carried on questioning himself as to why he was still sitting there when Harry had walked off, and when Ron was flipping bottles in the corner with Dean and Seamus. He was supposed to be over this a long time ago; he didn't want to be sprawling all over the couch with Lavender and Parvati, feeling dejected every time he'd think about Hermione. It was pathetic on his part and he was going to settle this.

"Where're you going, Theo," asked Parvati quite loudly as Theodore stood up quickly. "We were just talking about teacups and crystal balls. Would you-"

Theodore held out his hand and said, "No thanks. I've lost any interest in what Trelawney has to offer for us, especially me."

" _Professor_ Trelawney," gritted Lavender through her teeth. "Just because you're good at every other subject, doesn't mean that you can put down Divination, Theo. There are intricate meanings and hidden complexities in Divination, you know."

Theodore scoffed while he rolled his eyes. "Like what? Name me one _hidden complexity_ , Lavender, I dare you."

"Well, for one thing-" She puffed up her chest to release a long breath of nonsense to the uncaring Parselmouth, but all that was heard was her blood-curdling scream, followed by Parvati's. Theodore followed their gazes up towards the ceiling and saw the sight which could've frightened him a little if he had no knowledge of what he was seeing.

"S-S-SNAKE! SP-SPIDER SNAKE! ON THE CEILING, RIGHT OVER THERE! IT'S GOING TO KILL-"

"Oh, shut up, Lavender!" Theodore scolded as he pushed past the two to stand right beneath the Maibian Adder who had gained the body of an arachnid while keeping some of her reptilian features, such as her head and tail. Several people gave choked gasps as they saw Viripin scaling along the ceiling so quickly, gasping once again if it seemed as if she was about to spring from the walls.

Viripin flicked her tongue eerily as she glared at every single Gryffindor in the common room with an odd gleam of satisfaction in her chrome eyes. She was enjoying the worry, the rapidly increasing fear in each one of them that practically stunk off them. But she wasn't there to hold contempt towards them for almost banishing her from the Tower. In one swift lunge, the snake shot straight towards Theodore at such a great speed, wrapping herself around him as Lavender fainted from getting too close to Viripin.

"Look at what your snake did, it killed her," Parvati said accusingly, though she seemed to be more focused on reviving the unconscious girl rather than to berate the boy.

"Stop it. She's not dead. And Viripin's harmless, it's not her fault that Lavender is afraid of snakes," Theodore said in an unintentionally haughty tone. Parvati gave him one last look of disapproval and tutted before she went back to fanning Lavender.

The murmurs rose steadily with a few of the others still looking at Theodore as if he was about to order Viripin to attack. Theodore was quite shocked to find that nobody had made a rumour about him being a Parselmouth when clearly all the evidence was there. Not even a single mention of him and his snake. Theodore was secretly disappointed, but had to remind himself of how much he'd hate to be in the spotlight. Harry was already famous enough. Without thinking for a second about the other Gryffindors who seemed to have suppressed some fear to come closer to the two, and somewhat withholding the prospect of his apology coming into light, Theodore simply flung Viripin's thick tail around his other shoulder like a scarf and vanished up the boys' stairway.

* * *

" _Have you apologised to Hermione yet,"_ hissed Viripin quietly in his ear as she settled herself near Theodore's left shoulder. The party had long since died from McGonagall's late-night (or should I say early-morning) intrusion, forcing the celebrating House to their beds. Theodore, having gone straight up a while before the others, had shut some of the tapestries on the side so that he and Viripin could speak in private. Not an easy task to accomplish when you had five other roommates whose energy was spent entirely on talking about Quidditch. Alas, the chattering subsided into peaceful snores which allowed Theodore to speak more freely to Viripin, keeping their hissing to a minimum.

"I'll get around to it." Theodore turned his head to look at the snake more clearly as her eyes seemingly illuminated the closed-off four poster bed from the inside. "Don't give me that look."

" _What look? I'm not giving you any type of look."_

"It's not as easy as you make it out to be, Viripin," Theodore muttered as he sat upright, eyes still locked with the Adder's. "Every time I try to come up to her, she either walks off or just vanishes. You know, I even think she's using the Time-Turner to avoid me."

" _This never would've happened if you had just let her tag along with you to Snape's-"_

"Don't you think I know that," snapped the Parselmouth as he tussled his hair roughly for it to flop over his eyes. "She's just being difficult." He didn't dare add _for no reason_ at the end. Viripin merely brushed it off and rested her head on Theodore's lap, her eyes looking more expressive than Theodore had ever seen from her before.

" _Do you want to talk about anything else? How about the match? They won, right?"_

Theodore simply nodded and hauled her entire body gently onto his lap so that he could have a better hold on her. His mind wandered back to when he asked Elvira Hermione's whereabouts; about how she was supposedly present when he couldn't see her at all. He briefly slapped his forehead repeatedly to force her out of his mind, eager to think about the other parts of the match.

" _Was Harry's catch really that spectacular?"_ Viripin questioned, still keeping her calm tone of voice with the Parselmouth.

"It was more than spectacular! Viripin, you should've seen the way Harry was using the Firebolt! That was probably the best match that I've seen, although that's not saying much since I've only seen two. I could watch that final dive forever! And also, the Dementors came around again, only they weren't actually Dementors. I swear, the things that Draco does sometimes…"

…

" _Theodore? What's wrong, Theodore?"_ Viripin asked the boy who suddenly grew silent in the dark. She didn't need to flick her tongue to smell the rapid heat that was escaping the boy's pores; to feel his heart shifting his ribs at each thunderous beat. His short breaths told her instantly that he was scared, but of what? _"Theodore? Theodore, why aren't you speaking? Please, tell me what's wrong with-"_

" **Grrrr…"**

…

" _Theodore…?"_ Viripin's voice sounded broken and rough for the boy's fear had infected her as well. She slowly began to sink into Theodore's lap as Theodore could feel her broad head shaking disturbingly like she was going mad. Neither of them spoke a single word, plummeting further into Fear's grasp as they heard the Grim's revolting snarls; snarls that were burned into the Parselmouth and Maibian Adder's memory so well. It was probably waiting for him, luring him out so that it wouldn't have to ravage the bed in the process of ripping his head off.

"Viripin," Theodore whispered as softly as possible, guiding his left hand slowly underneath his pillow to retrieve his wand, "Stay put. Do not move and do not say anything." He clasped his fingers around his wand, gripping it tightly as he shifted an obedient Viripin to the side. Theodore did his best to keep his wand steady knowing that he couldn't afford to drop it out of his hand. If he did, then… a complete bloodbath in Gryffindor Tower.

He stuck out his bare feet out from the opposite side of the bed from where the Grim supposedly was, slipping his slim frame through the tapestry as his wand was kept still in his hand. _'What the fuck am I doing,'_ he asked himself, _'trying to fight a Grim?!'_ Theodore couldn't believe that he was still capable of cohesive thoughts at that moment. He was certain that his body would shut down any minute-

" **Grrrr…"**

All he could see was those white soulless eyes that should've been haunting his dreams. They glowed devilishly against the backdrop of the blackened room, giving the impression that its being was only composed of a pair of eyes and nothing more. But he knew it was there, hidden, stalking him like the predator it was. Theodore could even see some of its matted filthy fur glistening against the moonlight which penetrated the windows that were above Ron's four poster bed… Ron's bed…

The eyes evaporated into nothingness as the next thing that the Parselmouth heard were sounds of violent slashing that was cutting through fabric so viciously. In an instant, Theodore lifted his wand and bellowed " _Lumos_ ," using his free hand to shield his eyes as the tip of his wand created a light so powerful that his eyes seared with pain. But he wasn't the only one that was affected by his wand's near-blinding casting. He heard a series of yelps and screams; the floorboard trembled as considerable weight crashed onto the floor. The yelps and screams carried on further, but something was wrong… Those shouts of agony; they didn't sound like the Grim at all. It sounded like… a man.

Theodore's wand-tip snuffed itself soon after, like it heard its master's pain within his mind, refusing to damage the boy any further. His eyes burned profusely at every blink; he clamped his eyelids firmly shut while avoiding the pain. Better than keeping his eyes open; his wand had only gone and blinded him in a time of need. Theodore spun around to hear silent murmurs from Seamus on his right, Neville's splutters of confusion from the far end of the room, and-

"ARRRRGGHHHH! BLACK! SIRIUS BLACK'S HERE! HELP ME! HEEEELLLPPPP!"

Theodore used his sleeves to rub his tearful eyes, trying to ignore the burning pain that came from his wand as he scrunched his face to clear his vision. Ron was screaming his head off in the corner; he could see that from the moonlight that was coming in. His hair was heavily blurred, but still recognisable. Theodore quickly turned back to where the Grim should've been, keeping his sore eyes trained onto the shadows where the eyes used to be when he saw something lank and spidery blazing towards him, something obscure being swung around until he felt horrific pain stinging across his face, followed by the figure crashing straight into him. Theodore's back smacked the ground hard, but all he could think about, or rather feel, was his face.

"Ron! Why are you screaming, Ron, it's two in the morn- OH MY GOD!" A soft orange light that passed through Theodore's closed eyelids darkened as people were frantically gathering around him, grabbing his arm painfully as they dragged him up to his feet.

"Oh, shit! Shit, Theodore!" Ron shrieked as he jumped out of his bed, ignoring the very faint pattering of feet that came from the spiral stairway. Ron came bounding to his best friend as his face looked completely horrified.

"Whad issit," slurred Theodore as he struggled to keep his balance. His face was burning furiously and he could barely think straight from his fall to the floor. "Whad's wrong?"

"Theo… your fa-face…" Harry stammered as he looked at his cousin with the same amount of horror as Ron. "Somebody get McGonagall! Now!" Theodore heard Dean dashing out of the dorm room as the remaining four boys supported the staggering boy down the steps and into an armchair.

"Where's Veerip? Where… where is she? She safe…?"

"Stop talking, man. Here, put this on your face," said Harry shakily as he procured a white cloth which he firmly placed in Theodore's hand. Theodore ignored the gesture, and ran his fingers across his face, drawing back instantly as the pain burned even more.

"Why is… why is my face burning, Harry? Why is my… I'm bleeding." That was an understatement. Theodore looked down to his pyjama shirt and saw that there was an equal distribution of blue fabric, and crimson liquid. He wasn't just bleeding. He was pouring. His composure and realisation returned and exploded within him. He jumped up to his feet hysterically telling everyone that he saw the Grim in the dorm, and that it must've attacked him when they were sleeping.

"We're not safe! Everyone get the fuck out of here! Did you warn the girls? Why didn't you tell them?! What if it broke into their dorm?!" Theodore screamed as he pelted to the entrance of the girls' stairway. "WAKE UP! SIRIUS BLACK IS IN THE TOWER! WAKE UP! WAKE-"

Theodore was dragged backwards until he became face to face with Harry once again, who lost his previous expression behind.

"Stay calm! Your face is sliced up and you're only making it worse, Theo! Just stay put until McGonagall gets here, alright? Please!" Theodore was about to argue back when the sounds of the Gryffindor girls coming down the stairs, and the portrait door opening before slamming again silenced him. Professor McGonagall swept into the room with an imposing presence while Dean entered after her. Theodore half-expected her to start screaming at them to go back to sleep when he was met by something rather different.

"Mr Riddle! Wh-what happened to you," McGonagall stammered as she rushed to the bleeding boy's side in a second. All the girls gasped at the sight of his injury, inciting the boy to ask for a mirror. Nobody responded, naturally angering him until McGonagall silenced him.

"I-It was Sirius Black! Here, in the Tower! I saw him with my own two eyes, standing over my bed with a knife!" Ron babbled. For somebody who wasn't attacked, Ron looked a lot more shaken than Theodore.

McGonagall looked skeptical of the red head's claims of the break-in, darting her head back and forth until she asked Theodore, "Is this true? Did Black do this to you?"

"I… I think so, I mean… Can I please just have a mirror so that I can look at myself?" Theodore pleaded. His face was still burning madly, and his head was pounding so loud he could barely hear McGonagall asking everyone how Black entered the common room exactly. Why the hell wasn't she warning Dumbledore; he could've caught him while he was still in the castle!

"I think it would be best if you go to the hospital- thank you, Potter- wing immediately. I'll alert Professor Dumbledore of this."

"But what about us," shouted Seamus from the back. "What's stopping Black from breaking back into the Tower again?"

"I'd be most thankful if you lowered your voice, Finnigan," snapped McGonagall as she handed Theodore the bloodied cloth to clear away the blood. "Now, I'm sure that that useless painting must've had a hand in this. You are to remain here until I return from the hospital wing to question you all. A result of somebody's foolishness no less. Come along, Riddle."

Theodore was slowly being guided to the portrait hole by McGonagall, who seemed to be terrified by the thought that he'd collapse after an alarming loss of blood. He insisted that he was okay, but didn't dare argue to stay in the Tower. It felt a lot less safer anyways. All that he could think about was Viripin and how he didn't see her when Black, supposedly, slashed his face with a knife. _"A complete fucking psycho he is,"_ thought Theodore to himself. Before he climbed through the hole, Theodore briefly turned back to his fellow Gryffindors to see all of their faces, all full of fear and sympathy. All of them displayed the same emotion, but he was only looking for one. One person. And he found them.

Hermione was situated near the back of the crowd, hidden mostly behind the twins. Fred and George towered above her, and were doing a decent job at obscuring her face until they parted for just a second, a single second to allow Theodore's eyes to take in the redness in her face; the quivering of her lips and the mist that was forming in her eyes. But it only lasted for one second.

Suddenly, the comforting warmth from the common room vanished as he followed McGonagall briskly along the corridors to the hospital wing. Theodore dabbed his face repeatedly; Hermione's face so clear in his mind; the blurred image of Black attempting to stab his face branding his memory, and those pale white eyes which belonged to that accursed Grim that vanished right before Black started to…

"Not looking so pretty now, are you, Theo-Weo?"

"Begone, Peeves!"

* * *

And of course, Black's attack in Gryffindor Tower had leaked its way to the rest of the school in a matter of hours; the story about Ron and Theodore never wavered from the truth. From the moment when Theodore was nearly killed in a single motion and Ron screamed his lungs out, to the entire House being stuck within the common room for hours until they were given the all clear. Yes, this was the quickest bit of news to spread in Hogwarts for quite a while now ever since Harry was outed as a Parselmouth. The pair's names rung to each corner of the castle; the speculation between the students being heard to all but Theodore.

"Can I take this off now? My face doesn't hurt anymore," Theodore grumbled annoyingly as he tried to peel off a bubbly purple face mask which smelt absolutely putrid. He yelped as he felt a stinging pain on the back of his hand, and drew it back to caress it with an angry glare being sent to Madam Pomfrey.

"For the umpteenth time, stop touching your face! You'll make it worse! Here, your final Blood-Replenishing Potion dosage." Madam Pomfrey shoved a small goblet full of blood-red liquid that swirled viscously inside. She then turned around to fumble through her robes as she ignored the boy's spluttering until she found what she had been looking for. A simple swish and a mutter, and the mask on Theodore ripped itself from his face and bubbled into nothing as the Parselmouth winced.

"Finally," he spoke under his breath while rubbing his sore face. From what he saw the night before in a mirror, the gash led from above his right eyebrow, down across the bridge of his nose as Black dug in deep enough for it to nearly come off, and ended beneath his left ear from across his cheek. He could barely recognise himself, grimacing whenever he'd lightly tap against the wound. Was not a pretty sight at all. But he wasn't all too worried, knowing that Madam Pomfrey had dealt with a lot worse in the past.

"Don't be sly with me, Riddle, I heard that. You're lucky that the wound didn't turn quickly into scars. Wouldn't want to go lose your good-looks before you're seventeen now, will you?"

Theodore carried on prodding his face to check for anything out of the ordinary. "It's alright now? I don't have to stay here anymore?" he asked as he stood up gingerly. Theodore didn't know how much blood he lost earlier on, but he knew that it was enough to make him nearly faint from times to times.

"Lessons are nearly over, so you can wait-"

"But my face is fine!"

"Mr Riddle, you've just been attacked by an Azkaban escapee! Do not think that I'll be so idiotic into letting you out of my sight so quickly!" Madam Pomfrey returned as she magicked her remedy cart into thin air.

"Didn't they say that Black was nowhere to be seen in the castle? There's nothing that he can-" Theodore was cut off by the sounds of the hospital wing doors slamming against the walls as Harry and Ron guiltily paced towards the Parselmouth quickly. The faint ringing of the bells told Theodore that the last lesson had finished. The matron flicked her head and grunted at the boy to let him leave. Theodore quickly changed into his Muggle clothes and walked out with his friends into the packed hallways.

"Madam Pomfrey is a miracle-worker," said Ron, awing at Theodore's face as they weaved through a crowd of first-years. "Parts of your face was just hanging off, I was certain that it was unfixable!"

"I didn't even know how bad it was until I saw myself in the mirror. Just disgusting. I've seen worst, but disgusting."

"At least this gives us more of a reason to get back at Black," muttered Harry grimly as they descended a flight of stone steps. Theodore could see Harry's knuckles whitening as his fist was held very tightly. But he didn't care, in fact, he felt the same way. This guy might've been a follower of his father, but he gave no indication that he knew who Theodore was. Or maybe he did. Perhaps being stuck in Azkaban would unhinge most people with Dementors crawling down your-

"…is a fucking nutcase! A bloody hunting knife, Harry! A hunting knife that was at least a foot long! Lucky that Theodore knew what was up, because I could've been chopped up into-"

All that Ron could see was a blur as Theodore raced in front of them as if he attempted to ditch the pair. Ron called out to him to which he replied, "I'll see you two in the common room later! I just need to do something really quickly!" Theodore didn't hear any sounds of ruffling robes becoming louder as well as side-aching panting. Good. It was better if he was alone.

' _I know you saw me. No point trying to get away because I know._ '

It was like in the common room again; a brief look at each other before the other would break away. Hermione was holding a stack of books to her chest with the Time-Turner being flashed for a moment. She was scurrying away upon eye contact; her eyes widened when she saw Theodore at the other end of the corridor, looking well and healed. But she still scurried. Not this time. The Parselmouth weaved, slipped, and pushed through the other students to follow as she made a sharp left towards the grounds where Hagrid's Hut resided. Theodore was almost about to make the turn when he felt a rough hand squeezing his shoulder to keep him in place. The hand was strong and powerful, not losing a bit of its grip as the boy spun around to become face to face with _him_.

"Why in such a hurry, Riddle?" said Snape in such a malign manner that Theodore was sure that he was about to snap his shoulder.

"Uh… I-I have to-"

"To what? To waltz along the castle floors like you have no weight on your shoulders; to chase after your friends? Surely you're above all of that."

Theodore swallowed painfully, not allowing the grip on his shoulder to get to him as he spoke strongly, "Professor, I need to be somewhere else if you would like to let go, then-"

"Oh, I'm aware of that," said Snape once again in a dangerously soft voice. "Potions, remember? Your duties?" Theodore opened his mouth to speak, but Snape cut him off with an open palm. "Come along, Riddle. We have much to _discuss_ with each other."

Snape then roughly turned Theodore's body away from the pathway to Hagrid's Hut as the Parselmouth saw Hermione's hair disappear into the half-giant's home before being ripped away from that vision. The hallways were mostly cleared out of students with a few stragglers leaning against the wall, pointing and hissing when they saw the Potion Master with him. Hagrid's Hut felt like miles away when they finally arrived in Snape's classroom. Theodore stepped inside and stood silently, feeling the sudden gusts of air hitting him as Snape frantically darted across the room searching for something in various draws. From the look on his face souring even more every passing second, Theodore presumed that he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"…and I've been wasting this lunar phase for his blasted potion. I'll need another batch by tomorrow," Snape muttered to himself as he sat in his chair behind his desk. He parted some of his hair to burn his black gaze into Theodore from the other side of classroom, as if he was trying to break him down from merely glancing at him.

"Come here." Theodore didn't move a muscle, his heart still racing too fast. Snape repeated his instruction much louder which prompted the boy to trudge to the desk. Theodore had his hands clasped to his sides as he stood right in front of the slightly chipped wooden desk that belonged to his own godfather. He still couldn't believe it.

' _Don't think about that, don't think about that, don't think about that…'_

"Do you know why I brought you here, Riddle?" Theodore shook his head slightly. Snape leaned forwards with his fingertips pressed together and his elbows resting on his desk. "You know, I never thought of you as one belonging to Gryffindor, but it seems that I've been proven wrong. You've clearly picked up on their arrogance, no less mainly from Potter-"

"You didn't tell me why you brought me here," interjected Theodore as a spike of anger ran through his head. Snape instantly shot up from his seat and bared his teeth, showing that he was seething with so much anger.

' _Don't think about that, don't think about that…'_

"Do you think that you're so clever as to deceive me? A man who has walked through this castle longer than you've ever known of the existence of magic? Did you think that I wouldn't notice?!"

"I don't know what you're talking-"

"Silence!" snapped Snape as he brought his face closer to Theodore's. "Do not try to evade me, Riddle. I know what you did. You can't keep that stupid face up forever, trust me. I'll know."

"Know what, professor?" Theodore asked monotonously. Snape looked like he was about to explode, but kept himself in check. All of that potent anger was used in his venomous glare as his eyes refused to look anywhere else but Theodore's.

' _Don't think about that…'_

…

"Where… Is… Her will?" Snape gritted through his teeth with his jaw trembling slightly.

"Whose will?"

"Your mother's will! Where is her will, your mother's will," shouted Snape as he slammed his palms against his desk with his cheeks flushed in pure lividity. Theodore didn't flinch for he knew that if he did, he'd lose.

"I don't know what you're talking about, pro-"

Snape plucked his wand from the insides of his robes and held it in his fingers tightly. Theodore eyed his wand hand carefully, watching him lift his wand up so that he could curse him, but that wasn't the case at all. Instead, Snape pointed his wand at the half-empty Wolfsbane cauldron, and muttered _"Revelio!"_ The tip of his wand emitted a faint golden light, but didn't produce anything that was possibly hidden.

"Now what do you see," hissed Snape as he pocketed his wand.

"Nothing."

"And why's that?"

Theodore glanced over to the cauldron, then back to Snape who followed the boy's line of vision as if it was crucial to keep his eyes on him. "Well obviously, nothing was there to begin with." Snape sucked in a lungful of air through his nose as his rage detonated, only to be smothered by the deafening knocks on the door.

"What is it?! What do you want, who's there?!"

' _Please be Dumbledore, please be Dumbledore…'_

"Could yer be a bit helpful an' open the door fer me, please?" Theodore's heart leapt as he heard Hagrid's voice booming from the other side of the door. Hagrid was just as good as Dumbledore and he didn't care as long as he was far away from here.

"What do you want, Hagrid," Snape asked irritably as he slowly sat back down again with suppressed anger. "I'm in the middle of something."

"If yer don' mind me askin', but is Theo in there with yeh?" Hagrid asked thoughtfully without a clue of what just happened on the other side.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothin' tha' is too importan'. Jus need 'im fer a couple 'o minutes."

"If it holds no importance, then it can wait. In the meantime, I-"

"If yeh wan' ter know, 's fer Dumbledore. 'Eadmaster needs 'im at once, sir," Hagrid replied happily. Theodore wasn't sure if the sudden tremors was because that he was being liberated from whatever Snape had in store for him and his heart was beating profusely; or if it was just Hagrid rocking on his feet.

Snape stared at the door distastefully. Theodore knew that he was hating Hagrid so much at that moment for being an aid to Theodore's 'flawless' evasiveness. By this point, it was just downright embarrassment. The Potions Master leaned back in his chair and brought two fingers to his right temple. There was so much madness within his eyes that Theodore had to commend him secretly for managing to retain it all. Oh well. It was his fault for having such a poor choice in concealment. The Parselmouth slowly backed away and left the classroom swiftly without so much as looking over his shoulder.

"Hiya, Theo! Now, I just-"

"Shhhh!" Theodore made sure that the door was closed and pushed against Hagrid to show that he wanted them out of the dungeons. Hagrid understood and walked off with Theodore trailing behind him, making sure that Snape wouldn't burst out of his classroom in a fit of rage. Once they reached the Entrance Hall, Hagrid then turned to the boy who didn't cut him off this time.

"How are yeh, Theo? I 'eard abou' what 'append to yeh, and well… I 'ad ter see yeh fer meself, see?" Hagrid spoke as they began to walk off at a slower pace than before.

"Thanks, Hagrid. And I'm fine, really. I just want to thank you for getting me out of there," said Theodore before mumbling, "Didn't know what I was going to do if you came a second afterwards.

Hagrid furrowed his thick eyebrows as he stopped the both of them. "Whadya mean? Why did Snape have yeh in 'is classroom?"

"You know how he is. Probably doesn't like me that much because I'm friends with Harry."

"Look ou' fer yerself, yeh listenin' ter me? Jus don' cause any trouble, 'specially with Snape."

"When have you ever known me to cause trouble," remarked Theodore with a cheeky grin. All that Hagrid could do was shake his head as he cracked a large smile through his massive beard as they pressed on through the castle. It was only until three minutes later did Theodore realise something.

"Hagrid, I thought that we were going to Professor Dumbledore's office. We're still on the first floor."

"Ahh. Alrigh', alrigh'. Yeh got me." Hagrid halted once again as he began to explain his entire situation to Theodore. "I don' if yeh 'eard abou' Buckbeak the-"

"Hippogriff. The one which attacked Draco during your- That one, yes. I know about Buckbeak."

"Well, I've bin doin' me best ter create a thumpin' counter agains' Buckbeak's case fer a while now. The whole 'court' idea was never really my cup o' tea. Always seem ter get meself inter those. Anyway, Imma be straigh' with yeh. I don' think wha' I got is any good and I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Yeh're the brainies' kid I know, other than 'Ermione. Would yeh…? Or no…?"

"Of course I'll help, Hagrid! Anything you need!" Theodore replied happily, earning a joyful beaming face from Hagrid. The half-giant wiped away a tear and patted Theodore straight to the solid ground.

"Yeh're a good kid, Theo. Can' thank yeh enough."

"That's alright," sniffed the boy as he masked the pain on his shoulder and back. "So, do you want my help now, or…?"

"Don' yeh have extra classes ter be workin' on? 'Ermione looks like she's abou' ter go crazy with her workload!"

Theodore let out a stifled laugh and said, "Actually, no. My schedule's pretty open most days. We can go now if you want." Hagrid agreed and the two made their way to the gamekeeper's home. Theodore was willing to do anything that would stop him from going back to Snape's. And maybe this whole case thing would take his mind off-

"Speakin' abou' 'Ermione, 'ow are yeh gettin' along, the pair of yeh?" Hagrid asked as they bustled across the field that was near the Forbidden Forest. Theodore immediately felt tense and placed his hands in his pockets, but didn't show any sign of uneasiness.

"Erm… We're… I wouldn't say that 'getting along' are the correct words to use here, but-" Theodore was cut off when Hagrid brought his wheel-sized palms up. They were somewhat near Hagrid's front door, and something seemed to be moving inside. Theodore tiptoed slightly to catch sight of this, but his attention was brought back to Hagrid.

"I know abou' the little rut tha' the four of yeh are goin' through righ' now," confessed Hagrid as he crossed his arms.

"You know? But how? Harry and Ron couldn't have told-" His head whipped towards the door as he suddenly remembered who visited him nearly an hour ago. Theodore took a large step towards Hagrid and whispered, "Is she in there?"

"Uh huh. Yeh bet she's in there. Bin visitin' me a lot these days. Always lookin' so tired and worn out. 'Spect it's 'cause o' her work an' whatever's 'appening between yeh lot. 'Specially yeh, Theo."

Theodore couldn't even bring himself to groan this time. How much longer was this going to last? He kept his hands in his pockets and carried on listening to what Hagrid had to say, no matter how much he wanted to just walk off with his fingers in his ears.

"She seemed ter be really upset ever since yeh stopped talkin' ter her. Real upset. Almos' on the verge of cryin' on me shoulder. She was already feelin' lonely when she only 'ad yeh and Elvira ter talk ter. Felt even worse when it seemed like yeh resented her as well by shovin' her away. She came ter me on tha' day, still almos' on the verge of cryin', but she didn't. Kep' tough, workin' 'ard while helpin' with Buckbeak. Tha' was until an hour ago. Completely broke down inter tears when she heard abou' what happened ter yeh yes'rday. Said she felt like she was a bad friend fer ignoring yeh."

"But she wasn't a bad friend," Theodore cried. "I was! She had every right to ignore me!"

"Tha's what I said, no offence. Said she doesn' have to worry abou' yeh tha' much, yeh'll live. Didn' stop the wa'erworks by tha' much. She cares abou' you a lot, Theo."

"But I'm still a bad friend. I've been trying to apologise to her ever since, but I don't think she wants to hear any of it."

Hagrid waved his hand aside as his face grew into a grin to reassure the Parselmouth. "Nonsense, 'Ermione couldn', an' wouldn' hate yeh at all! Look, here's yer chance ter set things straight. Jus go in, an' everythin' will be okay. Besides, yeh promised yeh'd help me today."

Theodore closed his eyes to envision exactly what he was going to say to Hermione when he'd open that door. It seemed that guilt had stolen his ability to create the excuses that he'd pull from thin air. Taking in a deep breath; then breathing back out again, the boy gripped the large handle of Hagrid's front door and pushed his way inside.

"You're back, Hagrid? I think I found something that could-" Hermione squealed and covered her mouth quickly when she saw him walking through the door. A thick red book and a small stack of used parchments dropped to the ground, but neither child made any notice of this. They both just looked at each other, or at least tried to. Theodore's eyes were focused on Buckbeak who was, for some reason, in the back of the hut while Hermione placed her gaze on the entering half-giant.

"Brough' some extra help, jus so tha' we can secure this case," beamed Hagrid as he clasped his fingers together. Theodore turned to look at him nervously, then turned back to Hermione who was looking at the floor.

' _Well? Say something, you idiot! Apologise!'_

"Er… Hi," Theodore murmured as he sunk his hands deeper into his pockets. This was a whole lot harder when a third party was spectating the entire thing without saying a word.

"Hi," squeaked Hermione before she tapped her chest as she coughed slightly. Theodore managed to divert his eyes away from Buckbeak to look at the Muggle-born who was still gazing at the floor as if something interesting was happening down there. Hagrid was right, Hermione wasn't looking all too well. The bags under her eyes became more prominent; her hair was frizzier than normal and her nose was very pink, although Theodore didn't think that had to do with work-related stress.

…

"H-How've you been? I mean, your face, is it…?"

"Yeah! I'm all better now, so… yeah." Theodore barely noticed that Hermione took two steps towards him. He foolishly looked over to Hagrid again, who was pretending to tend to Buckbeak, and back at Hermione, now straightening himself.

…

"Hermione… I'm sorry for the way that I acted towards you. I… I didn't mean for you to get upset, or to make you feel lonely. I was just being selfish and stupid at that moment, and you know what happens when I'm like that. Nothing good ever comes out of it, especially for the four of us. I honestly thought that what I was doing at the time was more important, but I was wrong. I didn't mean to do any of that and I'm-"

"What was the thing," Hermione interrupted. Theodore just realised how close she was, and how she lifted her gaze from the floor to look at him.

"Pardon?"

"The thing that you were doing. What was it?"

Theodore had to hold his frown back. Why was that important right now? His mother's will ended up being mostly useless despite everything that she gave to him. The house wasn't going to be his until he was seventeen, whatever money he had was gone, and his godfather was Snape. The only takeaway from the will was that he knew she was buried (supposedly) in Godric's Hollow, a place where Theodore had no clue as to where it could be. What was there to tell her?

The Parselmouth scratched behind his ear as he muttered, "Something that was a waste of my time. It was just stupid."

"But you won't tell me." She said this in a tone that was unlike her usual bossy self that was determined to know whatever schemes he was devising, and what sounded down, almost melancholic like the boy didn't want to confide in her at all.

"I'll show you! Well, if you really want to, I mean. I-It's not really that mind-blowing, to be honest."

"That is, unless you're involved," Hermione said with a growing smile that somehow brightened her formally dull face. Theodore couldn't help but mirror her expression. He guessed that Hagrid would be one of the first places to go to for advise, save for Viripin and occasionally Dumbledore.

"So, we're okay now," asked Theodore with his hand outstretched. Hermione took one look at his open palm and shook it without any hesitation while shaking her hair as she nodded. The boy released a sigh of relief but stiffened up when he felt Hermione's arms wrap around his torso. It wasn't quick like all the previous times that they hugged. She didn't hold him in a tight grip this time, no. Theodore felt her slightly digging into his chest as he his heartbeat was running faster than ever, his skin slowly starting to swelter inexplicably. He didn't know if it was really his own heartbeat or just hers against his chest because he never felt like this before, not with her. He shakily embraced the girl as well with his longer arms, able to pull her in just a little more.

She nuzzled into his chest some more, elevating his heartbeat even higher until she broke away with her fingers briefly clinging onto his clothes. For a moment, she didn't look as if she was flustered by any of this. Her face was still the same colour, and she was just smiling at the Parselmouth as if she didn't feel any of that. She must've felt all of that as well, thought Theodore to himself. It couldn't have been only him.

"Alrigh'!" boomed Hagrid as he turned to the two children as if he didn't hear a thing between them. "We'll brief yeh on the entire thing. Eh, 'Ermione?"

"Yep! I've read up on a lot about Hippogriff trials, and managed to salvage all that I could," chattered the Muggle-born happily as she locked her fingers with Theodore's to pull him to the oversized table, "so this is what we came up with so far. If we're going to win this one, then I think I should focus on the- Theo?"

Theodore blinked rapidly when Hermione decided to finally snap her fingers in the dazed boy's face. "Yeah? Sorry, yeah?"

"You were just looking at me like-" The girl didn't finish her sentence as she hastily arranged all the parchment sheets together. She hid her flustered face away from the boy, whose face was just as red for the first time. Their cheeks were burning as they turned away from each other, ignoring the confused looks from Hagrid as for a moment, in perfect synch, their heartstrings twanged. How very…

 **Let's be honest, we all knew that they'd make up in one chapter. I'll keep the angsty-anger/problems to the bare, bare minimum until they hit around fifteen. And just because Snape is Theo's godfather, doesn't really change a thing between them. Bit of bad blood but we'll see how things played out. But anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you later.**

 **Guest: Never written or read an actual will before so my bad. And there's not that much secrecy in his backstory either, since the basis of it was already established in previous chapters. The will may be there, but just because it's a will doesn't mean it'll make huge changes in Theo's life (apart from the obvious).**


	30. Chapter 30: Reconcile and Realise Pt2

…odd was it that it felt like nothing happened between the two in the few days that they spent with each other helping Hagrid with Buckbeak's case. Theodore had felt the strain of his guilt from the previous week when Hermione wouldn't speak to him or Ron, but now whenever the Muggle-born would happily talk away about anything, all was forgotten and set aside. Even though Hermione was still stuck in the same predicament as before when she only had Theodore, Elvira and Hagrid to speak to, her demeanour seemed to be much more exuberant than the week before. Theodore had guessed that the reason for it was that she had at least one best friend back, although he was certain that there was more to it.

The moment that was shared between them, however, was not overlooked by Theodore, and he was certain that it was the same with Hermione. Having your skin flare up in heat every time you'd recall something that became vivid in your memory was now an oddity for him. _Intense_ wasn't the word to describe it… was it? Theodore had gotten what he wanted; he had gotten _more_ from the last time something like that happened between them, but… Theodore disliked anything that he wasn't familiar with; if it'd be a feeling, concept or even the material: it made Theodore feel uncomfortable. He kept this part of himself hidden from others as he knew that he would be perceived as _almost heartless_. But that's how he always been. He'd never wear his heart on his sleeve so casually, even in some of his weaker moments. To act on what he was feeling at that specific time would be unlike him. Although…

The week had finally come to a close, and Theodore and Hermione's efforts had been bled into helping Hagrid and Buckbeak. Theodore daresay that he had never given so much devotion to something which didn't involve deceit and trickery. In all honesty, it felt relieving to him. Although it meant less time with Harry and Ron, as well as neglecting his apprenticeship duties with Snape, he didn't really mind. Especially with Snape. From how they left their recent confrontation with the air being tense within Potions, Theodore couldn't see any form of _reconciliation_ being revived between them. Didn't even matter if he was his godfather.

After the final bell went off for everyone to return to the usual, Theodore and Hermione made their way from the Defence classroom to the Entrance Hall to meet up with a nerve-wracked Hagrid and a chained Buckbeak hanging by the oak doors with the half-giant wearing a tweed-looking suit, which resembled more of his common attire upon approaching him. The two gave him reassuring smiles as they greeted him before they left the castle to head for Hogsmeade.

The walk over to the wizarding village was much more faster now that they weren't inhibited by a foot of snow. Finally arriving to the golden archway that seemed a little rusted in the afternoon sunlight, Hagrid settled onto a single spot as he reached into his pockets to fling a dead ferret to the Hippogriff as he snatched it viciously in the air.

"Ah, well. Today's the day. Never though' tha' it would come," Hagrid said tediously as he fixed his mottled green tie. "Bin a quick week, yeh know…! Gosh, I'm gettin' shivers in me bones!"

Hermione patted Hagrid's hand affectionately as she did her best to mask her anxiety as well, while Theodore laid his interest in Buckbeak as he listened to the other two.

"Just breathe, Hagrid, all right? Breathe. Everything is going to be fine; you have everything that we worked on in perfect order right there. It'll be right in front of you the entire time," Hermione assured.

Hagrid gave a mighty sniff before straightening his tie again. "Yeah, yeh righ'. Look at me. Already gettin' emotional, an' I haven' even star'ed me way there yet! Don' wan' ter cry in fron' o' ev'rbody when I get there now, do I?"

"How exactly are you going to get there with Buckbeak," asked Theodore as he slowly approached a cautious Buckbeak. "You're not going to… you know, ride him there, are you?"

"Course not! Wan' ter get 'im over there in one piece. Nah, we'll be takin' the Knigh' Bus instead."

"Oh, I've heard about that! It's supposed to be able to take you anywhere except underwater, right?" Hermione asked with curiosity.

"Yep, fastes' way ter anywhere, an' no other way faster," Hagrid replied as he threw another ferret to Buckbeak, which unfortunately smacked the back of Theodore's skull. "Sorry, Theo. Hey, I think tha' he likes yeh!"

In the time that Hermione and Hagrid were speaking to each other, Theodore had been absent-mindedly observing the Hippogriff as it followed the boy's movements left and right. Luck had been on his side as with absolutely no knowledge on how Hippogriffs acted towards humans, the Parselmouth was happily stroking Buckbeak's skull until he felt the pain on the back of his head.

Theodore grabbed the carcass from the ground and hung it mid-air for Buckbeak to clamp between his beak as he said, "Maybe I should've taken Magical Creatures instead of Divination, although that wouldn't have been possible anyway." He ignored Hermione's stifled coughs as he reached out to Buckbeak again.

"Maybe yeh should've. 'Arry also tamed the beast quickly as well, 'though I'm guessin' it's a _family thing_ with the two of yeh being cousins an' all."

Theodore oddly thought back to his first Hogsmeade trip when he heard Hagrid talking with Fudge and the others. Another person who must've known about his mother… But that was to be held off at the moment. Getting Hagrid and Buckbeak to London was all that mattered now.

"Theo, could yeh do the thing fer me, please?" asked Hagrid as he held a firm grip on Buckbeak's chain. "Don' wan' ter give away abou' me _wand_."

Theodore nodded and brought out his wand to lift in the air when a massive crack, followed by a purple blur, came whirling into sight and hearing. Hermione hopped back a little as she had never seen the Bus before, but ridded herself of her fright as she looked at it with awe.

"So, it really is based off Muggle buses… And it has three decks! I wonder if-"

Her words were cut off as she was grabbed in a bear-hug with Theodore unfortunately being the first of the two to be trapped in the bone-crushing embrace of a tearful Hagrid.

"Great kids! Jus' great kids! S-so thankful fer the both o' yeh! R-really puttin' a flame inter an old man's heart! Bless yeh!" Hagrid cried as his sobs drowned Theodore and Hermione's winces and grimaces. Hagrid finally released them as he brought out his tablecloth-sized handkerchief to blow his nose in as he pulled Buckbeak into the Bus. Theodore and Hermione carried on waving (Theodore was forced to give a small smile to Stan through the windows) until the Bus boomed off out of sight.

"I hope we did enough," said Hermione worryingly on her tiptoes as she fiddled her fingers together. "I think I messed up on the _Provocation_ section on his second piece of parchment…"

"Hermione, _I_ was the one who did the _Provocation_ section," Theodore reminded the anxious Muggle-born as he combed his hair with his fingers for stray ferret fur. "I'm definitely sure that we won't lose; we put so much into it that-"

"Wait, what are we still doing here?!" Hermione grabbed Theodore's wrist and hauled him away as they ran back up to the castle. She continually ignored the Parselmouth's barrage of questions as the Entrance gates luckily opened for the two just in time while they slipped past. Hermione was quick to stop the oak doors from closing completely as she conjured something spherical in between.

As the pair breathlessly stumbled into the Entrance Hall with Filch not noticing them as he vanished into the dungeons, Theodore held his chest tightly as he asked Hermione, "Mind explaining why you decided to nearly pull my arm off? The gates wouldn't shut us out, and the front doors certainly would've opened if we just pushed in."

"Of course, I knew that! I've read _Hogwarts: A History_ multiple times, you know," she panted as she leaned against the wall.

"Still doesn't explain anything."

"Sirius Black, remember? Azkaban escapee, still at large, almost sliced your face off? Ring any bells? It was just in case he was lurking around somewhere; _you_ shouldn't want to take any chances with him, Theo. Not even the smallest ones."

Theodore regained some of his breath as he straightened himself, realising that she did the smart thing (as usual). "Oh yeah. Thanks… Almost forgot about that…"

"You almost forgot that somebody nearly killed you? Look, you know what this means, right? That you can't go back into Hogsmeade until he's caught? I don't know why Professor McGonagall hasn't said anything to-"

Hermione once again had her words cut off as Theodore pulled her around to behind the hourglasses that belonged to Slytherin, twisting himself so that he could be obscured by the stone serpent as much as possible.

"Theodore, why-"

Snape came gliding across the Entrance Hall from the dungeons with a wheezing Filch tagging behind him as he looked especially malign at that moment. The pair was heading towards the direction of the hidden children as Hermione gave a squeak before Theodore clasped a palm to her mouth.

"What was that," Snape muttered to himself as he eyed the Slytherin hourglass. "Hmm… And back to _pressing_ matters. What needed to be so important that I had to be removed from my classroom, Filch?"

Filch hobbled over to the oak doors and pointed at it saying, "Well, Professor, it was only fifteen minutes ago that the front doors of the castle had been opened! The Headmaster gave no notice of visitors, and I'm certain that the Hogsmeade trip isn't until tomorrow. I'm sure that a student has let theirselves out, Professor."

Snape looked at the door, then at Filch boorishly. "The only person who would have access to the keys of the front doors would be the Gamekeeper, and from where I'm standing, he doesn't seem to be here."

"But Professor! I've just checked to see Hagrid, and he's not in his home! Surely somebody might've seized his keys and left for-"

"If you're so adamant on finding the culprit for this mundane crime, then we can both find Hagrid together so that he can solve it," Snape gritted through his teeth. "After you?"

Theodore and Hermione looked at the two as Filch and Snape hurried away up the stairs and out of sight until their murmurings faded into nothing. Theodore kept his eyes peering around the corners in case they would decide to come back when he felt his hand being moved off from Hermione's face.

"Sorry. I-"

"Are you skipping your time with Snape again," Hermione whispered sternly as she frowned at the boy.

"No. Well, yes, but there's… I have a good reason for it."

"I doubt it, but try me."

Theodore carried on looking around as he replied, "I shouldn't tell you here. Snape could come back at any time now and from this angle, he'll spot us for sure."

"It's about that thing that you were after, isn't it?" Hermione whispered again as she slid down the interior wall of the hourglass crevasse to bring her knees to her chest. Theodore turned his gaze towards her and nodded as he too lowered himself a little. "Is it bad?"

…

"I don't know. It's…"

Hermione tugged on his sleeve a little as she said, "You can tell me, you know. I'll listen."

…

"It was my mother's will. That was what I wanted. Her will," he finally muttered before he sighed, feeling an odd shift in his behaviour towards Hermione as he revealed it to her so freely. "Snape had my mother's will, so I took it from him. That's why I… didn't want you to come. Because you'd probably try and stop me."

Hermione kept silent for a while before she spoke up again. "So that's why you're hiding from Snape? Because you took the will from him and he might retaliate?"

"No, nothing like that. Snape knows that I took the will, but he hasn't done anything about it, or hasn't done anything about it so far…"

"So, what is it?" Hermione asked softly as she was reminded of the times she had to beg for him to talk to her from the previous year. He didn't look like he wanted to say anything, to reveal what was disturbing him greatly, but to her surprise, he did.

"I found something inside of the will that… sort of makes sense, but… I can't believe this…"

"Theo…"

…

"Snape… is my godfather."

It always felt even more infelicitous on the tongue than in his head. Every time he'd mutter those words, it only filled him up with more contempt towards Snape. Why was that lack of belief still vacant within himself? Coming to terms with something like this should've been easy for him, given what had happened to him in the past.

…

"Have you told Harry and Ron about it?"

"I haven't told anyone else except for Viripin. I wanted to say something with the four of us together, but look how that turned out."

"But you have to tell them," emphasised the Muggle-born with a compromising whisper. "It doesn't matter if I'm not there; they should know about this just as much as I should."

"But won't they think-" Theodore started when Hermione interjected quickly.

"Theo, we already know things about you that… you yourself don't like, and I can really understand that you don't want to speak all the time, but keeping secrets again and again is just not healthy-"

"Hello there," said a familiar voice from around the hourglass, which forced a shrill squeak from Hermione as she bolted up to her feet. Lupin's scarred face appeared in full view as he smiled at the two children with an eyebrow slightly raised. "Everything okay?"

Hermione was the first to stumble out to the floors of the Entrance Hall as she straightened herself with her cheeks gaining a slight rosy tint. "P-Professor Lupin! W-we…! It's not what it looks like; we were about to go back to our common room-"

"So, the two of you weren't…?" Lupin asked as he wagged a finger to the both of them with his other hand hidden in his pocket. Theodore caught the slightest smirk from the teacher and quickly understood what he meant.

"No! Nothing like that, sir! We were just talking, that's all!" Theodore exclaimed as he too scrambled out from behind the hourglass. He desperately hoped against it, but he could feel his cheeks burning once again. "We were just seeing Hagrid off and we decided to wait here until there were no teachers. That's all we did, I swear!"

Lupin eyed them with suspicion that looked more comical than anything until he relaxed his face as he planted both hands in his pockets. "Then forgive me for thinking otherwise. I've learnt that Professor Snape has unfortunately taken the liberty of catching students sneaking around doing _things_ that they're not supposed to do. Here seems to be a frequent spot, for some odd reason…"

"But we-"

"It's okay, Theodore, I believe you," Lupin said assuringly with an open palm. "It would be hard to believe that two of the brightest students in the third-year would act so recklessly against the school rules."

Theodore wanted to scoff as he thought of the numerous instances of rule-breaking that he had accomplished during his short time at Hogwarts, but held it within himself.

"But I cannot guarantee that I'll be so lenient the next time that I see you around here at these hours, am I clear?" The pair nodded their heads quickly so that they could escape their mortification. "Good. Now I believe that you both have a common room to be getting to, but before I let you go, I would like to thank you heavily for what you did for me, Theodore."

"Pardon? Oh, right! The… No, you're welcome, Professor."

"I'm assuming that Professor Snape has told you about my… _predicament_? If he has then I'm very grateful that you do not see me in-"

"Forgot that you're a teacher in a school, Lupin?" Snape's voice came from behind Theodore and Hermione as he stood at the top of the staircase with his arms folded, keeping his gaze on the scarred professor as he seemingly didn't acknowledge Theodore or Hermione's presence.

Lupin kept his head high as he walked over to the others whilst saying, "Just a little small talk, Severus. Nothing wrong with that."

"Yes, well I'd advise against it. You would find that these two in particular are prone to speaking whenever they want, especially when it is not needed."

"Well, then I would have to wait for such thing to happen since our talks are always delightful, hmm?" Lupin ignored the Potions Master's masked growl as he nodded at the two silent children before leaving up the stairs and out of sight.

Theodore couldn't even look at him. He heard Lupin's footsteps dying as he looked away to the House Hourglasses. Whatever malicious act that he had been waiting to inflict on the boy was coming; Theodore could feel it. What was he waiting for? He was there, wasn't he? Why the hesitation?

A swift breeze of air brushed against the Parselmouth's neck as he saw Snape from the corner of his eye gliding down the stairs, and through the entrance of the dungeons without so much as turning back to glare at him.

As the trails of his robes disappeared, Theodore wasted no time in remaining on the stairs. He rushed up the steps expecting to hear feet pattering behind him, but he heard no such thing. He swivelled around on the final step to face the Muggle-born who, unlike him, was watching the dungeon entrance intently as if she was expecting Snape to reappear.

"You heard Lupin. Common room, remember," Theodore called out from above. The faintest noise that resembled a sigh was heard by him as he looked at Hermione who still had her head turned. "Hermione? Come on, let's go."

It was as if she couldn't hear the boy the first time as she became slightly startled before joining Theodore alongside him. The two didn't speak a word to each other on their way to the common room; the embarrassment that was present within them was long forgotten, and overridden by the thought of Snape and Theodore.

As they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, Hermione opened her mouth to ask to know more, but held herself back. She knew that there would be a time when he'd tell her, not out of her exhortation, but when he wanted to. It could be soon, it could be later; all she knew was that he wouldn't keep anymore secrets from her. Right?

* * *

Theodore had arisen from a rather peaceful night as the previous day had been filtered in his dreams to thinking only about Hagrid and Buckbeak's case. Although it was vague, quite alarming yet amusing at the same time, Theodore had dreamt that an exhausted Buckbeak was flying away from a band of Aurors with Hagrid on top, as they were escaping the Ministry after losing the case. Of course, he thought that to take the dream seriously would be a blatant act of lunacy. Perhaps it was just his way of handling the nerves. That, or he was going mad.

Scrambling in his trunk to retrieve the will from its newest hiding place, Theodore lazily used his wand to poke through his clothes and uniform until he pulled it out, and kept it in his pyjama pockets. Although she didn't ask to see it directly, Theodore knew that Hermione would eventually break and demand to see it. And knowing her even more, he was willing to bet that she'd also want him to tell Harry and Ron which would be easy, considering that the next trip for Hogsmeade was on that day. Yet, something irked the Parselmouth into thinking that whatever he'd do would be sure to go awry.

" _Morning,"_ Viripin hissed gently as she slithered around the trunk and over to around Theodore's neck.

Theodore craned his head to check if the other boys were sleeping and carried Viripin over to his bed as he closed the tapestry slightly. "Had a goodnight's sleep? I thought that it was Harry hissing through the night until I realised that it was you."

" _Sorry. I always had to control myself from being too loud before, when I would sleep. But it feels much better to let loose when everybody knows that I'm in here."_

"Well, it's not only that. You've been a bit quiet recently. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Theodore asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

" _Theodore, you would know if I were angry or sad at you. I've just been thinking, that's all_ ," Viripin admitted as Theodore stuck his hand through the tapestries to retrieve a bag of bats for the Adder.

"What's been on your mind then? Surely, it has to be something important since you've barely spoke during the past week. Is it about the attack?"

She nodded her head and said, _"It's about Black and the Grim. I've noticed something that I think to myself how stupid I am for not seeing it earlier."_

"What is it?"

" _Well, when you casted that charm to try and blind the 'Grim', I too was unfortunately unable to see, but I could still hear it when it was screaming and shouting. However, when Ron started to shout as well, it became harder to listen. I couldn't concentrate, especially when I heard you screaming as something must've attacked you."_

"Yeah, it was Black who did it," Theodore interjected. "I mean… Ron saw him, and I saw the Grim, but-"

" _But how was it possible that the both of them were in the same place at the same time? How was it that when the 'Grim' seemingly vanished, Black emerged with a knife ready to kill you?"_

…

"Are you suggesting that Black is the Grim?" Theodore asked sceptically. It was a rather odd phenomenon that definitely required deeper insight, but since when could wizards transform theirselves into omens of death? But Theodore didn't once think to ignore what Viripin had to say for his interest was now rather piqued.

" _I cannot be too sure about that. I have lived for more than fifty years yet I've never heard of an omen being an actual human being."_

"I was just thinking that too. Black can't be that powerful, right? Then again, I don't doubt that Voldemort taught him a few tricks, being his right-hand man and all. I'm sure that I've seen something like this happening before; I can't put my finger on it…"

" _That's not the only thing that I've noticed. Whenever I'd listen to the Grim, it's always different from other animals. The more simplistic an animal is, the easier it is for me to understand them. Usually, when I don't understand, it's when they're not exactly 'one' animal."_

"You mean like hybrids?"

" _Hybrids, failed Transfiguration attempts and cats. They're vermin anyways,"_ Viripin added harshly before she continued.

" _But even if it's hard to understand them, I can still recognise that they aren't actual animals. And when I listened to the Grim 'speaking' in the summer and last week, I couldn't help but feel that it was almost identical to Scabbers."_

Theodore reeled his head forwards in confusion. "Scabbers? What does Scabbers have to do with anything?"

" _It was vague at first because Scabbers would never 'speak' to me, possibly out of fear that the vermin would try to attack him when he was out of Ron's reach. I could always catch snippets of what he was saying, but they sounded 'garbled' and 'meshed', like it was a mixture of something."_

…

"Scabbers didn't appear properly on the Marauder's Map on the night Harry gave it to me," muttered Theodore as if he were the only occupant awake in the dormant room. "His name was hidden underneath Ron's, but it was definitely longer than Scabbers. I think… I think you're onto something."

Dean's squeals that were conjoined with his yawns indicated to Theodore that the others were bound to wake up as well very soon. He whisked the tapestry aside and laid Viripin to the floor for her to return to her basket. As he raised himself from the ground again, Viripin's hisses were too loud to ignore as he lowered his head below the bed.

" _Do you have any ideas? Are you going to look into it,"_ she asked quickly as the other boys were steadily leaving their beds.

"It just came to me, although that'll mean that I'll have to stay behind or-"

"Theo, McGonagall wants to see you downstairs." Ron kneed him lightly in the ribs as he staggered over to his trunk.

"Why?"

"Last time I checked, McGonagall isn't my name. Get yourself clean and go down quickly before she gets pissed," Ron replied drearily before he shrieked as he stretched himself.

Thinking that it was too early to retaliate against Ron's morning sourness, Theodore left it at that and got himself ready before he entered the common room with the others. As they scrambled to the different corners of the room, Theodore met eyes with McGonagall near the portrait hole who was conversing with Oliver before he walked off.

"Riddle," she stated firmly as he joined her promptly. "Just the man that I wanted to see."

"Does Professor Dumbledore want to speak with me?"

"Actually, that is not why I am here. Of course, _I_ am here for you regarding what happened earlier."

' _Lupin didn't tell her about yesterday, did he? I knew that he didn't take us seriously!"_

"Professor, it wasn't like that! I already explained it to Professor Lupin and-"

McGonagall straightened her glasses as she frowned in confusion. "What on Earth are you babbling about? It wasn't like what, the horrible attack that occurred last Saturday?"

"Oh… That," Theodore answered sheepishly.

"Now back to what I was about to tell you," continued McGonagall as her eyebrow became raised at looking at the boy further, "I've come to tell you that due to your unfortunate incident from the previous week, I'm afraid that I will have to terminate all of your future Hogsmeade trips until Sirius Black is captured, or at least driven away from the surrounding area of the school's grounds. I'm sorry if you are somewhat against this, but I will not tolerate any type of argument that you wish to counter my decision."

"Sure. I'll stay behind, no problem," Theodore spoke casually as he put his hands in his pockets. He expected her to be taken aback by his lack of resistance to something that was treasured by most students, and his expectance became a reality.

"Oh…! Well, I'm glad that you understand, Mr Riddle. Know that this is for your own safety, and not out of spite."

"Of course, Professor McGonagall. I understand completely."

She gave him one last glance of confusion before she said her farewell, and exited through the portrait hole. From the moment the sound of the portrait closing firmly hit the Parselmouth's ears, Theodore turned on his heels and sighed. Whistling felt appropriate at a time like this, but if he appeared too whimsical then…

His suspicions was once again proven to being correct. Theodore pursed his lips and blew out a faint whistle that was reminiscent to a song Viripin hissed previously with Hermione's hair being noticeable from a distance, bobbing up and down until she appeared right in front of him.

"What was that all about?" she questioned Theodore as she looked over to the closed portrait. "Did she talk to you about the Hogsmeade trip today?"

"She said I was banned from going anymore until they catch Black, but I wasn't bothered to be honest." Theodore watched the Muggle-born's expression twisting into one that mirrored McGonagall's.

"You didn't say anything to try and persuade her into letting you go?"

"Nope."

…

"Are you _really_ going to stay behind, Theo, because it seems to me as if you-"

"Hermione, please," interjected Theodore as he grinned slyly. "You don't think I'm actually going to leave the castle when Black could've easily gotten to me from the inside, let alone out there, do you?"

...

"Well… I'm glad that you're in the right mindset, and that you made the right decision. I know that you're not _that_ reckless. Besides, I'm sure that you'll find something else to do, other than sneaking around again…"

The conversation led on between the both of them for a little while longer until the swooping mass of Gryffindors suddenly aimed towards the portrait hole for their breakfast was awaiting them. Theodore was playing a dangerous game of tiptoeing above the crowd to look for Harry and Ron as he was near the edge of the moving staircase. He settled himself safely next to the bannister after being chastised by Percy and Hermione alike, earning glares from the both of them.

Breakfast went smoothly as Theodore sat next to Ron who acted as if they were a three instead of a four. Hermione didn't disapprove of this as she acted similarly like Ron was just a fellow student. Not to say that Theodore felt uncomfortable with this sudden divide, to which he did, but he knew that if there was any chance of the two somehow being friends once more, it was out of his power. Maybe it was a lack of trying to persuade both sides that Theodore didn't see any progress.

Once breakfast was finished, Theodore was attempting to be a middle ground between Ron and Hermione as they were walking side by side with the Parselmouth to the Entrance Hall. It didn't work out at all as Hermione briskly skipped over to Elvira in the queue while Ron was talking away happily with him and Harry. This was definitely out of his power, all right.

"Well then," Ron announced as he turned to pat Harry and Theodore on the shoulders, "I will see you two chaps later. Don't wait up, okay?"

"You feeling okay, Ron?" Theodore asked as the untroubled expression on the red head's face seemed a little too expressive.

"Never better, Theo. Sucks that you two can't come with. I'll see if I can sneak into Hog's Head to get you a goat horn." Ron gave them one final clap on the shoulders and regrouped with the others in the queue as the two cousins retreated slowly.

Theodore caught the faintest wave from Hermione and waved back before realising that his ears was prickling with heat. Turning back quickly as he rubbed his ears to cover the growing redness, Theodore then followed Harry up the marble steps as he noticed the same amount of gleefulness that was exhibited by Ron on Harry's face.

"So, what do you think we should do now that we're cooped up in here," asked Theodore as they walked up to the second floor. Harry suddenly became startled by Theodore's presence and asked him to repeat the question. "I said, what are we going to do today?"

"Well, I don't know about you, or rather I do, but I know for sure that I'm not staying behind a second time."

"Are you serious? After what happened last week with Black? You're not actually thinking about going to Hogsmeade again, are you, Harry? It's too dangerous."

"Black won't be able to see me if I've got my Invisibility Cloak on," mumbled Harry as he brought out the Map to keep his focus on it. "And if he is there, I'll know about it."

"And you don't think that Black doesn't know about your Invisibility Cloak either? He was friends with your dad, remember? What if he knows when it's being used or something?" Theodore questioned quite fiercely as Harry stopped to ponder on his words.

"Well, I haven't had any trouble with it so far. Black didn't try to attack me last time I went."

"Because Hermione, Ron and I was there with you. He wouldn't try anything if the four of us were together," Theodore returned with the same tone.

"But we're not all together, remember? Hermione and Ron aren't talking with each other, and you're staying behind."

"Which is exactly the reason why you- Are you even listening to yourself?" Theodore wondered if it was the same when the others would try and talk him out of doing anything brash. Harry was just as stubborn as he was.

Harry unfolded the Map and tucked it under his arm as he pocketed his wand before saying, "I'll be fine, Theo. Dementors are all around Hogsmeade and I know how to defend myself if they get too close. Black won't come for me when there's such a large risk in attempting to do so."

"Still is a stupid idea."

Harry grinned as they briefly stopped at the bottom of third-floor staircase with Harry leaving Theodore behind as he said, "You know if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you've been hanging around Hermione a bit too often these days. Your voice even sounds a little higher as well-"

"Shut up, Harry! My voice isn't higher, and I don't hang around her _a bit too often_!"

"Red ears, Theo. Red ears," chuckled Harry as he disappeared down the third-floor corridor.

Theodore didn't know whether to feel angry that Harry was blatantly taking him for a fool, or embarrassed that Harry noticed his ears burning up. The Parselmouth grumbled under his breath as he started to make his way to the first floor when he heard the faintest sounds of Harry speaking with Neville from the corridor above.

' _For this, you owe me, Harry.'_

He bounded up the stairs and turned into the corridor to see Neville happily chatting to Harry who looked like he was seconds away from breaking into a run and abandoning the other boy.

"Hey, Neville!" Theodore called out from the other end of the corridor. "Could you come here for a sec? I want to talk to you."

"All right. See you later, Harry!"

"Bye, Neville," Harry said quickly as his eyes twinkled with triumph and gratefulness towards his cousin. Theodore merely responded with a contemptuous glare and proceeded to walk off with Neville down the corridor. His hands were deep within his pockets as his frustration towards Harry was still dwelling inside of him. Make it Harry the one to look at death without so much as batting a single eye.

"Theodore? Didn't you want to talk to me?"

"Huh? Oh, right. You said you needed help with the vampire essay, right?"

"I… don't remember saying that, but now that you mention it, I can't understand a thing! You'll help me," asked Neville hopefully as they arrived on the ground floor as Filch was checking the last few people through.

"Sure. We just need to make a little stop at McGonagall's office for a little chat, then we'll get onto that essay. Plan?" Neville nodded attentively as he followed Theodore to the Transfiguration classroom.

They quickly arrived at the door as Theodore rapped at it with his knuckles until he heard McGonagall's voice allowing him in. He walked inside with Neville trailing behind him as he saw the Headmistress behind her desk with her hat being placed on the back of her chair.

Upon realising who her visitors, or being specific about Theodore, visitor was, she pushed her glasses up and straightened herself. "Changed your mind so soon? If you came here to try and persuade me into letting you go to Hogsmeade, then you are wasting your time, Mr Riddle."

"Actually, I came to ask you something specifically about what we learnt in lesson," Theodore admitted standing in front of her. Neville was hovering behind him as he gazed around the classroom as if he were a stranger.

"Is that so? Well, ask away as you wish; my time is quite free at the moment."

"I wanted to talk about Animagi. We covered it in class at the beginning of the year. I was wondering if you could explain it to me a little deeper than before."

"Well, I understand that you're curious about the subject and I am, quite frankly, delighted to see that one of my students is taking a further interest in the topic, but may I ask why?" McGonagall said as she leaned in with a similar amount of suspicion compared to her confusion from before.

Theodore didn't even twitch as he said with an infallible smile, "Wouldn't hurt to learn ahead. I figured that since I want to take Transfiguration for my N.E.W.T.s later on, I should at least make an effort to put a little extra work in when I still have the time." Theodore almost couldn't believe it when he saw McGonagall's face softening as she gave him a genuine smile.

"I have no doubts that you'll make it that far with flying colours, provided that you are willing to put the work in. Do not expect me to put you on if your classwork regresses in any type of way, is that clear?"

Theodore nodded and was motioned around her desk as McGonagall summoned a thick book from her bookshelf in the far end of the room. "You know, I was just seventeen when I became an Animagus. Professor Dumbledore was the one who helped me through the process when he was the Transfiguration professor here."

"How long did it take?"

"An ungodly amount of time, that's for sure. Now, _An Animagi Guide: Transfiguration_. This was the textbook from when I was student that I followed biblically. Quite rare and quite irreplaceable, Riddle, so I would appreciate it if you would refrain from careless handling."

Theodore took the oddly light book in hand and observed the faded print of the front cover. A woman was transforming herself halfway into a shark with a tail and fins protruding from her sides. He thought to himself that that would be the most useless form ever, should they be on land.

"Well, thanks for letting me borrow the book, Professor," said Theodore as he turned to aim for the door with Neville bolting up from his seat to join him. "I'll get it back to you very soon-"

"You will do no such thing!" snapped McGonagall as she frowned instantly.

"But I…"

"Not only are you an intelligent as well as a very gifted student, Riddle, but you are as equally gifted as you are sneaky! You may very well be capable of using the information to turn into an _illegal_ Animagus, may I add, and I simply will not allow it!"

"Professor, I wouldn't even attempt to try and turn myself into an Animagus," Theodore defended truthfully. "It's only for a bit of research, that's all! Nothing more, nothing less."

McGonagall blew a sharp breath from her nose as she tapped her desk impatiently. "Five boys in the past said the exact same thing and got the better of me in my weaker moments. Because I was too lenient with them, the consequences of my mistake was catastrophic! The things I had to do was insulting and well deserved towards me that I can never speak of it again, and I will not put myself in such a position for a second time!"

"Professor-"

"If you want to read through it, then you stay right here where I can see you," McGonagall instructed as her brief fluster of anger (Theodore could detect slight regret) withered away gradually. "Longbottom, unless you too have an interest in Animagi, or want to know about your questionable progress in my class then I suggest you return to the common room."

Theodore lightly brushed past Neville who waddled to the front desk while the Parselmouth slumped into the free desk that was closest to McGonagall. Sensing that it would be useless to take notes with her watching (and impossible as he didn't bring his quill and ink bottle) he turned the pages leisurely for his eyes to finally fall on the risks of the transformation. He drowned the noises of Neville's stammering as he payed closer attention to something quite intriguing.

' _Says here that remaining within the transformed state of an Animagus for excessively copious amounts of time consecutively, the wizard/witch can experience detrimental effects from it. Yeah… yeah… Here! One of the most prominent effects of prolonging the transformation is mental deterioration, especially in those of aggressive animals. No shit, a great big black dog isn't aggressive! Azkaban probably made him even worse._

' _Another effect which could sometimes prove to be fatal if the transformation back into human occurs with too much stress is physical deterioration. Remaining in an Animagus state for too long can have alarming effects such as permanently changing the wizard/witch's physiology that is akin to the animal counterparts. Well, I don't know if this applies to Scabbers, but he looked really sick before Crookshanks ate him. He's dead anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter that much. But you, Black? Far from it. At least, from now.'_

* * *

"Wha' are yeh doin' here, T-Theo? Yeh're not allowed ter… ter…" Hagrid's sobs came from his belly as they were so thunderous that Theodore and Hermione had to grab hold of the oversized table to stop theirselves from toppling over. The half-giant's eyes were reddened deeply while the tears splashed onto the ground. Theodore had never seen a man so broken before in his life. Ever.

"Well I couldn't just let you be here by yourself," consoled Theodore as he anxiously glanced over to Hermione on the other side of Hagrid. "After everything that we did to help you, it would be cruel not to come."

"But wha' abou' McGonagall, huh? She'll flip if she sees the both o' yeh here, 'specially yeh, Theodore," Hagrid choked in between tears. "She'll have a go at all o' us fer sure…"

"I was the one who told Theo to come with me, Hagrid, and he's right. We couldn't leave you to deal with this by yourself after what we did for you." Hermione's eyes were just as red, but she was making a great effort not to cry as well.

"Tha's sweet o' yeh, 'Ermione. Not righ', but sweet o' yeh."

"Hagrid, what happened?" asked Theodore finally as Hagrid seemed to simmer down into heavy breathing. "I was certain that our counter for the case was strong. There was no way that you could've lost! Hermione and I went over the things that you had to say and everything!"

Hagrid took a deep breath and used a rugged sleeve to wipe away any stranded tears that didn't fall onto the floor or into his beard. "Yeh did, an' it helped me greatly. I though' fer a sec tha' I was gonna stumble all over me words, but everythin' was rollin' out perfect. Couldn' believe it meself tha' I was so confiden'."

"But if you were doing so well, then how did you lose," Hermione quietly.

"When I was finished with me counter, the entire court was in me favour, an' in tha' split sec, I knew tha' Buckbeak was scot-free. Almost bursted inter tears righ' there. But…"

"Come on, Hagrid, you have to tell us."

…

"Lucius Malfoy was part o' the case on tha' day. Since it was his son who got attacked, and it was _his_ idea fer the whole thing, I guessed he didn' like tha' we were abou' to get away so easy so… He brough' out a sob story abou' how Draco was a target fer the attacks at school; said tha' I was connected on both accounts."

"He didn't," seethed Theodore as he clenched his fist.

"He can't do that," Hermione exclaimed as she frowned at the revelation. "Don't tell me that everyone ate it all up?"

…

"Lost by one vote," muttered Hagrid sadly as he held up one thick finger. "One vote was all tha' it took fer me ter lose the case. I can'… I jus' can'…"

The wailing returned as Hermione proceeded to pat Hagrid's elbow while she looked over to Theodore who was clearly ready to explode. He always knew that he had a reason to dislike Draco's father in the past, but now it was outright hatred. It was Draco's own fault for aggravating Buckbeak in the first place. It was Theodore's fault that Draco was attacked last year. Or was it really…?

"Gonna lose Buckbeak… Could even lose me job after this… This is wha' I do ter Dumbledore after everythin' he did fer me? Why can' I ever do anythin' righ'…?"

The two couldn't do anything to help elevate the half-giant's mood as they left twenty minutes later to avoid getting into trouble after hours. Theodore had to be especially cautious as he was almost seen by McGonagall who was patrolling the fourth floor. If it weren't for Hermione's keen awareness, who knew what would've become of him?

They soon entered the common room after a narrow miss with Mrs Norris and listened to the happy chatter that was amongst the other Gryffindors; this didn't help lift their spirits one single bit. To see them so joyful only dampened what little happiness they had left, and Harry must've noticed this.

"What's got you down," Harry asked as he walked over to the two. He looked uncharacteristically dismal and angry the closer Theodore looked at him.

"It's about Hagrid and Buckbeak," replied Hermione before she sniffed loudly. "They-"

"Harry, why d'you go off for? I was just saying that we shouldn't-" Ron immediately frowned upon seeing Hermione next to Theodore as she stiffened, readying herself for anything that Ron had to throw at her. "Pity party? What, did Crookshanks finally kick the bucket…?"

"Ron…"

"…or is it something else?"

"There's no time for any of this, okay!" Theodore said frustratingly. "Come on, Ron! This is serious!"

"What is it then?" Ron asked as he crossed his arms.

Hermione broke the silence between the four of them as she spoke in a meek voice. "Hagrid… Hagrid lost. T-they're going to… execute Buckbeak and…"

"And…?" Ron added as he seemingly dropped any resentment for her. "It… it can't get any worse, could it?"

…

"Hagrid could also lose his job as well."

"WHAT?!" Harry and Ron shouted together. Heads were turned as Theodore motioned the entire group over to the vacant back tables to speak more privately. Harry asked for the entire story and Theodore delivered with every single detail being said. Ron's face became flushed with anger as Draco's father came into Theodore's summary of what Hagrid explained to him.

"I fucking knew he'd pull something like that! For that, I hope that Buckbeak shreds Malfoy into pieces, the both of them!"

"We should've helped," Harry uttered guiltily. "Instead, we were worrying about winning the match and my Firebolt."

"It's all right," Hermione returned with a small smile. "We don't blame you at all."

"But we should've helped!" Ron's face suddenly lit up as he remembered something vital. "Wait? Did Hagrid talk about an appeal or something similar?"

"Um… He didn't mention it now that I think about it…"

Ron clasped his hands together and said, "Then there might be a fighting chance! Appeals can change the decision made in court, if it's good enough!"

Theodore was glad to see that Ron was taking initiative of the situation, but still couldn't muster a smile. Lucius was still a school governor; there's no telling what he was capable of with the Committee behind him. What if the appeal ended up as just a huge amount of wasted effort like the counter? The only way Theodore could see Buckbeak alive and well was if unlawful acts occurred underneath the Ministry's radar, but an idea like that sounded so absurd that it was near laughable.

"And I thought that this Saturday would be better than the last. Things couldn't get any worse…"

Harry coughed.

"What?"

"Funny you should mention that…" Harry said a little more wearily.

"What is it, Harry?"

…

"Snape took the Marauder's Map when he caught me leaving through one of the secret tunnels to Hogsmeade, and… I left my Cloak in the tunnel as well."

"Oh my god," breathed Theodore as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Harry, I said not to go-"

"I know what you said, okay? I know I should've listened."

"He probably thinks that it's a bit of old parchment, so it'll be fine. I don't know about the tunnel, but if I could get into his office, I-"

"You can't," Harry said quickly.

"And why's that?"

…

"The Map was blank at first when he took it and I thought that he thought that it was just a blank piece of parchment, but then he made it work somehow like he knew exactly what it was! I would've gotten a weeks worth of detentions had it not been for Lupin, and Snape still kept the Map! If you try to break inside of his office, then he'll know."

Theodore felt the slightest kick to the shin and ignored the _subtle_ glances from Hermione as he told Harry not to worry about it. Ron and Hermione quickly forgave and forgot, and started to build ideas on the appeal while the two cousins were discussing about Hogsmeade and the unfortunate run in with Snape. Theodore mused on the thought that if he were to visit Hagrid or enter the library in the Restricted Section to learn more about Animagi, Snape could be watching him the entire time, probably to catch him out in revenge for the will. As much as he needed to, Theodore couldn't afford to get into any trouble, especially with him. Black would have to be the least of his troubles, and Theodore didn't once feel safe about thinking that.

* * *

The days were racing by as Theodore barely acknowledged them, keeping his nose inside the book about Animagi in McGonagall's classroom whenever he wasn't working on the appeal with the others. March was spent mostly in the library with Ron taking charge of the four. Theodore never saw him working so hard for anything before; it was almost unreal.

That didn't mean that he wasn't learning about Animagi in the process as well. In fact, Theodore had delved quite deeply in the topic as he reviewed countless facts and history that became burnt within his brain. It was only until the beginning of April could he perfectly recall that an Animagus would have distinct markings and similarities with their animal form which made them indistinguishable.

' _Long, dirty black hair for Black? Check. Long, dirty black hair for the Grim? Check again. And it just keeps on getting easier.'_

Theodore became so immersed in the subject that he almost overlooked his passing birthday, although that was becoming a tradition, given his last one. Harry, Hermione and Ron still decided to give it some celebration, even though he brushed it off like it was nothing. The army of owls returned, however, as they pecked and snapped at various windows to deliver the letters from all of his admirers. Hermione warned him of the potential Love Potions that could've been hidden inside, but Theodore called her paranoid by recalling that he hadn't been spiked before. Didn't stop her from checking through them thoroughly.

Easter was nearing with the date of the execution still remaining untold to both the quartet and Hagrid. The half-giant assured them that he'd send a letter the second the Ministry would give him a heads up, and the wait for the unknown had made them all uneasy. They would have no clue if it was the week after, or the next day, and the appeal was barely halfway done. All they needed was a miracle. Just one miracle…

"Somebody's sulky," whispered Theodore across to Hermione as they sat through Ancient Runes, tracing and rearranging symbols with their wands. "What's the matter?"

Hermione dropped her wand on the desk as her conjured symbols faded in the air while she looked darkly outside the window. "Malfoy…"

"But you've been with me since morning, and we haven't seen him at all today. He's in Care- Right. Nearly forgot. But what did he do?"

Hermione shook her head and restarted her symbol-conjuring that set her back a few minutes after class. Theodore waited for her outside the classroom until she stepped out of the door, looking even more annoyed than before.

"Seriously, what did Draco do to you? You only answered nine questions in class, which is pretty a low number from you," said Theodore as they made their way to Charms.

"It's nothing, Theodore. It's just when Malfoy opens that mouth of his, I… He's sick. Just sick. Him and his father. A pair of complete _shhh_ -"

…

Theodore held a stoic face that hid his laughter. "Swearing isn't illegal, you know. You're allowed to do it."

"No. I'm not going to let him get to me. I am going to remain completely... calm," Hermione breathed as they reached a junction within an empty corridor. She stopped near a broom cupboard and brought out the tucked Time-Turner as she swung the cupboard door open. "Muggle Studies was moved to this morning, so I can't come with you to Charms."

"You'll be there anyways, so it doesn't really matter," he said casually with a simple shrug.

"See you later to you too, I guess." She entered the cupboard and closed the door firmly behind her.

Theodore waited for ten seconds and opened it to see a pile of rusty buckets, a flapping dirty rag and several rubber ducks, but no Hermione (and a lack of brooms for some reason). He then closed the door and headed off for Charms by himself.

As he met Harry, Ron and Elvira at the entrance of Flitwick's classroom, Theodore couldn't see Hermione coming into the class or inside the classroom either. Perhaps she was just late, he thought to himself. There was no way that she'd miss Charms. Theodore was then paired with Elvira as the two practiced Cheering Charms on each other whilst speaking.

"Have you seen Hermione," asked the Metamorphmagus as she brought out her sleek wand from her pockets. "We were in Magical Creatures together, but she disappeared after she slapped the Malfoy boy in the face."

"She did what?!" Theodore asked in complete shock. "That's what she did?!"

"Yes. He said something rather rude and out of nowhere, she slapped him across the face. Very well deserved, should I say. But I haven't seen her since. I was wondering if you had any idea, even if you weren't in the same lesson together."

"She'll come. Skipping Charms is practically sinful for Hermione. There's nothing to worry about," said Theodore as he was still in awe at the thought of Hermione slapping… well, anybody.

Elvira's face turned brilliant pink as she beamed at the Parselmouth before she casted a single Cheering Charm that kept a smile on Theodore's face for the entire lesson.

"Excellent, Miss Pierre-Sayre! On your first try too!"

Hermione didn't show up at all. Harry and Ron speculated that Draco had a part in her disappearance, but Theodore was willing to bet that it was something different. They searched for her when the lesson ended, but to no avail. Even Theodore was getting glimmers of anxiety as he saw Draco strutting in the Great Hall during lunch with a prominent red mark on his cheek.

Harry, Ron and Theodore finally decided to give up on scouring for the Muggle-born as they made their way to Divination. Theodore suggested checking in the common room, but Elvira stated that that was the first place she looked in. They trekked up the lengthy number of steps and stood around the ladder waiting one by one. Theodore was the last one to go and grabbed hold of the legs firmly before he heard somebody panting coming from behind him. Hermione was balancing her hands on her knees as her face was fully pink. She looked like she ran up the steps instead of climbing like everybody else.

"Time-Turner… was starting to jam up," she panted as she read the boy's confused expression. "I was sent back four hours ago… instead of two and had to hide in the bathroom until now. I almost forgot until the last second..."

"You missed Charms," Theodore said blankly. He turned and climbed up the ladder while the girl rubbed her forehead in self-denial.

"How could you forget to go to Charms…? One of your main subjects…!"

The class were already in their seats as the smell of the heated room washed into Theodore's head. He blinked profusely before joining Harry and Elvira on their usual table. Three crystal balls that were each containing swirls of gaseous matter were separated on each table as Theodore sat down. He groaned. From what he heard from the older students of Divination, crystal balls were described as the worst part of the entire subject. Trelawney even made a boy cry in his class due to a prediction that she _corrected_.

"Today, we shall be observing the medium of crystal balls," announced Trelawney as she bounded from her fluffy oversized cushion. "This will no doubt be on your final exam of the year, and I have yet to see any brilliance from any of you, except for some." She beamed at Lavender and Parvati before turning back to the rest of the class.

"Now in order for me to help you see the fates that you posses, I must be able to See _inside_ you."

Several people giggled while Hermione scoffed loudly. Trelawney managed to hear her above the laughter as she glowered at her before resuming her normal state of self. "Yes, laugh! Laugh while you can, but know the crystal balls will not hold back, should your fate be disastrous!"

"The only thing that's disastrous is the fact that Dumbledore hired her," whispered Seamus from the table across. "How much do you want to bet that Dumbledore took a few too many Firewhiskeys during her interview?"

"Just a _few too many_? I bet you that when he found out that he needed a new Divination teacher, he just said 'fuck it' and downed the lot from Hogsmeade," Ron whispered back, inciting multiple howls from each corner of the room that even Hermione cracked a little smile.

Trelawney switched on as she scowled at all of the faces that were drowned in laughter; she was completely unaware of the joke. The only two people who didn't laugh were Lavender and Parvati.

"You ought to show her some respect! Why can't you treat her like you treat Professor McGonagall, hmm?!"

"Because Professor McGonagall is the furthest thing from being a fraud," said Theodore in a lowered voice to Harry.

"Now may I please proceed with my lesson?!" Trelawney shouted in a rare shrill tone. Everybody who laughed wiped their tears away and settled down finally to listen to the eccentric professor. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I must be able to See _inside_ you in order for me to draw out those energies, those power and forces that will be required to gaze into the depths of the Crystal.

"Seeing into the Orbs of Determination and Fate is absolutely complex and requires only the sharpest of minds to conquer the limitations that we have set in ourselves as a wizarding whole. So, embrace and enhance the Inner Eye from within; See what fate is held inside the crystal! Off you go, dears."

Theodore heard the 'faintest' mumbling from Hermione's table as he peered into his own crystal ball. Any thoughts or even the motivation to think about his own future was ebbing away rapidly as all that he could think about was Black and Scabbers. If he was right about the two, and Theodore's level of confidence in his suspicions had exponentially jumped since he first read about Animagi, then he couldn't think of himself as anything but brilliant. If he was right, then he would've been able to understand how Black escaped and possibly how to capture him before he'd try to kill him or Harry. And Scabbers. If he really was an Animagus before he died, then that could be worth looking into as well. It would eventually lead to a dead end, but the thrill of the discovery would fill him up immensely.

The Parselmouth carried on musing over his investigation on the two possible Animagi; his eyes were fixated on his crystal ball as the thin rays of sunlight that managed to pierce through the cracks of the stained windows, illuminated the wisps that floated inside.

"Can you see anything," asked Harry apathetically as his words were slurred by resting his cheek on his palm. "I can literally see nothing else but smoke."

"I thought I saw something like a sword or a snake, but it wasn't clear enough," Elvira replied as she rubbed her chin. She stared at the crystal ball disapprovingly as if the task at hand was an insult to her intelligence. "I should've taken Arithmancy instead… What do you see, Theodore?"

"Me? I see fingerprints and grease. When will this lesson be over? I can't stand being in here anymore, especially with all this heat," Theodore complained as he unstuck his white shirt from his sweaty skin. "I shower more times after this lesson than Herbology now…"

The lesson carried on in silence as the strong perfumed aroma that wafted around the room, doused nearly everyone as eyelids drooped and flickered. Theodore didn't know why he couldn't just force himself to drop onto the floor, knowing that nobody would care. His concentration was atrocious.

"Theo, how are we supposed to get the Map back from Snape? I know I said we shouldn't try, but it hasn't been sitting well with me."

Theodore turned his head sluggishly to his left and grumbled, "We don't. If he can work it, then he can see us. There's no way that I'm getting on Snape's bad side."

"I thought you already were. What's up with that anyway? You haven't even gone to him for a whole month, which is perfectly understandable."

"Um… I'll tell you later…"

…

"Is it about the will?"

"I can't tell you here-"

Trelawney swooped in from the other side of the room and planted her palms firmly on the table, startling a sleeping Elvira. A grin of interest and slight madness was etched onto her face as she stared at the two boys, who were now too disturbed by her expression to remain in their drowsy states.

"I knew it! I always knew it! The communication between the two of you has always struck to me that you know of each other!"

"Well, he is one of my best friends, so…" Theodore said in a near mocking tone. However, Trelawney ignored that and continued.

"But there is something deeper. Much, much deeper! Perhaps you were both born on the same month-"

"Not even fourteen yet…"

"-or maybe… maybe you share a common ancestor or two. Bonded by blood, perhaps? Please, allow me to See your fates within the crystals," she bubbled while pulling Theodore and Harry's crystal balls closer to her.

' _This should be fun.'_

Trelawney squinted through her glasses as she tapped each ball rhythmically with her fingernails. Everybody turned their heads towards her and watched intently. If it would be like the very first lesson, then this was sure to entertain them all the way to the common rooms.

"Yes… Yes…! I See, I See! Vines that intertwine; a legacy shared between the both of you! Like a mirror, but… another face comes into the picture… a familiar face…"

Theodore and Harry gave each other blank stares before they turned back to her.

"The Mists seem to be changing and… it's here… Intertwined as I said before; it's here, right for the both of you! The omen! The Grim!"

Theodore scoffed simply and was about to rebuke her fraudulent statements when he heard Hermione's voice from the other table.

"The Grim again? Isn't there anything else that you can _predict_ other than the same thing? Is there even any basis in what you just said?"

Theodore could see the ticks in Trelawney's enormous eyes as her lips quivered for a second. He always knew that this day would come, and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

"Divination does not settle itself on 'basis' as the foundation, for there are no limitations in the subject. Surely, being an _intelligent_ girl as yourself, you would understand that," Trelawney shot back with masked anger.

"What I understand, _Professor_ , is that there's no contextual evidence that what you literally just predicted should be taken seriously. You said the Grim would kill them months ago, but they're still alive."

"Theo said that he was attacked by the Grim," countered Lavender angrily, "so what do you have to say about that?"

"First of all, it wasn't the Grim that attacked him. It was Sirius Black. Second of all, _he is still alive_ ," Hermione enunciated with crossed arms. "There's no proof that the Grim actually and will in the future, kill Harry and Theodore. It's ridiculous."

While he agreed that the Grim wouldn't try to kill him or Harry again, because it was never there, Theodore did feel a little uneasy knowing that he was still marked. If he told the others on what he found out in his spare time, then maybe they could-

"…so sorry, dear. I'm afraid that being so close-minded will only result in your failure to See beyond the beyond. I would like to help you, but I'm afraid that the close-minded tend to be rather _slow_ in my opinion."

Hermione flared up with anger as her cheeks shifted into a violent shade of red. Everyone braced theirselves; they never seen her anger risen to such levels that they almost flinched back. Theodore felt a sudden urge to walk over to her and tell her to relax, but Hermione did quite the unexpected.

Instead of intensifying her rebuttal against the professor's claims, Hermione simply grabbed her book and chucked it into a pile of junk that was kept in the corner. The stitches in her bag nearly ripped again, but she looked too furious to care; her face said it all. She swung it over her shoulder and stomped to the trapdoor and vanished. The only sound that echoed through the room was the hard slam of the trapdoor and nothing else.

…

"Well, she shouldn't have been arguing with Professor-"

 **BANG!**

"ARGHHHH!" Lavender and Parvati shrieked as they clutched their chests in complete fear. Everyone darted their heads to where the noise came from and immediately found the culprit. Seamus was grinning meekly as his table became completely singed with a cracked spherical base of crystal releasing blue mist into the air. Luckily, fragments of the crystal ball pierced the ceiling only.

"Oh… um… My bad…"

Trelawney sighed as she conjured a notepad and quill, scribbling down as she muttered, "Finnigan has now burnt my table _again_ … and has destroyed a crystal ball… New school record for property damage… Unlucky, Mr Finnigan. Very unlucky."

 **Not much happened in this chapter, but this isn't the end of the conjoined chapters. I've thinking a lot about how this year is going to end and what I've got planned could shift the later story entirely. I even have plans for the very final chapter, buuuuuuuuuuut back to here. Theo playing little detective and all could end up really good, or really bad for him. Hope you liked this chapter. Later.**


	31. Chapter 31: Something's Unraveling

It was hoisted high into the air, along with the exultation that was coupled with it. Theodore was struggling to keep his focus on it, as its reflections bombarded his eyes, making it near impossible to look at. Glimpses of silver and white were all that he could see through the gaps of his fingers, forcing him to push through the exuberant Gryffindors so that he could face away from the sun.

Theodore could open his eyes without the fear of being blinded by the Quidditch Cup, which was raised by Harry on various shoulders on the flooded Quidditch field. The stakes had never been higher, but they were met and conquered by the sheer determination of Gryffindor's team. Theodore had never seen them so driven to win a game, and it was so much deserved and more. There he was with his fellow Housemates cheering his cousin on as he shook the Cup with pride and merriment, ignoring the downhearted Slytherins that stared at the winning House with such animosity. But none of their glares was returned as the silver Cup snatched them all.

Theodore was pushing through the tightened gaps in between the crowd as he searched for Ron and Hermione. He had somewhat lost their company when Harry made the catch and the Gryffindors spilt onto the field. They were separated, but they couldn't have gone that far.

"Hey, Oliver," he shouted above the nearby screams that surrounded the tearful captain. "Oliver! Have you seen —?"

Theodore had no time to react when Oliver grabbed him in a hug that was too intimate for his liking. He felt himself being swung around as Oliver was sobbing in his ear, crying tears of joy down his sweaty cheek.

"W-we won! We a-actually won! After al-all these years! I-I…!" Oliver cried some more as Theodore was desperate for him to let go, but he didn't stop there. His victory only granted him more energy as he swung Theodore around some more until the latter became too dizzy to resist.

Finally, his feet were planted to the ground once more as his balance was rocking dangerously side to side. Theodore placed his palms on both sides of his head as his vision became less blurred and easier to see. Eager to seek out his friends once again, the Parselmouth stuck his hands in front of him to divide the other supporters when he felt his body being dragged back a second time.

"I swear to God, if another person hugs me…" He turned his body to see Fred and George discarded of some of their paddings as their faces were red, joyous, and had a fair amount of mockery as well.

"Don't worry, we're not one of your little fan-girls," Fred spoke as he wiped a sweaty brow with a smirk.

"Hugging you is the last thing we want to do right now. We saw the way Oliver grabbed you as if you were his precious offspring," said George whilst swinging a Beaters' bat, "and he was dripping a shitload of sweat right about now!"

Theodore awkwardly brushed his hands over his clothes as he asked, "So why did you pull me over here for? I know that you two are the type to look for praise, although after what you did to Flint, you definitely have mine."

"Your congratulations are most endearing, my dear Theodore, but we actually have a proposition at hand."

"Proposition?" said Theodore with an eyebrow raised. "What kind of —?"

"Short, quick, very menial as well as appropriate for this situation," Fred interjected as the twins wrapped their arms around his shoulders.

"If it's menial, then why can't you do it?" Theodore asked until George released him as he tugged at his damp Quidditch kit.

"Our _proposition_ , unfortunately, requires that of a wand which we are severely lacking in. Fred and I think that it's the perfect time for a little bit of _light in the air_ , if you catch my drift."

Theodore caught onto this all right and looked over to the chanting crowds to see McGonagall reaching for the Cup, which was now being held by Oliver himself who invoked the most deafening roar so far, with tears streaming down her face. It surely would've meant that he would get into trouble; he already felt as if the cheering was enough. He was even given the treat of seeing Flint flinging his broomstick across the pitch in anger, only for it to poke him in his chest when it flew back to him. Theodore was more than content with the air of victory surrounding him, but a little bit of fireworks wouldn't hurt, would it?

He reached for his wand inside his back trouser pocket as he said, "I guess I could do something that's a little flashy. But my wand isn't really good with that sort of stuff, it might be a bit tacky and —"

"Oh, stop it, you overachiever you. We know how perfect you are in your classes, kid," Fred mocked as he thumped Theodore's back quite painfully. "Just make the sparks red, and you're good to go."

"Go the extra mile and add a bit of flair to it as well, if you can."

Theodore rubbed the stinging area where Fred smacked him as he glowered at him briefly before gripping his wand tightly in his hand. Although he had accomplished such a mundane feat before, Theodore knew that his type of wand was not attributed to _show off-y_ magic. He remembered the day after getting his wand when he read up on what little resources he had on Ollivander's self-written notes on his profession.

But the Parselmouth shook off his annoyance and pointed his wand to the sky, narrowing his mind to envision what he would conjure in the air, when a single red spark erupted from his wandtip. As it moved upwards at full pelt, the cheers momentarily faded as gasps of awe replaced them when everybody's attention was snatched by the ascending spark.

Theodore was also trapped in astonishment upon looking at the spark as he was about to proudly stash his wand away, when he turned his attention to the snickering pair. "Why are you two laughing? I did the thing, didn't I? It hasn't even —"

"I-I can't believe you fell for it!" Fred choked between laughs. "Why the hell would you do that?"

Theodore was about to make a retort to the twins, but was suddenly taken aback when an explosion in the air forced him to swivel around rapidly. The spark had gone off as intended, and was slowly starting to dim in the air until the remnants of the dying firework unexpectedly started to spiral instantaneously to form an accumulation of scarlet and golden showers of light. The gasps grew even louder as the lights clumped all together, subsequently creating what seemed to be a colossal sentient lion's head that released a fearsome roar across the field.

The Gryffindors, not at all surprising, screamed even louder as they cheered for the lion. Theodore, however, felt something eating his stomach as he stuffed his wand away in his pocket, but was too slow in the end for McGonagall had already seen him with the wand in hand.

"Professor, I didn't – well, I did, but —!" stammered Theodore when she came over to him. Fred and George had already hidden themselves in the crowd as they pointed at the lion which was now doing tricks in the air. But he was especially surprised by how well McGonagall took this sudden interruption. In fact, she looked incredibly elated for that matter.

"Oh, put the apology aside, Riddle! I was going to have the pleasure of doing exactly that myself, but I guess I am in too good of a mood to care. I have to say, I am rather impressed by your charmwork. I'll have to tell Professor Flitwick about this, although I doubt that he cannot see it from the castle. Ten points for Gryffindor."

The Parselmouth stood there amazed by what just happened, and watched McGonagall walking away with a very slight, and very rare, bounce to her step. He remained still until Ron, Hermione and the twins appeared on his side after pushing through the crowd.

"It wasn't you who did the firework, did you?" Hermione asked as she crossed her arms with half a smile on her face.

"As a matter of fact" — Theodore glared at Fred and George, who beamed straight back at him — "I did make the lion. And I didn't even get into trouble. Ten points for me," he said as he dug a thumb in his chest.

"Can't lie, I was a bit scared when the thing started to roar. Then I noticed McGonagall marching over to you when you had your wand in your hand. I thought you were a goner until she came back all merry-looking," Ron added.

"You've got balls, little Theo," jested Fred as he smacked the same area from before, "I'll give you that. I just hope that next time you'll think twice before —"

Theodore swiped his arm away and snapped, "I will!" before caressing the surely reddened area of burning skin.

"Well, I wouldn't recommend that you should do something like this again, but I really liked what you did with the lion. Pretty neat."

"Thanks, Hermione," Theodore replied as he scratched his hair. There was a slight twinge of heat in his cheeks as he could feel himself starting to become flushed, but it was soon smothered right after.

"Sure, when I don't even do anything, I get a week's detention for _not_ setting off fireworks, but when the little pretty boy does it out in the open, she fucking bows to his feet and gives him points! I could've done that easily! What the hell makes him so special?"

"Oh, can't you ever just shut up, Cormac," yelled Katie as she threw off some of her padding to the ground. "You always find something to complain about, even when it's absolutely unneeded!"

"But look at him! He's there, acting all smug because he escaped from getting a detention! I bet you that he was the one that framed me. That little arsehole was the one who nearly made us lose in his first year with his girlfriend and Potter —" McLaggen was quickly silenced, or rather, was cut off as he gave a shrill yelp while clutching his backside that was smoking with scarlet sparks and cinders.

"Riddle! Just when I commended you! Five points from Gryffindor!"

* * *

Theodore didn't know whether to feel incredibly conflicted, immensely happy or downright agitated, as May seemingly sped along without giving anybody a moment's notice. It had been nearly two months since he last stepped into Snape's classroom after any Potions lesson, and Snape didn't give any indication that he noticed this. Hell, Theodore was half-expecting Dumbledore to call him up to his office to give a more condescending lecture about his absence. But to his surprise, no such thing happened. Dumbledore was either happily chattering away at dinner times, or was inside his office doing whatever he did in his free time.

Yet, Theodore made sure to steer clear from the old man as he always had an uncomfortable feeling that he didn't need to speak in order to know what was on the boy's mind. He also felt the same way with Snape, although this lessened with both men over time. For some reason, Theodore could feel some 'resistance' building up inside of him; it was all too vague.

As for May moving hurriedly along, exams were sure to appear rather soon as they entered June. The air grew increasingly hot as the external uniform was shedded and discarded for the remaining weeks. Many students had their ties loosened, buttons undone and sleeves rolled up as they shuffled in and out of the Great Hall for revision sessions, and Theodore had to admit that it was better to be inside than out. How could he complain when the tables were littered with refilling goblets and ice cream (courtesy of the Deputy and Head of the school)?

Theodore had to put a hold on his research on Animagi, Sirius Black and Scabbers for the exams needed his full attention. Several extensive notes on the topics that he learnt throughout the year replaced his time on Black, and, unfortunately, Hagrid's appeal. The four had received no news from the half-giant, and due to Black's attack on Theodore, everybody had to be restricted within the castle at specific times, Theodore being completely stripped of even stepping outside without a supervisor. So, for the time being, they were stuck with what they had, and kept their heads down for the final month until the third year would eventually come to a close.

"Three-way Transfiguration requires intricate thinking on how to perform the perfect wand movements in a short amount of time…" Theodore grumbled to himself as he wiped his damp forehead. He was sat on Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, as the common room was much too noisy, in just his white t-shirt and trousers, shuffling the notes in front of him while keeping his wand steady in one hand. Practicing on goblets was a way to go, but he feared that he was too sluggish in the heat. He could afford to have a small break however…

"This heat is killing me! I don't know how you're able to keep turning your goblet into a mouse, Theo," Ron pointed out as his quill accidentally sprayed ink over his sheets.

"Neither do I. I've been trying to turn it into a bat for the past hour and a half."

Ron reached out to take a swig at his goblet, quickly drawing back when he realised that it was the idle mouse that he grabbed, and said, "At least you've got a chance in actually changing something. I'll probably blow whatever we have to transfigure into smithereens!"

Theodore gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry about that. That's Seamus's department, and I'm sure you won't be replacing him anytime soon."

"Hey!"

Ron flopped his head on the desk and sighed. "I just can't wait until we can go back home! The Quidditch World Cup was supposed to start this year in May, but got postponed until the last day of summer, and I know that Mum won't let us go by then!"

"Well, with all this moping around that you're doing instead of working, I wouldn't be surprised if she kept you locked in your house. Work," Theodore muttered as he too squeezed the mouse before turning it back into a goblet.

"Speaking of my house, are you coming this summer? Mum and Dad would love to have you around, and I think that Harry and Hermione could join as well."

"I have to see if the orphanage owner would be okay with it. She wouldn't be all that happy if I just up and left the —"

Harry waved at the two boys as he held a letter from the other side of the table. He and Hermione snatched their things from their spots, and sprawled them over their area.

"We've got news from Hagrid," whispered Harry as they all leaned inwards to listen to what the letter read. "He said that Buckbeak's appeal is on the twenty-third — hey, that's good! I thought it'd be much closer! Hang on, there's more… His inspection is going to happen on the sixth when we finish our exams —"

"Does it go into detail about the appeal?" asked Hermione as she slowly hauled a sturdy book from her bag.

"Yeah, it says that Fudge's going to be there, the Head of the _Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures_ and — I don't believe it! They're bringing the executioner!" Harry gasped before lowering his head again.

"That's disgusting," hissed Ron under his breath, "they can't make a decision yet! The appeal hasn't even begun!"

"I wonder who's the other Ministry official that's coming to see this," chimed in Hermione.

"Whoever he is, Lucius Malfoy probably scared him into bringing the executioner," Theodore added with an odd tone of roughness to his voice. "That, or the guy's just as much of a pure-blooded racist scum as well. Wouldn't be surprised anyway. Did he give any names?"

Harry shook his head and handed the letter over to Theodore for him to read. Through Hagrid's messy handwriting, Theodore could make out some of the details in the letter, but anything that was important had already been established by Harry. There was nothing for them to lead onto. The twenty-third sounded like weeks away, but the year was almost already over. An outcome where Hagrid would keep his job, Buckbeak would keep his head seemed to become more impossible as the days went by, and the other three knew that. They just didn't want to show it.

The timetables for the exams had been given out to each student on the next morning of the weekend as stress was seeping into everyone in a matter of hours. Study groups were formed around the common rooms as arguments about who was making the most noise was thrown back and forth; multiple classrooms were issued for some of the third-years who didn't have a place to revise, and the Great Hall was always a last resort. Theodore couldn't help but notice that there were much more people in his year upon looking closely. But that was irrelevant.

"Hermione, you know you got your exams mixed up, right?" said Ron as he peered over the Muggle-born's timetable.

"No, I haven't."

"But you —"

"I haven't mixed anything up, Ron, so don't worry," returned Hermione irritably. The bags under her eyes returned on the recent days, and her sleeping schedule had to be drastically divided in order for her revision to be effective.

Unbeknownst to Harry and Ron, Theodore was told that the Time-Turner was starting to act up again, and wouldn't send her back to the time that she wanted. It was chance that the Parselmouth managed to find her in a broom cupboard lounging next to a singing cloak in the middle of the day. She explained to him that she was sent back twelve hours and had nowhere to hide, leading her to miss some of her classes. Theodore suggested to turn it in, but she refused out of fear of being accused of breaking it.

"When do you think we should visit Hagrid again," suggested Harry as the four packed up to leave for the common room in the late evening.

"Harry, as much as we want to, we can't go to him. Even if we were allowed, somehow, Theo wouldn't be able to come."

"I just hate that we're not doing anything about it!"

"We are, remember?" Ron said as they passed through a relatively empty hallway. "The appeal is going to be ready soon, and the inspection for Hagrid will go smoothly, if he behaves that is."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"When it comes to magical beasts, Hagrid isn't exactly sensible…"

Theodore drowned their voices as he momentarily paused in between a junction of two corridors. From where he was standing, he had a perfect view of the Whomping Willow which was calmly swaying side to side. Theodore knew better than to carelessly wander into the vicious tree's vicinity, fully aware of how it nearly killed Harry and Ron almost two years ago.

But it wasn't the tree in particular that caught the boy's attention, no. It was the animal that flew out from the tree's roots, which soared across the castle grounds before it disappeared across the Black Lake. Theodore could easily tell that the animal, which was a bird, was a raven, but it had a distinguishing feature of its beak being terribly big and noticeably hooked. Other than that, it looked perfectly normal.

He merely shrugged and rejoined the others as they returned to the common room. Here he was, worrying about animals with body parts that were out of proportion, when he had exams on the very next day.

' _You got too much on the brain, Theo. Too much.'_

* * *

"You may now place your wands down. The exam is now over."

Theodore gave a hearty sigh of relief that attracted multiple glares from his fellow classmates. Not letting the venomous stares get to him, the Parselmouth pocketed his wand as he handed the written work to McGonagall at the front of the classroom before anybody else.

Hermione was quick to follow, yet was fretting to release the parchments from her fingers as McGonagall grabbed hold of them. She eventually let go and took a nervous breath of air as she and Theodore went over to the corner to retrieve their bags. Hermione was on the verge of asking Theodore on how he found the exam, but was silenced when McGonagall called him back after.

Once the classroom cleared out with the whimpers of defeat and self-esteem being ripped away soon turned into nothing, McGonagall invited Theodore over to her desk.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Do not worry, I'm not going to ask about your exam. I wouldn't be able to, under certain restrictions. However, I wanted to discuss about your interest in Animagi," McGonagall clarified as she summoned a box from the corner to collect all of the parchments on her desk.

"Professor, I already said that I'm not planning on turning into an Animagus anytime soon, so there's nothing to worry —"

"Hmph. Well, that's a shame. I would've enjoyed having the pleasure of teaching you myself."

Theodore cocked his head to the side a little. He didn't know if it was the Quidditch Cup or if it was just him that McGonagall seemed to be in a rather good mood. A smile on her face had never been so… consistent before.

"T-teach me? But… why?"

"It's obvious that you do, indeed, want to become an Animagus. Or have I taken your interest in the subject too literally," she continued with her forehead wrinkled in a half-frown.

"Um… I wouldn't… mind, but… aren't I little too young for that?" Theodore asked as he rubbed his elbow. He didn't think that being an Animagus at fourteen would be allowed as much as doing it illegally. But McGonagall seemingly read his mind.

"Of course! Far too young! I couldn't allow you to do that, not after the last — I shall see if I can allow you to undergo my tutelage when you're seventeen, sixteen minimum, if you continue to impress me."

"Great," exclaimed Theodore as he rubbed his elbow a little more vigorously. "I'll — I'll keep note of that. Sixteen?"

"Sixteen."

Theodore nodded at her and left the room courteously as he slung his bag over his back. She didn't actually take him seriously, did she? Not a single thought of turning into an animal had occurred in Theodore's head the second he touched that book. He couldn't see the uses of it, unless his form would land on the spectrum of phoenixes and other magical beasts, but even those sounded completely ridiculous.

' _What does it matter anyway? That's almost three years away from now, who the hell even knows what'll happen by then?'_

"Good, you're out now. Now you can tell me all about your exam," Hermione demanded as she broke away from the classroom door.

"Where are they, Harry and Ron," asked Theodore.

"They went to lunch, now, come on! Don't leave me guessing, Theodore!"

Theodore shot her a haughty grin as he remarked about the exam being simple, to which wasn't an entire lie. He only had a slight problem on the rapid Three-Way Transfiguration, where he had to switch a toy ball from a bowl, to a mouse and back into a toy ball again. But other than that, his performance was flawless.

Hermione rolled her eyes, still reminding him of the wager that the two of them had.

"What made you think that I forgot, _Granger_?" Theodore jabbed with much more arrogance in his voice.

"Just making sure. Didn't want you to start getting soft near the finish line, _Riddle_."

The two discussed their answers all the way to the Great Hall where they met Ron and Harry scoffing down sandwiches while looking at their Charms notes at the same time. Theodore eagerly joined the two as he filled his mouth with bacon sandwiches, and gulped down several goblets of Pumpkin Juice before being quite full.

The quartet entered Flitwick's classroom as they proceeded to collect their writing equipment from their bags that were left in the corner, and walked over to the desks for the first forty-five minutes. When parchments were finally filled, the third-year Gryffindors were then partnered with the same people from their previous lessons, Theodore subsequently working with Elvira, who didn't seem nervous in the slightest.

Theodore was the first to perform between the pair as they were being tested on the Cheering Charm. He gave steady flicks and swishes, along with the muttering of the incantation, as Elvira's face grew into a pretty smile that came with a slight giggle.

The Metamorphmagus shook the feeling off after a few minutes, and pointed her wand at Theodore to which she, yet again, casted the charm flawlessly, earning a bright smile from the Parselmouth. Flitwick waddled over to give the girl praise, but quickly turned his attention to Ron, who was barking with laughter.

"Come along, Mr Weasley, and you too, Mr Potter. He'll need someone to test his Cheering Charms on when he's finished guffawing."

Theodore waited outside the classroom with Neville, Hermione and Elvira as they talked endlessly about how well they performed.

"Don't worry, Neville," comforted Hermione as she patted the downhearted boy on the back. "You managed to make me crack a little smile."

"But I was grinning like a madman when it was your turn!"

Waiting became tediously exhausting as the four children decided to leave for dinner when Harry and Ron didn't come out thirty minutes later. Up in the common room later that night, Theodore had his head stuck inside his Ancient Runes notes and books, while Hermione was furiously organising her own while keeping her head up from slamming headfirst into their shared table. It was difficult for him to concentrate on differentiating between hieroglyphs and cleverly-disguised Greek symbols when the Muggle-born's head would sometimes land on his shoulder; he even suggested that she should just go to sleep, but Hermione wasn't having it. Her insistence that she would stay awake was commendable, but faltering.

The next morning arrived so suddenly as Theodore found himself being split away from the other two as he made his way to Ancient Runes instead. He was accompanied by a very weary-looking Hermione, dragging herself to the door till the last second when they entered the room.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione managed to keep her head up for the entire exam, scribbling and circling just as quickly as she would during a normal lesson. Once they were finished and were handing in their parchments to Professor Babbling, Hermione lazily brought out her wand as she fixed several hair-bands that were snapped from inside her pockets.

"I" — Hermione gave out a loud yawn without covering her mouth, displaying her front teeth quite prominently — "don't think I can take it anymore. My — My eyes are burning and my hair is a mess…"

The perfect retort was on the tip of Theodore's tongue, but he held it inside himself for Hermione's sake. The last thing he needed was for her to be angry as well as tired. She had recently grown to becoming quite snappish in the passing days of exam week; Theodore saw this coming from before the year even started.

He said goodbye to Hermione as she travelled back to the morning for her Magical Creatures exam, and quickly chewed on his lunch before making his way to the common room. The next exam was Potions, and the only thing that Theodore had to prepare himself for that, was to rebuild his resilience from being in the same room with Snape for two hours. If he could do that, then he was set.

" _Are your exams going well,"_ Viripin asked quietly as Theodore was well hidden on the back tables of the room.

"So far. But my next one is with Snape, and I don't know if I can take another two hours with him, Viripin." Theodore hauled his bag onto a chair on his left and continued, "The guy hasn't done anything to me, so what if he tries to sabotage my exam for revenge?"

" _Hmmm… I don't doubt for a second that Torturer is conniving, but he wouldn't go that far, would he? The Headmaster would surely oversee the situation, should it happen, if you were to fail."_

"As far as I know, Dumbledore doesn't get involved in final exams, except for cancelling them," Theodore responded as the Maibian Adder curled herself into a ball on the table. Theodore didn't want to give Snape anymore thought, and decided to revise for Defence and Astronomy instead, to take his mind off him.

Loosening his tie, Theodore lethargically flicked his fingers towards his bag as five books all flew out and levitated in front of him open-paged. He had practiced the Levitation Charm so much that it was now effortless to enter the mindset of casting it without his wand. Sure, it was just the Levitation Charm, but who knew what else he could do when he was older? Besides, making books float without his wand wasn't exactly new to him anyway.

"How did you do that?"

Theodore lifted his gaze to Ginny slightly gawping at him. The girl had appeared from out of nowhere, and she too had taken on tying her hair back into a ponytail like most of the other girls, as well as leaving her robes and jumper behind.

"The books?"

"No, I'm talking about your hair. Yeah, the books! How did you just make them float like that? I didn't see you using a wand!"

"I — It's not that difficult, I guess. You just got to focus properly, that's all. See," he went on as he flicked his finger again for his Astronomy book to whizz straight past Ginny's ear and into his hand.

"Wow! Always knew that you were a smart guy, but I never knew that you could do wandless magic like that," Ginny said as she crossed her arms, nodding her head as she was impressed.

"Yeah, well, I try. If you want to sit down, please don't speak to me. I've got Potions and Astronomy in a few hours, so…"

Ginny complied and sat down in the opposite chair to Theodore as she pushed the floating books away, before turning her attention to Viripin. The Adder recognised her as friendly, and brushed her snout against the red head's palm. Ginny stroked the serpent adoringly while sending curious looks at Theodore, who didn't seem to notice her looking at him.

…

"Did you ever get nightmares?" Ginny asked, breaking the silence that was only filled with Viripin's subtle hisses.

Theodore removed himself from the book and said, "Nightmares?"

"Yeah, nightmares. Did you get them sometimes, after last year?"

…

"Um… They stopped. Why?"

Ginny stroked her finger against Viripin's spine before replying. "I still have them, just sometimes. They don't really come up that often now, but… I can sometimes still hear him —"

"Hissing in your ear." Theodore set the book down on the table and looked at Ginny who lost some of her joyfulness as there was less energy in petting Viripin. "It feels like he hasn't really left you, doesn't it?"

"But how do you do it, to look so happy on the outside after everything that happened to you?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You never mentioned anything like this before."

"Yeah, but you and I both — you know? Nobody else can really understand except you," Ginny uttered silently as she removed her hand from Viripin.

Now that… That definitely sparked something inside him. The only person who he truly confided in after the previous year was Dumbledore. He never broke down in front of Ron, Harry or Hermione, and never gave a single thought about talking to Ginny about it. If he did, would he have come to peace with it a long time ago? Ginny didn't look like she did. Maybe she was doing what he should've done when they left the Chamber last year: talk to each other.

Theodore blinked when a book brushed against his nose, and snapped back into focus as Ginny started to leave the table.

"Well, I won't disturb you any further. You've got a lot of revision to do, so I'll let you be. Good luck!" beamed the girl as she skipped back over to her friends on the sofa.

' _She's been getting nightmares because she hasn't gotten over it. She probably didn't have Dumbledore to talk to her, because he was busy with talking to me. No wonder she came to me: she has nobody to speak to about it! And she wants to speak to you. But she always seemed all right…'_

As heartless as it was, Theodore had to forget about Ginny. Potions was right around the corner, Ministry officials were soon to arrive for Hagrid and Buckbeak, and Black could strike the castle again at any second. For a second, with so much going on around him, Theodore felt just a sliver of Hermione's pain and laughed to himself a little. Only just a little.

* * *

"…and you will have one hour to brew the Confusing Concoction. Begin!"

Theodore exhaled deeply, and waved his wand to light a flame underneath his cauldron as he collected all the necessary ingredients. The dungeons felt more damp and drab than usual, as if a Dementor was hanging from the ceiling. Theodore spent most of the afternoon prior going over Astronomy and Defence, not giving a single care to Potions. He knew that he could easily gain a perfect grade in the exam, so why did his fingers refuse to remain steady?

From the corner of his eye, he could see Snape sending him those venomous glares that hadn't invoked any further action in the recent months.

' _He's trying to throw you off… Just don't look at him…'_

His hands continued to tremble as he carelessly dashed Spider Juice against the edge of his cauldron, almost squandering his portion as he attempted to scoop it up from his table. Theodore swore to himself quietly, and carried on, foolishly turning his head towards Snape to see if he saw his blunder.

Surprisingly, Snape was on the other side of the classroom, glaring down on the students (the Gryffindors to be more specific) with a daunting stature. He circled around Neville once too many times, and grinned nastily when Neville grabbed a vial of purple sap, causing the boy to place it down quickly in shame.

But the second Snape moved onto Hermione on Neville's right, Neville immediately reached for the sap and emptied it out in the cauldron, flinching a little as the potion spewed a little fire and effervesced.

' _Nice one, Neville. Don't let him get to you. Doing a better job than I am at the moment…'_

The hour had finished and Theodore was stirring his Concoction to test its viscosity, and sure enough, it had thickened to perfection. He glanced over to Neville and saw a very mild smile on his face, but it was the opposite for Harry. Theodore squinted his eyes to his cousin's cauldron, and realised that it was more watery than sludgy. Snape scribbled something very quickly across his parchments and moved onto Ron, then Seamus, Crabbe, Pansy, Draco, and finally Theodore.

He merely lowered his head over his cauldron, and wrote something quickly before moving back to the front of the class to dismiss everybody. All without acknowledging Theodore's presence in front of him.

The dungeons was cleared out as Theodore joined the other three to dinner before waiting in the common room for their Astronomy exam. Hermione had calmed down since Potions, and did not hound everybody into telling her how they found the exam. It was for the better, as the majority of the third-years had been scowling the second they left Snape's classroom.

Theodore flicked Neville's ear, waking him up on the sofa next to Elvira as the time was fifteen to twelve. The third-years trekked up to the tallest tower of the castle to be met with Professor Sinistra, the professor for Astronomy. After two hours of gazing up at the stars and recording patterns on their star charts, the Gryffindors returned to the common room and flopped into their beds, most being too lazy to remove their uniform. Having Ancient Runes, Potions and Astronomy all in one go sapped a lot of Theodore's strength; he wondered how well he would fare in the morning with History of Magic.

History had left the Parselmouth drained and dry as he left Binns's classroom with heavy-lidded eyes. It was bad enough that he almost crashed into Flint, who was still unable to let go of the Cup Final, but now he had Herbology in the afternoon. His second-to-last exam went somewhat all right, due to being hidden in the far corner in the shadows. However, that meant enduring two hours of snapping plants trying to bite his ears off when potting slimy bushes at the same time.

Theodore threw off his muddy apron and clothing, and headed for the showers in the common room. Even though he wasn't exposed to the sun through the window panes of the greenhouse, there was too much sweat to ignore. After going through Defence one last time, specifically Boggarts, Theodore fell asleep and didn't even bother to go down for dinner until Viripin reminded him in the dead of the night. He was truly thankful for his friends as they managed to sneak some food for him when they returned, resulting in a small midnight feast before they fell asleep once more.

' _Okay, that Hinkypunk was of no help. Don't know why it told me to go the other way.'_

Theodore weaved through the Defence exam, which was more of an obstacle course, feeling some rush of excitement as he manoeuvred past another pool of Grindylows. He barely caught a wink during the previous night, but here, he was running on the fun that had been absent for the entire week. None of the other exams held a single spark to Lupin's idea.

The seemingly final part of the course was an open worn-out trunk that was lying in the sun. Theodore dropped to his knees and realised that it had been enchanted to hold much more space on the inside. He slipped inside quite easily and moved one step forward in a simple room that was lit by a single torch. In the middle of the room was the same wardrobe from the first Defence lesson, perfectly reconstructed and no longer swaying.

The Parselmouth instantly knew what was inside, and started to move backwards until smoke dribbled from the bottom gaps of the wardrobe door. They quickly clumped together and created the shape of his fear as he stepped back even further.

" _Slytherin's blood…"_

" _Ridd — Riddikul — Riddik…"_

It wasn't working. He couldn't say it. Theodore backed away quickly and climbed out of the trunk, desperately trying to hide his distress as Harry and Ron came over with Lupin.

"Are you all right, Theodore," asked Lupin worryingly, noticing how pale he had gotten. "I thought that — The Boggart wasn't too much for you, was it?"

Theodore shook his head and gave a fake smile. "It was fine! I'm fine, there's no need to worry about me…"

"What happened with the Boggart," Harry asked as Lupin turned away to watch Hermione in the course.

"I — I froze, and I couldn't even say the fucking charm. I'm going to get marked down for this, I know I will!"

"It's all right. I messed up with the Hinkypunk," Ron admitted as he craned his neck to see Hermione slipping into the trunk."

"But you didn't mess up with the Boggart, did you?"

Theodore felt just a little less worse when he saw Hermione hysterically clambering out of the trunk, worrying over her Boggart. It didn't lift his mood at all though. He had a full year to work on Boggarts, yet he utterly failed in the end. So much for a near-unmatchable work ethic. Harry's face was almost about to tear apart from how big his smile was when he left the trunk. Ron was grinning as well, even though he was tricked by the Hinkypunk.

' _Divination better not piss me off. I already can't stand Trelawney and her stupid —"_

The same big-beaked raven was flying out and around the Whomping Willow, and settled on a branch as the tree was unusually stationary and unresponsive. The bird lowered and twitched its head, glancing across the school grounds like it was searching for something. But the way it darted its head left and right seemed too… human. At least, to Theodore.

The boy had definitely caught the peculiar bird's attention. Their moment of locked eye contact was severed quickly as the raven squawked and dove down to the ground, speeding along the grass before it turned towards the direction of Hogsmeade, and disappeared into the village as it left Theodore wondering…

* * *

"Professor McGonagall, Hermione? Really?"

"Don't you start, Ron! Being scared of spiders is childish!"

Lupin had finally allowed the four to leave after Hermione regained some sense and composure. Theodore and Harry actively ignored their bickering, instead, wondering about what their final exam could hold for them, regarding Trelawney's _fateful_ implication that they shared the same destiny. It had sunken in Theodore's brain about all the nonsense that Trelawney had theorised over the year, and how exactly did Dumbledore hire her. The subject in itself was useless, and Theodore wished that he left the class the same time as Hermione.

"Guys, you remember what the date is today, right?" said Ron as he and Hermione cleared their hostility from their system. "The sixth! Hagrid's inspection!"

Harry led the group into the castle and across the corridor sighing. "We couldn't go, even if we wanted to. Snape surely must be spying on us, and if he sees us on the Map going too far from the castle, then…"

"We only talked to him once about it during our exam, and it was barely anything!" Hermione added.

"I hate that we can't see him, but there's no point in taking that risk, even if school's ending soon," Theodore said as they reached the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall. "Remember, it's all up to Hagrid now. There's nothing for us to do at the moment except to hope."

' _And even that seems useless.'_

Their heads were all turned as the oak doors swung open for three wizards stepped through. The first wizard earned a scowl from Theodore as he was instantly recognisable. Fudge was fanning his portly self with his bowler hat, puffing through his mouth loudly while blinking tiredly. He, unfortunately, took notice of him and Harry, and was about to say something when one of the other wizards caught his attention.

This wizard had, surprisingly, a good amount of hair on his head as it was stylishly combed to release a single curl that dropped over his eyebrow. He was, however, noticeably old. White, snowy hair and the wrinkles on his forehead and cheeks said it all. He was relatively thin, was dressed in expensive-looking robes and was even brandishing a silver cane that was not too dissimilar with Lucius Malfoy's.

"Again with _this_ one? How he avoided Azkaban is beyond me, Cornelius. Twice now, if you count all of the accusations," said the other wizard with a strong voice.

Something prickled Theodore's brain as the unknown wizard's voice sounded familiar to him, like he heard him speaking on multiple occasions, even though they had never seen each other before.

"Don't worry, everything will be taken care of. Mulciber, be careful with that! You don't want to go chopping our heads off, as well as any poor child walking past, do you?"

The burly man who was dressed in average-looking robes that was clutching a heavy-looking axe, lifted his palm to show that he was sorry. But he didn't look like he cared at all.

"Boys! How nice to see the both of you! My, it's been far too long since the last time we met, no," greeted Fudge as he walked over to the bottom of the steps.

"Yes. Far too long," muttered Theodore. He was trying his best not to growl, or give away any hint of anger to the Minister.

"Well, I expect that you heard about Hagrid's… problem?"

Ron came down a step and said, "It's more than just a problem, it's unjust!" He annoyingly turned back to Hermione as she jabbed him in the shoulder to stop him from speaking any further.

Fudge didn't change his expression, and responded calmly. "You must understand that circumstances like these are rare to avoid. I feel terrible for Rubeus, I do. But we cannot just change the chosen decision so abruptly —"

"But you can," interrupted Ron again. "The appeal is still valid, right? Can't those change the final outcome at any time?"

"Well…" Fudge started to fan himself again, and looked around as if the conversation had ended. "We'll just have to wait and see. These are just standard Ministry procedures, nothing more."

As Ron huffed and crossed his arms, Theodore was unknowingly staring at the older wizard, and vice-versa. The man was looking more familiar by the second, and it seemed the same for the other wizard as well, possibly even quicker. It was right there at the back of his mind… He knew this man — but from where?

The bells for lunch rang, startling Theodore a little as he brushed his nose with his wrist.

"Ah, I expect it to be around lunchtime for you children? I would hate to hold you hostage for your food, especially when the weather is like this, on top of your exams. Good luck to you all."

"Thank you," said the four altogether.

"Oh well. To meet with Rubeus, I suppose," spoke Fudge as he began to walk across the Entrance Hall to a diverging corridor. "Goodbye, Harry and Theodore."

"Yes," interjected the old wizard with an odd, sinister-like gleam in his eyes. "Goodbye, Harry. And to you too, Mr Riddle."

Theodore was left speechless. He watched the wizard follow Fudge into the corridor with Mulciber tagging behind, slapping the flat side of his axe against his palm while smirking. The three wizards were soon out of sight as the four walked straight up the stairs, and towards the Great Hall as they finally spoke.

"Do you know that guy, Theo," asked Ron in a huffily voice as his shoulder came into contact with a husky-looking Ravenclaw.

"Never met him before in my life," Theodore returned in a low voice.

"Well, how does he know your last name?"

"Fudge said something about my name going around in the Ministry. I still think it's weird that people know who I am from outside here."

As he entered the Great Hall to see a wave of happy faces stuffing themselves with food as it was the final day of exams, Theodore's ear caught onto familiar laughter from behind him, and told the others that he'd join them really quickly. He then backed away from the doors, and turned to his left as he reached the end of the hallway to see Draco, Crabbe and Goyle shoving and tripping first-years as they appeared from around the corner, laughing menacingly while at it.

"Watch where you're stepping, kids, otherwise, you might lose something like — Theodore!" Draco lifted his chin and grinned while crossing his arms to greet the Parselmouth. "What brings you here?"

"Tell your sidekicks to clear off. I want to speak with you."

Draco took one look at the towering boys and said, "Well, you heard the man!" They scurried away as they were left alone with the first-years that scowled at Draco. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Tell your dad to drop Buckbeak's case," Theodore demanded.

Draco stood still for a bit, then rolled his eyes as his grin grew larger. "I think it's a little too late for that, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think it is. I'm sure if he started this whole thing, then he can end it whenever he wants to."

"And why would I even bother asking him to do that? I didn't start anything, the beast attacked me."

"After you provoked it," Theodore shot back as he came closer to Draco. "There's no reason to keep the case going. You're not dead, your arm's perfectly fine —"

Draco cut the Parselmouth off as he scoffed, losing his smirk as he dropped his arms. "I don't think you understand. This is the _second_ time I got attacked at this school because of that oaf —"

"Don't call Hagrid an oaf! It was your fault, and you know it!"

"Now you're defending him. Of course, why wouldn't you? You're a part of Potter's _gang_ , I should've expected this. Didn't think that you would care for such a brainless creature —"

"You barely know me," seethed Theodore as his hold on his anger was thinning quickly.

"I know enough. Father told me a little bit more about you last summer —"

Theodore came even closer as they were almost face to face. "Tell him to call it off," he enunciated with a dangerously low voice.

…

"Or what?"

"Trust me, you do _not_ want to play that game with me, Draco."

Draco curled his lip into another pretentious smile as he backed away with an arrogant stride. "Father did say some things about you, but I can't even see it right now. You're getting soft, _Riddle_. But I guess that happens when you hang around with scar-heads, Weasels and Mud —"

He immediately cowered back as he saw Theodore's eyes flash scarlet with slitted pupils, his face shifting into something almost evil-looking before it turned back to normal. Draco was nearly choking on his spit as it was hard to swallow, and walked off to the same direction where Crabbe and Goyle went, not turning his head once. He knew better than to stay.

Theodore shook off his spike of anger and released his right fist, rubbing his reddened palm while walking back to the Great Hall. If Draco'd finished that sentence, Theodore would've finished him then and there. Absolutely no hesitation to give him his worse.

Harry was at the doors of the Hall, and asked Theodore why he was talking to Draco. He simply replied that it was just a wasted attempt of solving this mess, and that he wouldn't be talking to him anytime soon.

"The prick is unreasonable," said Ron when Theodore told him and Hermione what happened in the corridor. "I doubt his dad would be any different. Why are you smiling, Theo?"

Theodore grabbed his plate and started to fill it up as he was indeed, smiling rather maliciously. "Nothing. Just got a feeling that dear old Lucius is going to regret ever coming at Hagrid."

"And how do you know that," asked Hermione as she opened up her Muggle Studies book.

Theodore shrugged, and chewed on his baguette after saying, "Just a feeling, nothing else. But it's one of those good ones that you can't really explain, you know?"

…

"You are… something else, Theo."

Lunch carried on steadily until the bells signalled its end, clearing the Hall of excitable students who were looking forward to their final exam. The boys saw Hermione off at Muggle Studies as they wished each other good luck before they separated. After taking many infrequent breaks in the journey up to the seventh floor, they finally regrouped with their classmates, and found a place underneath the trapdoor to settle on.

"A whole bunch of nonsense is what I'm expecting," Ron said tiredly as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh, Ron. I'm sure you'll do well." Parvati said this confidently as, unlike the rest of the other students, she didn't have her book out for last-minute checking up.

"I was talking about expecting nonsense from Trelawney."

"She only speaks the truth," snapped Parvati as she angrily crossed her arms. "You and Theodore are both the same, mocking Professor Trelawney instead of respecting her. How would you feel if —?"

"Theodore Riddle!" called Trelawney from the trapdoor as Seamus came down from the ladder.

Theodore butted his head against the railings, groaning miserably. He picked himself up and walked over to the trapdoor, getting a 'Good luck!' from Parvati as he climbed into the classroom. He stopped midway as for a second, a sweltering wave of choking air smacked against his face. He thumped his chest and entered the room, feeling his skin leaking with sweat, and sat in front of Trelawney on her desk.

"Hello. I hope you are ready for your exam. Mind you, the easiest part of this is keeping your eyes on the crystal ball. All you have to do is to See inside, and interpret the messages, symbols and signs that may appear," she explained as she used a brown cloth to wipe the smears off the orb.

"So, I just look inside?"

"Please do."

He combed his damp hair back with his fingers, and lowered his face so that his nose was but an inch away from the crystal ball. One deep breath, and he widened his eyes to see if anything was forming inside the floaty mist.

"Anything, dear?"

He brushed his hair back again, and focused harder. Nothing seemed to be happening. It was all just mist. He wondered if she'd know that he was lying if he tried.

"Um… wait, I see something…" This, oddly enough, wasn't a lie. The mist in the ball was still swirling on the inside, but something was forming, becoming nearly solid in fact…

"What do you see?" Trelawney whispered as she lowered her head as well.

"Well… there's a person, but… I think they have two faces, like they're on either side of the head…"

"Good, good! Carry on," encouraged the witch as she gave Theodore a toothy grin.

' _Not serious at all.'_

"Both faces are — I think they are — screaming… They're being ripped apart and… wait, it's changing… Now there's a cauldron, and five shapes are surrounding it… I think they're people…"

"So? What do you think it means, dear boy? What is your Inner Eye trying to say through you?"

' _It wants you to accidentally knock yourself out, that's what it's saying.'_

"Um… this is just a complete guess, but — No! It's not a guess, it's a prediction! Sorry, I worded it incorrectly… The cauldron could mean that I'll have a career in Potions, because I'm good at it at the moment, and that _thing_ with the faces could be —"

He instantly thought of Quirrell when he had Voldemort hanging on the back of his head.

"It could mean that I'll show a different side to myself in the future…?"

"What about those five people? What does the number five mean to you, dear?" Trelawney asked as she wrote down notes on a parchment sheet with his name being the title.

"I honestly don't know." Theodore had enough. Hagrid's inspection was in a few hours, and the room was sucking out every ounce of energy inside him. Fudge, Mulciber and that wizard probably lied to Hagrid, and were going to kill Buckbeak today instead. Divination served no importance, and it never did.

He slowly began to lift himself on his knees, bringing his face closer to the crystal ball. The mist dispersed and became uninteresting again, until something very faint caught his attention.

"What? Do you see something else," Trelawney said on the edge of her seat as she lowered her head again in level with Theodore.

"No, I… I…"

The cauldron reappeared, but the five figures didn't. It rotated slowly in the centre of the orb, turning and turning when something rose from the inside. It was so faint, and would've vanished if Theodore blinked just once. He squinted closely, watching the cauldron as a skull emerged from the brim, with a single serpent protruding from the inside of its mouth.

"I see… I see…"

 **What do you see, Theo? The buildup during this year has been quite slow for me, and if it was for you then I apologise. But while I was writing this chapter, I had an epiphany about how I should end this year off and I literally scribbled it on paper so that I wouldn't forget so here's hoping that it'll be good. Also, Theo is starting to get a little more fluid in magic. Wonder how that'll turn out. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you later.**

 **And I also decided to keep this chapter separate as well, and keep the previous ones as a two-parter. Just a little heads up.**

 **Guest: Sorry if it isn't your cup of tea. But I hope that you'll find a better fic where you can still call 12 year old girls bitches. Good luck my dude.**


	32. Chapter 32: In the Shadows

_Going to be out of Hogwarts for a bit. Don't worry about me or Beaky. We'll be fine. I know how you're like, so don't even think about coming down. Here's hoping that it'll blow over._

 _Hagrid_

Hermione read Hagrid's note as shakily as the half-giant's scribbling, handing it over to Harry, who was the last of the four to arrive at the empty common room. Theodore watched Harry trailing his eyes up and down the note deadpanned, until he scrunched it a little in his hand.

"They're going to fire him —" Ron started.

"They won't," snapped Harry as he stuffed the note inside his trouser pocket.

"How do you know that, Harry? The inspection was all down to Hagrid — we can't do anything about it," Hermione said quietly.

"But we can! I mean — Theo, don't tell me you're thinking the same thing?"

Theodore sighed, and scratched his chin which became rougher as the year passed. "But what can we do, Harry? Go up to Fudge, and convince him not to fire Hagrid? Seems to me like this is out of our control."

"Then we've got to go! Who says that we can't convince Fudge to reconsider?"

"Harry —"

"You're telling me that after what we did, after what _you_ did for Hagrid, you're just going to let things be?"

Theodore instantly stood up and frowned at his cousin. "If you think that I'm giving up, then you're simply just wrong. There's nothing that we can do. If there was, then we'd be doing it. But now? Out of our hands."

Talking like he accepted defeat was destructive to Theodore's ego, his way of thinking, even his whole reason for being at Hogwarts. Saying that there was no other way to help Hagrid was poison on his tongue, but the truth hurts sometimes. What were four teenagers going to do against the Minister for Magic, in all seriousness? The absurdity of it was much too confusing for him to understand.

Harry crossed his arms, and blew out of his nose sharply. The steady shaking of his head told the other three that his thoughts were unwavering, and so was his next decision. "No. No, we're not going to stay here, and let it happen. We've got to do something before they take Hagrid away."

"Harry, if Hagrid said that we shouldn't come, then we shouldn't —"

"Harry's right," Hermione cut in, "Hagrid needs us. You said it yourself to him, it'd be cruel not to go."

Theodore rubbed his left temple and said, "I don't think you guys are actually listening to me. _We can't go_. First of all, we haven't got the Invisibility Cloak to cover us, and even if we did, Snape has the Map in his office. We couldn't go get the Cloak without him knowing."

"It's only Harry that's on Snape's radar, not us three. OK, us _two_ , seeing as you and him are having a… whatever. But I could just go to the place and —"

"Hermione, don't. It's risky, and you could get into trouble!"

"Theo, we've all done things that should've gotten us expelled," said the Muggle-born nonchalantly. "This is nothing compared to the past."

"Yes, because somehow, the teachers in this school weren't competent enough to see four kids sneaking around the castle," he hissed. "There's a man out to get us, so we shouldn't take any chances!"

"As long as it doesn't look like we're going to get the Cloak, then we'll be fine," said Harry as he turned to aim towards the portrait hole.

"I'm sorry, _we_? What do you mean — where are you going?" Theodore asked Harry as he pushed the portrait open.

No answer was heard as Harry climbed out of the hole, and stamped his feet onto the platform outside the common room, startling some of the security trolls that were guarding the Fat Lady. Theodore gritted his teeth a little, and turned to his left to ask the others if they were staying. Quick blurs of bushy and red hair told him without a single word.

"Hey! Don't just leave!" Theodore called out as Hermione disappeared out of the hole.

Ron turned back and said, "Then get off your arse, and come along! If Hermione wants to break the rules, then you should want to ten times more. Come on!" And he too jumped through the hole.

' _You'd be an absolute hypocrite to say that you shouldn't go to Hagrid. Grow a pair, Theo!'_

"Wait for me, at least!" Theodore got out of his seat, and charged towards the closing portrait. After having a brief confrontation with the security trolls (they were told to keep an extra eye out for Theodore) the Parselmouth finally managed to escape their clutches, and joined the others on the stairway at the last second. The other three beamed at him, but he waved it off, and put on a scowl which withered away quickly enough.

The stairway suddenly stopped moving, and the quartet bustled off to the lower floor, hastily rushing through the corridors, and briefly stopping at the corners before making their way down to Hagrid's Hut.

When they reached the fourth floor, Theodore suggested that they should at least try to retrieve the Marauder's Map, just to make sure that they could be safe from Snape.

"There's no time," whispered Ron, while Harry and Hermione turned their heads in opposite directions as lookouts. "It's almost time for dinner, and if we go down to the dungeons, it'll be too late. And Snape could be waiting for us down there as well."

"It'll be quick! It'll be really quick; I broke into his office before —" Theodore was about to turn back to the Grand Staircase, but was yanked back by Hermione who refused to have him at the back of the group.

They descended each floor, awkwardly waving at passing students who glared at them as if they were insane, almost scrambling in broom cupboards whenever they heard something resembling Snape's voice, only for it to be the sound of doors closing very slowly. The four were being especially cautious at every turn, at every corridor, and Theodore couldn't help but think that they were drawing more attention to themselves than anything.

The four reached the second floor, and hurried along the corridor in an attempt to pick up more speed to save time. This part of Hogwarts always seemed to be bleaker, compared to the rest of the school. Maybe it was just him, but Theodore's skin would crawl instantly upon setting foot there, and his breath would suddenly grow cold and dry, like he had a Dementor living inside of him. For a brief moment, he turned to his right to see the faded words of his message and Ginny's etched into the wall, faded by a large margin, but still discernible. No wonder he avoided this area of the castle as much as he could: it made him feel filthy. It was only a few feet from Myrtle's tomb, and the resting place of the still-living Basilisk. He wondered if —

"AIEEE!"

Hermione's shriek almost crushed his heart as Theodore thought that she saw Snape coming towards them. Fear grabbed hold of his legs, and refused to let go as he remained rigid in the second-floor corridor. Suddenly, he felt his arm being yanked again, as Ron pulled him into the entrance of Myrtle's bathroom, while Harry barged inside with Hermione's wrist in his hand.

They all spilled inside the abandoned bathroom, which was still as foul as ever, and puffed loudly. It seemed as if fear hadn't only gotten to Theodore as well. Although his face held a deep scarlet shade down to his ears, Ron looked near-terrified by what just happened, and so did Harry. He was propped up against the door, peeking his eye through the gap, while whipping his head nervously at the others.

"Harry, d'you see Snape coming over here," Ron whispered as he, Hermione and Theodore were hidden behind the circular sinks.

Harry took some time to answer, which he responded with a shake of a head, and a sharp sigh of relief.

Ron sighed as well, walking out from the hiding place, and went over to join Harry, before turning to Hermione. "Why d'you scream for? Snape wasn't coming for us. And what's wrong with your neck?"

Theodore turned to Hermione to see that her hands were clasped to her neck and chest, as if she was trying to choke herself, wincing slightly as her breathing became louder. His hands held her shoulders as he looked at her worryingly. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"N-nothing! It's — It's nothing, I'm fine," she stammered. She was trying to smile, but it all looked so false.

"It's obviously not, since you screamed," said Ron as he came closer with Harry. "What happened to you?"

There she went with the fake smile again. "I'm fine, guys. I was just scared for a second. I saw a shadow coming around the corner, and I thought that it was Snape, so I screamed. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Yeah, I'm not buying it. Hermione, tell us what —"

Theodore hushed when the pattering of approaching feet echoed in the bathroom, keeping him in place. His eyes were looking into Hermione's, as she too remained still in her place, hands covering her neck and chest while she trembled a little with the Parselmouth's hands being on her shoulders for so long.

…

The door creaked a little, swinging inside the bathroom by just a few inches, allowing the sounds of foreign breathing to come through.

…

They started to fade away, the breathing, the footsteps. They subsided into nothing, as the four released their diaphragms to breathe normally, once again sighing in relief. They all walked over to the far end of the cubicles, just so that they were as far from the door as possible.

"See? I told you Snape was coming," Hermione said quietly.

"You didn't know that," Ron returned.

"I did!"

"Stop it, both of you. We wasted enough time. Hagrid might still be in the school, and we have to make sure that Snape won't catch us again," Harry whispered to the others. He volunteered to be lookout once again, and brought Ron along, in case he and Hermione would start arguing again.

Theodore waited until they were out of sight and an earshot, as he slowly pushed the Muggle-born into a cubicle. Hermione didn't resist at all, telling him that she wanted to speak with him only. Theodore left the door ajar, and finally spoke up in a whisper.

"What happened to your neck? Why did you — fucking hell, what's that smell?!"

The two scrunched their faces in disgust, backing away from the direction of where the stench emanated from. It took him a second to realise that this was the cubicle where they were going to brew the Polyjuice Potion, before they completely abandoned it, of course. Theodore raised his head above the toilet to see his old cauldron containing a brown sludge-like substance, that bubbled and popped, like it was still over a fire.

"So, that's what happens when you don't finish the Polyjuice Potion," the Parselmouth muttered nasally. "It turns into literal shit."

He lifted his finger as the infected cauldron flew into the air, and tipped over in the next cubicle. The soft _clunk_ of the cauldron assured him that it landed quietly, and the smell was diminishing as well. Theodore wafted his hand in front of his nose, and turned back around to Hermione, whose hands didn't move at all.

"All right, that's taken care of. Now, what happened to you?"

Hermione turned her head to the door, then closed the space between the two teens, as her arms fell to her side, albeit, shakily. "Is — Is it bad?"

"I — don't know what I'm supposed to be looking at," Theodore replied, as he looked at her perfectly normal neck.

"Are you sure," asked the Muggle-born, "because it felt like it was burning me."

"What burnt you?"

"The Time-Turner. I — I think I might've broken it," she squeaked as her hands returned to her neck. "And it hurt so much! Are you sure you can't see anything?"

"Maybe it's just underneath your collar, although, I'm sure that it's nothing." Somehow, Theodore wasn't sure of his words. She was perturbed to the bone, and her grasp on her neck made it seem as if she had been stabbed in her throat. There was very little that he could do.

…

"Do you want me… to look at it?" he suggested.

"Um… I think that it's all right, to be honest. You don't have to do that."

"If you don't want me to see it, then go to Madam Pomfrey."

Hermione shook her head as she lifted her collar a little higher to her neck, while saying, "I can't. If it's serious, then she'll ask me what happened, and I can't tell her about the Time-Turner. Plus… I don't want to tell anyone that I broke it."

"You told me. Hermione, if you don't tell someone like McGonagall, then —"

"Back again in the same toilet, are you?"

Theodore and Hermione instantly exited the cubicle, rather in annoyance than in fear. Myrtle came floating behind, face scrunched up in a nasty smile. The two didn't doubt for a second that Myrtle wasn't going to stay quiet, and they were right. The ghost girl circled around them, taunting and teasing as they ignored her in silence.

"Here to snog it up because it's the end of the year, _Riddle_? You know, I heard that he takes most of the girls up in here to suck their faces for hours over time. Isn't that right, _Riddle_?" Myrtle said with a slight bitterness to Theodore's name. Her attempt to provoke the Parselmouth was not working, as his back was turned to her. She then swooped down, and came onto eye level with them, not wanting to ever stop until she drew a reaction from him.

"Or maybe — maybe you're just using her! That's right, you're using her just because you can! Probably got her trapped under a charm so that she'll be in love with you forever."

Theodore was quick to turn around, but Hermione was even quicker to stop. She grabbed hold of his wrist, and whispered to him that she'll eventually leave when she'll get bored. But that was a lie. Theodore knew that Myrtle wouldn't stop until she'd somehow make him mad enough to do something stupid — funny thing is, it was almost working.

"Theodore _Riddle_ , and Tom _Riddle_ — Theodore _Riddle_ , and Tom _Riddle_. Different names, same person, hmm? Daddy's boy, are you?" Myrtle goaded, grinning as she saw Theodore trembling a little. Harry and Ron walked over to the scene, rather intrigued by the noise as they came to Hermione's side.

"Is your neck all right then? What's with all this racket — somebody could've heard us," Ron remarked. He stopped when he saw Theodore scowling with slight ticks in his eyes as if he were about to explode. "What's your deal, Myrtle? Why can't you just be quiet like all the other ghosts?"

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that I'm dead, is it," she returned, eyeing Theodore. "I'm just here to warn Hermione, after all. The last time a Riddle and a Muggle-born were in the toilet together, somebody died. I'd hate for it to happen again, and quite frankly, Theodore is just like his father —"

"SHUT UP!" Theodore bellowed as Myrtle cowered away, stiffening in the air before retreating back into her cubicle. He could feel his eyes burning as he stared at the cubicle with the desire to blow it up, breathing loudly before driving the back of his hand underneath his nose. It was simmering down, but he still felt angry.

"Nutcase, she is. Never really liked her —"

"What the hell is wrong with her?! I said I was sorry! I didn't kill her, did I?!" Theodore snarled while checking in the mirrors to see if his eyes changed.

"We know you didn't," said Hermione quietly, "and that's her problem if she can't realise that. Look, just keep your voice down. We still need to go to Hagrid's."

"We've been checking all this time, and we haven't seen anyone so far, but we'll have to double-check now, just in case —"

Theodore shook his head, and said, "No. We've already been inside this place for too long. You said that we shouldn't waste any more time, Ron, so let's go now before it's too late."

The other three nodded back at him, and crept to the door to stick their heads out. Harry left first, then Hermione, then Ron, and lastly, Theodore. They hurried along the rest of the tainted hallway, and went down the stairs to the first floor. The bells for dinner hadn't rung yet, so they knew that they were in the clear. If they just managed to slip through the oak doors, and across the field, they'd reach Hagrid in no time. It would be even faster without them balancing the Cloak over all four of them. They were nearly there...

Harry skidded, and came to an abrupt stop as his arms were spread to stop the others from going any further. Theodore and Ron broke from Hermione and Harry as they hid behind the two pillars that were on the left-hand side of the Great Hall. Theodore knew the reason for stopping, and was glad that Harry reacted so fast.

"We've been kept in the dark for too long, don't you think?" asked Fudge, as he strode alongside the familiar wizard. The Minister had a look of confusion and worry on his face, which opposed the other wizard's now bored expression.

"Nonsense, Cornelius! We haven't been kept in the dark at all. Dumbledore's reasons for keeping Hagrid and his Hippogriff at bay, will only prove to be inconsequential. He cannot act against my Department — it's not in his nature to do so. Hagrid will have to come by at the end of the day, that's for certain."

"I suppose. I do feel for Rubeus, but I can't help the feeling that he brings this over to himself. I hope that this doesn't change a thing between us, although I fear that it is out of my power to predict his judgment."

The older wizard thumped his chest quite firmly before saying, "Well, when you've been in the business for as long as I have, the tendency to _feel_ for others diminishes over time. Come next week, and it'll all be behind you."

"Yes, I — I suppose you're right," replied Fudge.

The two were about to descend along the marble staircase, but halted on the top step when the other wizard opted to speak what was on his mind. "Cornelius, I've been wanting to ask you something — something that has been on my mind since we got here."

"Ask away."

"Yes, you see, you and I both know about Riddle, don't we?"

"We do. A fantastic student from what I heard. Wouldn't be surprised if he landed in the Ministry!"

The wizard bobbed his head up and down, while smiling. It made him look even older. "And that's why I've taken an interest in him. Surely, a boy like him would need guidance in his life. It's tragic to see that he grew up without his mother and father, but he could prove to be… _valuable_ to you, and the Ministry."

Fudge narrowed his eyes before patting his belly as he chortled a little. "Oh, I see. Another protégée. Well, with the way you train them, I can see young Riddle overthrowing the Ministry before he's of age! Now that would be frightening!" He broke out into a hearty laugh, and fixed his hat.

The older wizard carried on smiling, but his eyes were screaming with selfish motives. "So. Do you think that there's any chance of me speaking to the boy, one to one? The Ministry needs more men like this one. He can't go to waste — not with his potential."

"I'm afraid that you'll have to take it up with Dumbledore. He's the one who allows those to take apprenticeships in the Ministry. But I don't see him refusing Theodore. Now. Let's get going to Hagrid's before sunset. Mulciber should be there by now."

"After you."

The two wizards walked down the stairs, and towards the oak doors. Harry motioned the others to follow, and broke into a quick run to behind the top of the bannisters of the marble staircase. Once there, they waited until they'd hear the doors closing, but no such sound came to their ears.

Peering his head up a little, Theodore saw that they instead, were conversing with Snape, who had a piece of parchment in his hand that looked too similar to the Marauder's Map.

"Come on," whispered Harry with defeat in his voice, "he knows we're here. Let's just go back to the common room."

They reluctantly moved away from the stairs, and started to walk towards the Grand Staircase, feeling more useless than ever. If Theodore hadn't been so stubborn in the beginning, they could've made it to Hagrid.

' _Snape would've still seen us.'_

That was true.

"…however, you should be cautious. Theodore is arrogant to think that he can do anything because he feels entitled to do so. I wouldn't if I were you," drawled Snape from afar.

Theodore ignored this, and followed the others up the stairs, wondering why the bells for dinner had kept silent. He was the last in the common room, which was relatively empty, apart from Ginny and her friends near the fireplace, and joined the others as they propped up against the windows that had a full view of Hagrid's home.

…

"What do we do now?" Ron asked.

"What _is_ there to do," muttered Theodore. "Snape knew we were going to Hagrid's. He knew we were inside Myrtle's bathroom, and just didn't want to come in. He was probably waiting all this time at the front doors for all we know."

"But — we have to do something! It's not fair for Hagrid to leave without us doing everything we can! If Snape's stopping us from doing so, then we'll have to find a way past him. What can we do to get to Hagrid's?"

"We could split up, and move around the castle in different directions," Ron suggested, after tapping loudly against the wall. "Snape will see that we're not together, and won't try to come after us."

"Great! We'll do just that. Theo, you go around the back, and Ron—"

"Um, guys?" Hermione mumbled from the window.

"—you go through the side of the castle. It's the second fastest way to—"

"Guys! Hagrid's leaving!"

The boys immediately bustled to their feet, and scrambled to the window. Theodore and Ron were at the back of the clumped four, but they could see the view perfectly. Hermione was right. All the way down on the field, it looked so tiny, but very recognisable. Fudge, the old wizard, and Mulciber all triangulated the half-giant and Buckbeak as they were being led to the front gates, trailing slowly across the grounds until they vanished without a trace.

* * *

 _Dear Madam,_

 _I know that it's a little late in the year, but I was wondering if you would allow me to spend the next summer with my friend's family. If you want, you can meet them before I go. I'll even stay behind a week if I have to, although I'm sure that you'll like them. Hoping to hear from you soon._

 _From Theodore_

 _P.S: Tell Elise I said hello (and I hope she's not going through my stuff)._

Theodore attached his quickly-written letter to a Great Grey Owl that looked vaguely similar to Sawer, and slipped in a Galleon in its pouch for the journey to and back from Stuggle's. As the owl hooted and took off to the orange and violet horizon, Theodore made sure that the last of the Galleons that he'd spend, was safely in his pockets before he left the Post Office in Hogsmeade.

Sawer had just been sent off a few days ago with a hefty parcel for Louise, whose birthday passed recently. He figured that since she was much closer to him than when she was at Stuggle's, Sawer would've come back on time, but it seemed as if there was a hindrance on the owl. Knowing that he wouldn't make it back, Theodore almost begged McGonagall to let him go to Hogsmeade to post a letter to the Madam, instead of using somebody else's owl. Once again, he didn't know how he did it, but after being alone in her classroom, McGonagall came straight back in, and told him that it was the first and last time. Theodore was in such disbelief, that he kept quiet for the entire journey, much to the teacher's approval.

"Come on, Riddle, I haven't got all day," McGonagall said quite irritably. "I'd very much like to get back to my classroom to finish marking exams."

"Are you marking—?"

"Ah! No more talking! Let's just get back into the castle, and we'll be done with this. I cannot believe I allowed you to do this…"

The Parselmouth followed McGonagall through the streets of the village briskly, eager to get back to the common room with the others. It had been three days since Hagrid left, and three days since they had gotten no answer from anybody. Not that they asked. Other than Dumbledore, who was probably too busy with helping Hagrid himself, who else would know such a thing? They never saw Hagrid being 'close' with any of the other professors before. Regardless of Hagrid's possible, or lack of, friendship with his colleagues, the quartet spent most of their time in Hagrid's Hut, taking care of Fang. They had to fight especially hard for Theodore and Harry to leave the castle, and even had Flitwick to guard outside the door, and quite frankly, Theodore was sick of it.

The two passed under the golden archway, and steadily carried on walking to the castle without saying a word to each other. Perhaps the heat was a little too much. Oh well, thought Theodore to himself. If he saw a clear opportunity, it was against his nature to ignore it.

"Professor, do you know anything about what happened to Hagrid," Theodore asked tiredly. He was slowing down a little, and so was McGonagall.

" _Professor_ Hagrid. The least he deserves is students calling him by that title. And no, I know nothing of what is to become of him. It's all in the Ministry's hands now."

"But Professor Dumbledore will save him from losing his job, right? Only he can fire Hagrid — _Professor_ Hagrid — right?"

McGonagall paused for a while. Theodore couldn't tell if she was signing in pity, or in tiredness. It was almost crazy to think how wizards and witches wore robes in such weather, even the hats as well.

"The Headmaster is doing everything in his power. But now, we will just have to hope that Professor Hagrid pulls through."

The silence returned as they walked across the grounds of the school. As they trekked along the lengthy carriage path, Theodore took in all that he could from Hogwarts, trying to remember everything from the Black Lake to the Quidditch field, for he would be separated from the school for another two months.

Of course, he could be spending the summer with the Weasleys, if the Madam was willing, and with Harry and Hermione. He, oddly enough, never gave it much thought. Well, when a madman who could possibly change into an animal tries to kill you multiple times, your thinking may be diverted away from normal things. Speaking of shape-shifting madmen…

They soon passed Hagrid's Hut, hearing the faint whimpering of Fang from the inside. Theodore instantly felt bad, and wanted to relieve the hound from his loneliness, but knew that it would be a bad idea. His eyes and ears didn't turn away from him though. Fang whimpered; Theodore just listened.

' _Maybe if I asked McGonagall to let me take him to the common room… Well, you convinced her to let you go to Hogsmeade, so what's stopping you from —?'_

The growling could not be heard, but its hulking form was easy to make out from the very outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The black dog, or should he say, Black (he stopped referring to him as the Grim a long time ago) had his back arched, legs readied in position like it was about to set off towards the boy for one final attempt to slaughter him.

Like hell he would. Theodore didn't care if McGonagall was with him or not. If Black so much dared to even come a few steps closer, Theodore'd pull out his wand so quickly, Black wouldn't even see it coming. The Parselmouth stood still, almost moving forward to the dog to show that he was not afraid, hand reaching for his wand. He could see the white soulless eyes, the saliva dripping from its yellow jaws as it sized up its prey. Theodore was just praying that he'd come.

' _Come on, Black. If you want me, I'm right here…'_

The dog, however, did nothing. In fact, the dog did something that was completely out of the ordinary. It sat. Like a normal dog. Theodore thought he was losing his mind. Now, he knew that this was Black, or at least, the animal that had been attacking him throughout the school year, so… why wasn't it trying to kill him? All sense of hostility… gone. Theodore honestly felt a little disappointed that he didn't do anything.

The dog wagged and thumped its tail against the ground, the whites of its eyes being replaced by a slight grey tinge, and its tongue was lolling out of its mouth as it panted.

"What the fuck…?"

"Riddle! I've been calling you for over a minute!" McGonagall said angrily as she beckoned him over. "Stop daydreaming, and come along with me to the castle! Nightfall is coming soon"

"Yes, Professor, I — I'm sorry," Theodore apologised, shaking his head while following the teacher to the oak doors. He had to get one more look at it. Something definitely was not right. Black was supposed to come and attack him like he always did. After slicing his face up, you'd think he'd take his chances.

He turned one last time to the dog as it followed Theodore's movement with his head. It flicked back and forth from the castle to Hogsmeade, even using its hind paw to point to the village. But by the time Theodore reached the oak doors, the dog slunk off into the Forbidden Forest, immersing itself in the darkness of the trees, while Theodore finally entered the castle.

' _Does he want me to go to Hogsmeade? He wants to tell me something… But that's insane — he's insane! It's a trap, it has to be!'_

Theodore diverted from McGonagall as she entered a corridor to the left of the Entrance Hall, and walked up to Gryffindor Tower to talk to the others, all while processing similar questions in his head repeatedly. It just didn't make any sense to him. After speaking the password, he climbed through the hole. The common room was much livelier than the recent days. Everyone was either playing Exploding Snap or Gobstones, gossiping about people in the other Houses about where they were going for the summer, or they were just being loud.

Theodore had to shake off Katie, who teased him quite frequently, before joining the other three in the far corner. The closer he got to them, the drabber their area seemed to be.

Ron was the first to notice him coming towards them, and asked, "Did you get her to talk, Theo?"

"I did, but she said the same thing as Flitwick did this morning: she doesn't know anything. The only person who would know about Hagrid, would be Dumbledore," Theodore sighed as he sat down.

"So why don't you go ask him?" Hermione suggested.

"I can't keep on leaving the common room all the time to get answers from people!"

"But you can! You haven't failed so far."

"OK, let me rephrase that. I _don't_ want to carry on leaving the common room to get answers from people. It's exhausting, and I'm tired. You guys do something."

Harry leaned his head back on his chair, and sank a little. "McGonagall was the last person that could've known about this, except for Snape. But we can't go to him."

…

"Did you send your letter," asked Theodore.

Hermione nodded, and told him that they sent a letter to Hagrid using Hedwig. She also said that she'll be staying with him until he can write back, meaning that they could wait for a few days.

"Let's hope that it all be OK. I can't even imagine what he's going through…"

"Yeah…" muttered Theodore, while looking out of the window to the orange sky. Everything was going downhill for Hagrid, and Black was trying to get him to go to Hogsmeade. Theodore didn't detract from the idea of Black being mad, but something — something quiet in the back of his brain was telling him that there was more to it. And that thing was sure to take over him any second now…

* * *

"Yeah, I'm not playing anymore."

"Stop being such a sore loser, Theo," choked Ron, as he was struggling to keep his laughter within himself.

"It's a stupid game, and I'm not playing anymore," Theodore ranted. He used his sleeve to wipe off the god-awful liquid that had spurted onto his face by his Gobstones. Ron had challenged the Parselmouth into playing the game with him, and Theodore unwittingly accepted without having any prior experience. And of course, he paid the price for failure.

Ron collected the Gobstones, and threw them in a satchel as he carried on chuckling. "Aww, don't be like that, Theo! It's only a game!"

"A game that spews shit in your face, is shitty game overall. Why can't it be like normal marbles?"

"He says this whilst being inside a school for magic," Ron whispered to Harry as he elbowed him.

"I'm going upstairs; this stuff is disgusting." And he did just that. Theodore lazily said goodnight to the others, and walked up to the bathroom to clean his face, before returning to the dorm room. Although there was no trace of the liquid still being on him, he could still feel it clouding his nostrils and throat. It was a miracle that he didn't gag, let alone vomit all over the place.

"Hey, Viripin. Are you awake?"

The Adder slithered onto his pillow, and curled up as she opened her jaw wide to 'yawn'. Theodore knew that she was too lazy to ask for food, so he brought her last bags of mice, frogs and bats on his bed so that she could feast.

" _I heard — about Hagrid and — his Hippogriff. Did he — really — leave?"_

"Yeah, he did leave." He sat on the edge of the bed, and shifted her food to the side to make more space for himself, as he leaned against one of the posts. "He left with the Minister for Magic, and two other wizards. One of them was looking at me like he knew who I was. It was… creepy."

" _Do you — know who he — is?"_

"I — I think I do. I mean, I know that I met him from somewhere, but I can't remember. Was it from Knockturn Alley…? Or was it somewhere else…?"

Viripin ceased her eating, and rested her head on the boy's lap. Theodore noticed that she was getting bigger and bigger almost every week. _"Maybe you saw him in the_ Daily Prophet _with Black as well. If he's part of the Ministry, then he's bound to have his name in —"_

"Black," whispered Theodore like he missed something that was so vital.

" _Pardon?"_

"Black! How did I forget about him?! I-I need to do something; I have to get to Hogsmeade!"

" _Why on Earth do you need to go to Hogsmeade?"_ Viripin asked as she lifted her head from Theodore's lap, luckily saving herself from having her head being thrown off as he sprung from the bed. _"Black must be hanging around there, right?"_

"He sure is. That's why he was pointing to it…"

" _Theodore, I don't understand —"_

The Parselmouth knelt down, and held her face as if she were a child. "You don't have to understand now. What I want for you to do, is to fly to Hogsmeade as fast as you can, get into Honeydukes' cellar, and you'll see a secret trapdoor somewhere. There will be a passageway, and inside should be Harry's Invisibility Cloak."

" _Theodore, I don't want to —"_

"Please, Viripin? Just trust me, like you always have. Please?"

…

"Snape won't be able to see you, if you're flying straight over the school. Come on."

…

" _Pick me up, and let me go through the window,"_ she demanded after musing for quite a while. _"The things that I do for you deserves peace and quiet, but no!"  
_

"I love you, Viripin! OK, remember. Honeydukes. Get into the cellar, and get the Cloak, then come back to me when everyone's asleep. See if there are any open windows, holes in the building, anything. Just stay clear of people, and possibly Dementors."

" _Dementors?! Fine, I'll do it! But the next time I'll ask you for something, I don't want to hear anything else from you!"_

Theodore crossed his heart, and picked her up as he walked over to the window. In all truthfulness, Theodore didn't want her anywhere near Hogsmeade, but he couldn't go to the one-eyed statue that Harry told him about, or ask Hermione or Ron to get it for him. They'd be onto him like glue, and he wouldn't be able to get them off until they'd reach King's Cross. She was his only hope, and if he could switch places with her, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

' _Suddenly, having a phoenix as an Animagus form doesn't sound so ridiculous…"_

After wishing her good luck, and for her to be extremely careful, Theodore opened the window and allowed Viripin to slip through. He quickly stuck his head out as she fell out of his grasp, feeling his heart clench at the thought of her splattering on the ground, but sighed happily when a phoenix flew straight up in his line of sight, and across the school to the direction of Hogsmeade.

' _If anything happens to her, then it's on you. Remember that…'_

 _A few hours later…_

Theodore sat up in his bed, alert with sounds of subtle hissing entering his left ear. He lit the tip of his wand inside his closed-off bed, and separated the tapestry just a little to make sure that he could see outside. Everyone had gone off to sleep, with Harry being the last one. Harry's sleeping schedule mirrored his own, making it near-impossible to determine whether his cousin was awake or not. But he heard no ruffling from his bed, only the hisses that belonged to a bodiless form.

"Viripin," he hissed quietly, "Viripin, where are you?"

" _I'm right in front of you. I'm invisible, can't you see?"_

"Haha, just get out here so that I can see you."

Viripin's head emerged from thin air, and so did her body afterwards. She slithered onto the bed, and used her tail to hook the silvery Cloak that felt light and cool across the Parselmouth's skin.

He felt it slide and flow in his hands, grinning as he kissed the serpent on her head multiple times. "You're brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Oh, Viripin, you're amazing! How did you —?"

" _Dementors are blind. They didn't even notice me around the corners, and just glided right past me. But it still felt like they were sucking the soul out of me by just being around them. I almost forgot the first time we met…"_

"That's your happiest memory?"

" _Of course! Now, if you don't mind, this rare breed has to sleep. Goodnight, Theo —"_

"About that…" Theodore interjected as he kept his wand floating by itself in the air.

" _No…"_

"Could you come with me?"

" _No!"_

"I'm — I'm a bit scared. Only a bit though. And if Black really is a madman, although I don't doubt it, you'll be there with me. I mean, you saved me from him the first time."

…

"Please?" he pleaded. He wasn't lying.

...

Theodore tiptoed past the sleeping boys in their beds with an even grumpier Viripin draped around his shoulders, his wand in his back pocket, and the Cloak in his hands. The snake refused to let the boy go alone to the wizarding village by himself. That was two favours he now owed her.

He crept down the stairway, zipped across the empty common room, and threw the Invisibility Cloak over them. The Cloak made him feel ten times lighter, for some odd reason. The security trolls were bound to still be standing guard outside the Fat Lady's portrait, and if he could guess it timely, he could go at full sprint ahead to the staircase without the trolls acknowledging a single thing. He just had to get it perfectly…

…

' _Go!'_

Theodore pushed the portrait right open, and jumped through the hole quite impressively, then charged straight towards the Grand Staircase. He ignored the stupid grunts of confusion from the trolls behind him, and carried on running while Viripin was shaking on his shoulders. He saw the staircase facing towards him, moving; he had to do it. He had to jump.

He bent his knees, and pushed off the ground as hard as he could, still feeling lighter than air as he stumbled onto the staircase that was moving away from the platform in front of Gryffindor Tower. Theodore held onto the bannister for stability, calming Viripin down as she hissed violently in his ears.

" _It's like you don't care for your life anymore, Theodore! What's wrong with you?!"_

"Relax," he replied casually as they began to descend each floor. "If I fell down, we wouldn't die. The castle's enchanted. Come to think of it, if I fell, wouldn't I just fall slowly straight down…?"

But there was no time to ponder on the castle's protective charms. He was outside his common room, and if Snape was awake, then there was barely any time for conversation. He hurried down the stairs, careful not to trip on the Cloak. Filch or Mrs Norris wouldn't be a problem, but he couldn't afford to stop. Not when Snape was probably after him at the moment.

Fourth floor, third floor, second floor, first floor… finally. Theodore made it to the marble staircase, staring at the front doors as the wind from the outside pushed against it, releasing a deafening creak through the Entrance Hall. This was it, now or never. He trained his eyes on the entrance to the dungeons with every step he took. Snape wouldn't be able to see him, but he must've known about the Cloak if he was friends with Harry's father. He found his footing on the solid floor of the Hall, his eyes still gazing at the dungeons. Just a little more, then…

He quickly slid through the oak doors, and closed it behind him, before breaking into a run to the gates. He did it. He was outside, and Snape didn't get him. The euphoria was almost too much to handle. He almost felt the need to skip in his step, but judging from how moody Viripin was, he decided against it. His sides were starting to ache, and he gradually began to slow down until he reached the front gates. He huffed and wheezed as he leaned on his knees, sliding the Cloak off himself while tying it around his waist, before covering it with his hoodie.

The Entrance Gates towered against Theodore's height, and he had no clue on how he'd be able to get over them. Perhaps he could levitate himself over it, but then what if there were jinxes to prevent that? Surely, the school must've been drowning in such protection.

"Um… shit! What the fuck am I supposed to do now?!" He reached for his wand, thinking that he could try to lift himself over the gate when something so sudden, happened that he could not register it. One second he was on the ground, the next he was at least thirty meters in the air. But he didn't even use his wand. How was he —?

Above his head was Viripin as a phoenix once more, clutching at Theodore's shoulders without digging her talons inside him. Theodore could feel himself becoming queasy and faint from being up too high, and started to swirl his head round and round, not knowing if he was going higher in the sky, or falling back onto the ground. He thanked God for the latter as he felt the fresh, cool grass underneath him, holding his head in discomfort as his vision began to clear up.

" _Sorry! I forgot how you are with heights! Are you all right?"_

"I'm — I'm good… I'll be fine, just give me a minute…" he rasped, holding his chest to ease anything that wanted to regurgitate itself from his stomach. After a full minute, Theodore wiped his burning face, and stood up as Viripin flew onto his shoulders before she changed back into her normal self. He followed the normal carriage trail to the village, somehow thinking that it would've been better to keep the Cloak on instead. But Black could probably still smell him, right?

The further he went along the trail, the more he thought to himself that his actions were completely asinine. Was he seriously going to face a mass murderer with a few tricks up his sleeve? Sure, Theodore knew some things that people his age had no clue about, but could he actually perform them? The Unforgivable Curses wouldn't work with the half-hearted, and he couldn't see himself actually killing Black. Not even torturing him.

The golden archway came into full vision, glinting from the exuberant moonlight. It looked… dead, to be honest. Dementors were sure to be around. He felt Viripin squeezing him by the neck a little, and he held onto her tail a little tighter.

" _We can turn back, you know,"_ Viripin whispered in his ear, almost fearfully. _"We don't have to look for him."_

…

Theodore stroked her gently, and pressed onto the High Street, not knowing if it was stupidity, or bravery that made him do so. The cottages and shops on either side of the street looked deserted, and rundown. Zonko's from afar looked like it had the joy ripped away from it, and Honeydukes… just didn't look like Honeydukes. Was this his imagination, or could Dementors affect buildings as well? It was like he was walking through a graveyard. No, a ghost-town, more like it. It was horrible, sickening; it felt —

He ducked over to the pavement as he heard the rasping breath of a nearby Dementor, gliding past the Post Office with its hood still obscuring its face. Theodore was hidden in an alleyway next to Honeydukes, trembling uncontrollably as he started to feel a little drowsy. His skin tightened over his bones, his breath was becoming sharp and quick, and he was just trembling. Viripin nuzzled against his temple to calm him down, but it didn't do much. He crouched himself even lower, waiting for the accursed creature to disappear…

The Dementor swirled around with its drab cloak brushing against the floor, collecting the dirt and anything that it came into contact with. It looked like it 'heard' something, something close by… It ignored this feeling, and moved back on its usual path, lifting its scabbed hand to touch the wooden structuring of the Post Office, making it rot slightly and splinter. It guided its hand across the wood and the glass until it vanished around the corner, completely out of sight.

Theodore cautiously looked side to side along the street. No Dementors. His chest was starting to clear up, and he was feeling less empty by the second. Even from several meters away, it still managed to affect him. God forbid he came right in front of one. The Parselmouth scoured one last time for any Dementors, then stepped back onto the street, scaling across the buildings and corners, instead of being in a vulnerable position in the middle of the street.

"OK, that's one Dementor gone. I wished I knew what the hell was the thing that Harry casted in the last match. Would've been really useful…" said Theodore quietly to himself. Now, all he had to do was to find Black, check for himself to see if he was a madman or not with the possibility of bringing him in, and it would be over, right? Easy enough.

Theodore skipped over to the other side of the street, and moved quickly over to the four-way junction. Black should be around here somewhere, he thought to himself. The least he could do was — oh no. His chest was constricting again. He felt like he was choking, his brain was slowly starting to become fuzzy, and couldn't think straight at all. Rasping breath after rasping breath was surrounding him. Three Dementors were closing in on him, wheezing loudly as their scabby hands were reaching for their hoods.

"No… no, not me. I'm not Black," Theodore whispered weakly. But they didn't listen. They just carried on coming closer and closer, not showing any signs of stopping, or even slowing down. Viripin felt lifeless on his shoulders as her body nearly fell off him, and he was beginning to feel the same way as well. "Help me… Help her… help us… help…"

" _Expecto Patronum!"_

Something white and powerful flew over his head, and crashed into the Dementors like a truck going at full speed, slamming them into various shops and posts. The Dementors attempted to get back at the boy, but the white light refused, ramming into them again and again until the Dementors dispersed and vanished away from the scene. Theodore clumsily got back onto his feet, still feeling shaken and cold. Viripin was still unconscious, and he wrapped her around him twice to make sure that she wouldn't fall off.

The white light was still strong, almost blinding. Theodore had to peer through the gaps between his fingers until the light subsided a little. But it wasn't a light. It was, but it wasn't. It was a goat composed in a purely white light, translucent and lifelike. The goat stamped its hooves on the ground, trotting up and down playfully like it hadn't just defeated three creatures of darkness seconds ago. Theodore recognised this light-being the same from the Quidditch game, and tried to get a closer look at it, until it suddenly faded like dust in the wind.

"Hmph. Damn things can't even do their job. Going after kiddies now, hmm?"

Theodore whipped his head around, and saw the same gruffly man from before, the owner of Hog's Head who looked very similar to Dumbledore. He had his wand outstretched, and an actual goat by his side which was restrained by a rope.

"Are you going to come inside, or let those things come after you? Because I'm not going to save you again."

"Err…"

"Make a decision, boy! In, or out?" yelled the old wizard as he held his inn-door open.

Theodore hurried inside without hesitation. No way was he staying outside, not when he had no clue on how to fight Dementors. The innkeeper closed the door behind him, and snapped his fingers for the candles around the pub to light up, brightening the already dirt-ridden tavern. Theodore had only seen parts of the room, seeing the front counter and barely anything else. It'd looked bigger if weren't for the excessive number of tables and chairs littered all over the place.

The Parselmouth walked over to the front counter, where the innkeeper had kept himself to, and said, "How did you do that?"

The innkeeper turned around, and frowned at the boy. "Don't they teach you any manners up in that school of yours? A thank you would be much appreciated."

"Sorry — Thank you, sir."

"Ehh," mumbled the wizard as he waved it off. He ducked down, and pulled out something from underneath the counter. He reached inside, and unfolded what seemed to be a box, allowing the goat to stick its head inside as he chortled to himself. It looked rather weird, but it explained the smell.

"Can I ask how you did that, sir? With the Dementors," Theodore asked again as leaned over the counter.

"Stop calling me sir. I'm not one of your teachers."

"But I don't know what to call you."

"Aberforth," revealed the wizard as he stood back up, and fumbled around the back, clattering plates and cups around. "And don't you go calling me Mr Aberforth either. It's uncalled for."

"Aberforth, what was that thing that you made to make the Dementors go away," Theodore asked quietly, still shaking. Viripin hadn't woken up yet, and he was growing fearful for her.

For the first time, Aberforth displayed a smile to Theodore, but it looked crooked, almost mocking in a way. "Has all these awards and fancy titles, but none of his students can produce a Patronus."

"That's what it's called? A Patronus? How come it's not taught to people? You'd think that Fudge would spread it around with all these Dementors flying about, don't you?"

"You tell me. Seems that my brother would rather trust that the _school would take care of everyone_ , instead of doing the smart thing," Aberforth retorted, as he swished his wand to make various things fly behind him.

"Your brother? Hold on…" A bulb lit up in Theodore's head instantly. "You're Dumbledore's brother?!"

"Be quiet!" Aberforth snarled. "People sleep here, you know!"

"Oh, right… Sorry, again." Theodore felt Viripin stirring on his shoulder, but he didn't feel her trying to get up and nuzzle his temple like she always did. "So, he does have a brother… Wait, so —"

Aberforth quickly put his palm up, and said, "No questions. You shouldn't even be here. Go back up to the castle."

"But I need to be here!"

"I will not have my brother coming down here, storming into the place because I let one his students take refuge here for the night! Go back to the castle," hissed Aberforth as he turned around again. He swore under his breath as a tankard smacked his temple, and threw it over to the sinks that could've been the goat's area for _relief_ for all Theodore knew.

Theodore felt a little too scared to scowl at the old man, staring out through the door. There had to be more than at least ten Dementors hanging outside the inn, and Viripin was still out cold. He couldn't fly, he couldn't produce a Patronus, or probably one that wasn't as strong as Aberforth's, and the Cloak would be useless against a horde of Dementors. Plus, he hadn't found Black yet. As dangerous and idiotic his goal was, he wasn't going back to the castle with failure hanging over his head.

"Umm… Aberforth?" Theodore asked meekly, wiping his brow. "Can I get a drink, please?"

Aberforth turned his head only, to Theodore. He just stared at him. "Got any money?"

"Well, I think I have a Galleon, but I don't know if you're selling the same price as the other place —" Theodore replied as he dug through his empty pockets, but stopped when Aberforth softened his face, and waved it aside.

"Don't worry about it. Just a little drink. What are you having?"

"A Butterbeer, please."

"No."

Theodore now scowled. "No? You just said —!"

"After having three Dementors ganging up on you, you'll need all the chocolate that you can get. I'll get you a full tankard."

Aberforth turned around again, and swished his wand to summon more things around, as Theodore sat there silently. He almost forgot that chocolate made him feel better when the Dementor was on the train. It was weird that he never heard about Patronuses as well. After reading (briefly) on what Dementors were, not a single mention of light-animals or chocolate could be recalled. Granted that it was for the Dark Arts, not the _Defence_ against it.

He took the hot chocolate after thanking Aberforth, and walked over to a table in the corner near the fireplace with a moving painting of a girl, who smiled brightly at him. She gave him a wave, to which he waved back, and went back to whatever she was doing.

As he sat down on a rickety table, Theodore set the tankard down, and unwrapped Viripin so that she could rest on his lap. He had no idea if she was awake or not; her eyes were wide open as always. He held her close to his stomach, regretting his decision for bringing her along, and took a sip of his hot chocolate. He felt over the moon with just one sip. Theodore took a deeper gulp of the drink, and wiped under his nose.

"This place isn't _so_ bad. It's no Leaky Cauldron, but it's something, isn't it, Viripin?" He stroked her head, and felt her little heart beating as he stopped midway her body. At least she was alive.

However, Theodore and Viripin weren't the only occupants of the shady pub. Theodore had walked past them, but didn't want to acknowledge their presence, thinking of them as a resident who enjoyed the night instead. He wouldn't be surprised if it were a vampire. Lupin told him all he needed to know to protect himself from one, should the situation arise. But now, whoever it was had caught his attention, for they were staring at him. Theodore could only assume so, as they were hooded in shaggy robes. Their head was facing Theodore, and he was the only person there, other than Aberforth, so they had to be looking at him. Maybe it was one of those devious wizards that always used to trick Hagrid into sneaking illegal monsters into the school. Maybe they noticed Viripin, and knew her rarity and worth…

" _Theodore…?"_

He looked down, and saw the snake looking up to him rather weakly. "Shhh… It's OK, it's OK. I'm here, don't worry. The Dementors are long gone, they won't hurt us in here."

" _I feel sad… I feel empty…"_

"I know. It'll go away soon, OK?" He looked back up at the stranger, who was still staring back at him. Theodore ripped his gaze from them, and focused his attention on Viripin. "Look — I don't know how to get back to Hogwarts without running into the Dementors. I know that you're tired, and that you probably can't turn into a phoenix to get us both out of here, so we're sort of stuck at the moment."

" _Theodore…?"_

"Yes?"

" _Somebody's coming towards us…"_

"What?" Theodore lifted his head, thinking that it was the person underneath the hooded robes who was really Black all along, but he wasn't half-wrong.

The stranger scurried over from the other side of the tavern, and looked a lot shorter standing up, than sitting down. Black was much taller than Theodore himself, yet this person was like a foot or two taller than a goblin.

The table almost collapsed as the stranger slammed their hands on top of it; Viripin was suddenly awake, and hissed menacingly at the intruder. The stranger flinched more than a normal person should, revealing their appearance as their hood fell back. Theodore had to say that this person was quite… revolting. It was a wizard underneath the hood, and he looked, as Theodore thought before, revolting.

His skin was dry and hairy, his face scrunched and plump, like he heavily indulged in eating, while his hair was patchy and thinning. His small nose was pointed and upturned, and his eyes were beady, almost fully black. And Theodore couldn't help but notice that his teeth were sharp with a massive overbite, frequently spitting specks of dribble and other things that the Parselmouth found ill-mannered. What did a man-hag want with him?

"I haven't got any money, so you can leave me alone," said Theodore as his hand was reaching for his wand.

The watery-eyed wizard was shaking more than Theodore did. "N-no… I don't want your m-money, dear boy!" he squeaked. It was rather fitting for his ratlike appearance.

"Don't call me _dear boy_ , you don't know who I am."

"B-but I do! I do know who you are! T-Theodore! That's your name!"

"How the hell do you know my name," hissed Theodore, causing the wizard to flinch back again.

"I-I know who you are! You see, I used to work in the M-Ministry just recently —!"

"I don't believe you."

"But I did! I did work in the Ministry! I was part of the Wizengamot! I-I was standing behind Barty Crouch when he sentenced Black for life in Azkaban!"

Theodore crossed his arms while Viripin coiled around his neck, piercing her eyes with her mouth slightly open, ready to attack in case it was Black in disguise. "That's general knowledge with Barty Crouch sentencing Black to prison. Everyone knows that. Who are you, what do you want with me, and how do you know my name?"

The wizard darted his eyes all over the place, sniffing the air like he was trying to catch a scent. "I can't tell you who I am, dear boy — I'm sorry, I won't say it again! Black, he's after me! He s-saw my face when Barty sent him to Azkaban, and now he wants to kill me! Please! Protect me from him!"

"So, a man is trying to kill you, but you still decide to stay here where he can clearly get to you, and not only that, but you flee from the Ministry when they probably could've helped you as well. Maybe Black should get to you for how stupid you're acting."

"Noooo! Please, Theodore! Protect me! He's going to kill me for revenge! I'm innocent, you must believe me!"

Theodore looked over to Aberforth, whose interest was on them instead of his goat. Judging by the expression on his face, he must've been a stranger to the place as well. "Look, just leave me alone! If Black wants to kill you, then you're fucked, simple as. You shouldn't have came here in the first place. Now —" His hand was grabbed by the wizard's stubby ones. For a moment, he saw a shortage of fingers on one hand, but the wizard dragged his hands back again.

"But I'm not the only one in danger, aren't I? You-you're in danger as well. Black wants the both of us, me because he wants revenge for what I did to him, and you because of what your mother, Valerie, did to him as well!"

"What?! What did you say," said Theodore, raising his voice a little higher. "How do you know that she's my mother?!"

The wizard held his head, and realised that he said the wrong thing. "I shouldn't have said that… I shouldn't have —" He sniffed in the air again, rising from his chair until he widened his eyes in fear. "Run, Theodore…! He's here…! Run!"

"What do you mean _run_? Black isn't here, is he?"

The ugly wizard gave one last sniff, and tripped over his chair before crawling over to the toilets. Aberforth yelled from the counter, and tried to climb over the goat while Theodore stood up, and tried to see where he was going. Who was this guy, and how did he know who he was?

"Hey," he called out, "Hey! If he's here, then where the fuck are you going?! He'll catch you if you leave —"

The Parselmouth looked down to the ground, and bent down to pick up the object that fell out from the wizard's robes. It was a wand that was very unlike the others that he had seen in the past three years. White with black indentions along its side, and a white hook as a handle which resembled a bone more than anything. For such a sinister-looking wand, it surely didn't match its owner who apparently vanished into thin air.

"Where did he go?" asked Theodore as Aberforth finally came around. The innkeeper pointed at the toilet. Theodore dashed towards the door, and pulled it open to see a very filthy, but empty toilet. It was much too small to hide a fat person like the stranger, but he wasn't there. "What did — did he Apparate or something?"

"Always get the nutty ones," grumbled Aberforth as he walked back to the counter. "You're the least weirdest person to ever come inside here, and that's a fact. Above my brother you are, and especially that looney witch who thought she could see the future. What a day that was…"

Breathing heavily out of his nose, Theodore felt angry that he let someone like that slip from his hands. If Black was really after him, he could've been good bait to lure the lunatic out. Then again, the stranger was probably mad as well. No way could he have worked at the Ministry with robes like that. He guessed the most menial job over there would allow you to have decent clothing at least. He brought the white wand to his face, and studied it briefly. It felt… odd in his hand. Like it was ready to go off at any second. He could've sworn that he had seen this wand at least once, or dreamt about it.

He shook his head, and stored the new wand in his pocket with his own, and went over to his table to finish the rest of his hot chocolate before saying goodbye and thank you to Aberforth, who returned a half-smile.

"Be quick. In fact, here," said the innkeeper as he casted his Patronus that flew out of his wandtip. "It'll stay with you until you'll reach the end of the High Street. Once you're there, you run like hell, all right? Now, get going."

Theodore slowly pushed the door open, and hurried over to the side with the goat following him in the air like his guardian. He guessed that was the sole purpose for the Patronus anyway. Once he got back to Hogwarts, Lupin was going to teach him everything he knew before school would end on Patronuses. He didn't think he could stand being near another Dementor again.

" _Expecto Patronum,"_ he muttered to himself repeatedly. The very, very faintest wisp of white light dribbled out of his wand before fading away into nothingness, and that was on his fifteenth try. This was much harder than it looked. He swished his wand randomly around and around, trying to get the wisp back. _"Expecto Patronum… Expecto —"_

" _Theodore, look over there!"_ Viripin pointed out.

Wagging its tail like it did previously, the black dog was sitting near an alleyway next to _Tomes and Scrolls_ , whimpering slightly to catch the Parselmouth's attention. Theodore gripped his wand tightly, and even thought about using the other one just in case. The dog kept calm, and strolled into the alleyway.

" _We can leave, and go back before anyone would find us…"_

…

 _Inhale… exhale…_

Theodore straightened himself, and tiptoed through the empty pavements, past the street signs that swivelled and popped, and stood in front of the alleyway. It was completely dark, nothing to it at all.

' _It's an ambush.'_

He quickly casted _"Lumos,"_ and grabbed the other wand from his pocket as he was ready to attack. This wand was vibrating in his hand a little, sensing some of his ruthlessness through his hands. It still felt odd to him, but now it felt… good. What he expected to see was the shaggy mutt, cowering from the light as it tried to hide behind discarded boxes and other rubbish. But instead…

"It's all right, Theodore," said a low voice that sounded broken beyond repair. "I thought you'd understand my message. Please, put the wands down. I mean you no harm —"

"I think it's a little too late for that," whispered the Parselmouth in an oddly cold voice. His eyes fell into a scarlet shade as he remembered all the pain that had been inflicted on him and Viripin.

"I — I don't understand," said the voice in a shaky voice. "Theodore, please…"

"I've got you cornered, and there's no place where you can run now…" hissed the boy sinisterly, closing in at every single second.

"Please…. Please, understand…"

"You don't know what you just did, did you? It was foolish of you to come here, Black. Very… _very_ … foolish…"

 **Theo's got Black cornered, he just ran into a mysterious man, and he met Dumbledore's little bro. I wonder what's going to happen next? Once again, this chapter was going to be much longer, but the word count was a bit too much. But that means little cliffhangers, doesn't it? And trust me folks, that 'new' wand is going to be pretty important right about now. But I'll just leave you to think about that. For now, later.**


	33. Chapter 33: Black's Truth

He looked even worse than the time Theodore last saw him standing opposite Stuggle's, truly a decaying vestige of what he probably used to be. There he was, slowly moving out of the dense shadows to present himself to the boy who had him cornered, defenceless, and begging. Black was wearing the same prison rags that were soiled beyond imagination, the bloodstains now more of an orange than red. His hair was even filthier than before, and a rancid smell that filled the entire alleyway had been unwillingly inhaled by Theodore, who was disgusted to say the least.

Theodore held the bone-wand tightly in his left hand, pointing it straight towards Black's chest as the escapee submitted, raising his grubby thin fingers to show that he meant no harm. But Theodore didn't care; _he_ was going to do harm. He could see the way Black was trembling by the mere sight of him, his breathing unable to rest at ease while the boy's eyes were reminiscent of his father's. Yes, this anger, this… _willingness_ to just strike Black down like the animal he so much posed as — Theodore could do it. He could end him right there, but…

"Theodore, I —"

"Viripin, change," Theodore commanded immediately.

Viripin did not refuse for a second and slid off the boy's shoulders to touch the ground gracefully. Suddenly, the serpent grew tenfold, towering over Theodore and Black while her features became almost devilish in some sense. Her chrome eyes lost their natural colour as they matched Theodore's; her mouth gained fangs the size of spears broken in half while her stance screamed 'predator'. All Theodore had to do was to say the word, and she'd kill him right where he stood. One word.

Black cowered from Viripin's sudden increase in mass, and fell to his knees as the two closed in slowly. "I thought — I thought that you wanted to talk…"

Theodore narrowed his eyes while his unnatural smile of pure maliciousness started to spread along his face. "Talk? You thought that I got out of my own bed, outside the castle and into a place crawling with Dementors, just to talk with you? _You_ , of all people? You're a funny man, Black. Real funny."

"Please, Theodore! Keep your voice down," pleaded Black as his eyes darted to the end of the alleyway. "If the Dementors see us — see _me_ here, then they will not hesitate for a second to kill us —"

"If you never escaped Azkaban, then they wouldn't have been here in the first place. Then again, that would mean that I wouldn't have had you like this, begging for your life right in front of me…"

"Theodore, please," Black croaked, "please listen to what I have to say."

The Parselmouth allowed the ball of light on the tip of his wand to remain in the air as he kept the other wand in his hand, even though the Patronus served well as a light source. "I don't want to listen to whatever fucking thing you've got to say to me. You actually think that I'd just forget?"

"I'm trying to —"

"You know, maybe I should chuck you over to the Dementors, see how they'll react when they can finally rip that thing you call a soul out of you."

" _Theodore, I'm ready,"_ hissed Viripin above his head. _"Just tell me when."_

"Don't worry. I want to make this man beg before we finish him off. I promise, you can do whatever you want with him afterwards," Theodore hissed back before his attention landed on Black again. Black's sunken eyes were quivering with so much fear that Theodore felt a little too good with himself.

Black took one deep breath, then blew out of his nose to ease himself before talking. "I know that you won't do that."

"Know that I won't do what," snapped Theodore.

"Throw me to the Dementors. I know that you won't do it," Black returned in an oddly calm voice.

"Yeah? Why not?"

"If you wanted to kill me, then I would've been dead already. I know that even you can't be that heartless. Surely, there must be some of your mother's compassion hidden inside of —"

Theodore's anger nearly exploded as a whip extended from the tip of the bone-wand and wrapped itself around Black's neck, yanking him harshly to Theodore's feet. He made sure that it was tight enough to breathe, but not so much that he'd asphyxiate prematurely.

"Valerie Potter had no _compassion_! She was a murderer who destroyed several families, and was Voldemort's right-hand woman! She never had compassion," Theodore spat savagely, secretly wondering where these suppressed feelings towards his mother came from.

"She — wasn't like that —" Black choked on the ground as his skeletal pale face turned pink, then a deep shade of scarlet.

Theodore flicked the wand upwards, forcing Black onto his knees so that he could look at him again. "How the fuck would you know, huh, that my mother was such a saint that almost everybody who knew her had to lie to me about her?"

"She wasn't… Please, Theodore…"

"Tell me how! Oh wait, I forgot! You were in Voldemort's inner circle with her, weren't you? You were his spy against the other side, the side your best friends were on."

"Theodore —"

"And you just betrayed them," hissed Theodore, ignoring the man's pleas. "You betrayed them like your friendship meant nothing to you. For what? For power? To be feared, even though you're at the mercy of a fourteen year old boy?"

"I can't — breathe…" Black slurred.

"Not only did you betray your best friend to Voldemort, not only did you blow up your best friend to bits to save your pathetic self — you had the absolute audacity to sleep with Valerie Potter. My mother, Black. My own fucking mother who turned on her own brother —"

"It's not true," was all that Black managed to squeeze out as his eyes became bloodshot and almost on the verge of exploding out of their sockets. "Please… can't…"

Theodore furiously swished the wand as the whip released Black from its hold, after throwing him against the side of _Tomes and Scrolls_. Black gasped painfully as he gripped his neck to soothe the stinging pain that Theodore inflicted, the redness across his throat very visible, even in the dead of the night.

" _Why did you let him go,"_ asked Viripin with a hint of anger and confusion in her voice.

"Can't let him off that easy. Plus, whatever lies he has to say to me, I want to hear them."

" _But —"_

"Stand down, Viripin. I said don't worry."

Viripin held herself back, and kept her eyes trained on Black, knowing that if he attempted to strike at her or Theodore, she'd be the one to finish him.

Black clambered onto his feet while using the wall for support. The redness around his face had disappeared, but the scarring around his neck didn't leave. He held his chest to fill his lungs with air again, and started to walk towards Theodore like everything had been understood. A mistake on his part.

Theodore had the wand aiming straight towards Black's head, unshaken and unwavering. "Don't you move another step closer. If you do, then I'll do it again. Well, before _she_ tries to get to you first."

"I understand. Thank you for —"

"There's no need to thank me, Black. You're not in the clear; I don't have to listen to you."

"I know, just… please. Give me a chance to explain myself. Can I?"

Theodore's eyes merely widened to give him permission to speak.

"Thank — I mean, yes! All right… OK." Black took another deep breath, rubbed his sore neck once more, then spoke. "Whatever stories you've heard, or rumours that went around for the past thirteen years are not true, or at least some of it is not true —"

"So, what, you were just an innocent civilian who just _found_ his way into the Death Eaters?" Theodore interjected.

"I'll get to that soon. Theodore, if you think that I — that I _slept_ with your mother, then you were told lies. She was James's older sister; I never saw her in that way. I would never do such a thing to him."

"And Pettigrew? Am I supposed to forget that you killed him as well?"

For the first time, Black's face darkened completely at the mention of Pettigrew's name. His protruding knuckles cracked as he tightened his fist, and he had a murderous look that made Theodore on the edge in case he tried anything.

"Pettigrew… Believe me, I was trying to kill him. After what he did, after everything he took from me, I had to do it," Black muttered.

"Wait — _trying_? What do you mean _trying_?" Theodore asked as his grip on the bone-wand loosened by just a tiny bit.

" _Trying_ , as in failed."

"That can't be right," said Theodore firmly. "Pettigrew's dead because you blew him up into pieces, as well as the Muggles. All that they could find was —"

"Was his finger, I know. But believe me, Theodore. That treacherous bastard is living and breathing to this very day."

Treacherous? Was this man even madder than he thought? Did he honestly believe in his own 'innocence' to blame his dead friend who was reduced to merely a finger?

"Theodore — I did not betray the Potters. I was not their Secret Keeper."

"Let me guess. Pettigrew was? There are dozens of ways that you could've still given up the Potters. Scare Pettigrew into giving you their location, kidnapping him straight to Voldemort —"

"But I didn't! I was fighting on the other side, right next to James and Lily! You think that I would discard my best friend who gave me a home when my own family wouldn't? I would've died without a second's thought, than to betray them to Voldemort, and I mean that."

Theodore swapped the wand in his other hand, and shook his left arm. Viripin was silent and still, and the goat was standing by her side idly, eagerly waiting for Theodore to leave, if he wanted to that is. "If Pettigrew's alive, then where is he? He wasn't with me."

"I didn't think so," Black replied again in the calm voice. "Pettigrew is very much alive, but he was hidden very well. Very well that even you had no idea where exactly he was hidden."

"What do you mean…?"

"An Animagus. That's what Peter is, an Animagus. When I cornered him the night Harry's parents and your mother died, I attempted to kill him right there, but he got the better of me. I should've known that Voldemort must have given him some tutelage. He blew up the Muggle street, killing all those people while I was unable to act. He managed to slip away by turning into his form, leaving a finger behind to frame me for what I supposedly done."

"But you were laughing," said Theodore. "Fudge said that you were laughing like a maniac all the way to Azkaban —"

"Because I thought that Peter killed himself in the act of attempting to frame me! Peter was a terribly inept wizard who needed my help, as well as James's, ever since our first day at Hogwarts! For him to use such a curse, I thought to myself that he had gotten what he had deserved. I thought that there was no need to testify in court, until Crouch sent me straight to Azkaban without a trial."

Theodore's brain was wracked with confusion as he tried to make sense of what Black was saying. Yes, he knew that Pettigrew wasn't a great, or even a decent wizard. It would make sense for him to destroy himself using such a powerful curse. But if he was an Animagus, then he must've been competent enough. And if he really was a Death Eater, then for him to use curses properly didn't sound off either…

"If Pettigrew was an Animagus — if he was alive, that is — then what animal did he turn into?"

Black lifted his chin, scraping some of the dried blood off his fingers (that could've been Theodore's) and simply said, "A rat."

The bulb lit in Theodore's head again. The wracking was starting to dwindle as it was slowly becoming clear to him.

"Scabbers…" he whispered to himself, thinking back to what Viripin told him.

"Your friend's pet rat, I assume. I've heard about him from Crookshanks, the cat that belongs to your other good friend." Black smiled a little, showing some of his rotten teeth that still showed up, despite the darkness. "He's very intelligent, I say."

' _So Crookshanks wasn't just a crazy cat? He knew that Scabbers was Pettigrew, so he tried to kill him, or at least reveal him to us so that we would know the truth. Pettigrew's alive…?'_

Black began to approach Theodore slowly, only stopping when the boy became alert of this by keeping the wand firmly aimed to his head. "See? It's all starting to make sense now, isn't it? I'm not the one you should be after, Theodore. It's Peter. He's been in hiding for more than twelve years behind the Weasley family because he's a coward. He values his own life over anybody else's, and would even betray Voldemort if it meant that he'd live."

" _Do we know he's telling the truth? Peter may have been an Animagus, but it's possible that he tried to defend himself from Black, and tried to hide from him."_

"Maybe," he said in Parseltongue, before switching back into English. "How do I know that you're not mad, Black? Azkaban could've messed you up really badly; there's no telling that you're making this up as you go along."

"Theodore, listen to yourself! You're a smart boy, you should be able to put the pieces together! If I were mad, don't you think I would've tried to kill Harry, or you?"

"You did try to kill me!" Theodore returned viciously, the bone-wand spurting red and green sparks while his own wand was shaking in his back pocket. Fear was pumped back into Black as he stepped backwards again.

"Theodore — those were just accidents —"

"Accidents?!" Theodore nearly screamed.

"Please, calm down! The Dementors —!"

"You call stalking me outside my fucking home an accident?! You call cornering me in Little Whinging, almost killing Viripin an accident?!"

"Please, Theodore!" Black pleaded.

Theodore ignored him, the wand pointed high, probably to give Black a taste of the Blasting Curse as well. "You call following me and Harry up to school, scaring everyone, showing up and disappearing everywhere, trying to stab my face an accident?! And you don't call yourself mad?!"

"I'm not mad! Please, Theodore! We mustn't be heard, otherwise —"

"You're sick, Black! You're a madman and an animal, and you should be put down as such. If Viripin ever died that day, or if you killed Ron or Harry back in the dorm, I would've made you wish that you never escaped Azkaban! You're an insane, treacherous lowlife who betrayed his friends," Theodore shouted again in anger, forgetting everything that Black told him before.

"I told you already," said Black in a low voice, now trembling slightly. "I didn't betray anybody. It was Peter Pet—"

"Pettigrew is dead! If he was Scabbers then he's dead, don't you understand that? The Dementors can come all they want, as long as they take you away!"

"Why won't you listen?! I didn't betray them, I would never betray them! I wouldn't hurt Harry, and I wouldn't hurt you either!" Black's voice was growing deeper and deeper, and he was shaking to the point of convulsing on the floor, but Theodore was too blinded by anger to notice or care.

"STOP LYING! YOU WANTED TO KILL ME!"

"No, I swear! I — I didn't —" Black gripped his head in pain.

"YES, YOU DID! YOU WERE GOING TO KILL ME, JUST LIKE YOU KILLED JAMES AND LILY POTTER!"

Black started to scream and thrash on the spot as he was holding his head like it was about to explode. He clawed at his own face, screeching so loud that the castle could've been awoken. Strings of spit trickled down his mouth, his head jerked everywhere like he was having a fit. But he wasn't.

Instead of laying unconscious on the cold ground, Black's body started to grow quickly, his eyes went from grey to soulless-white in a second. His filthy, matted hair began to spread from his head, covering him completely as he still continued to grow. His face twisted into a hairy snout, his yellow teeth turned into white fangs and his body arched until the transformation was over.

" **Grrr…"**

The dog charged straight at Theodore quicker than before, jaws wide open to snap at his neck, but Viripin was even quicker. The Adder bared her fangs, and instantly knocked into Black to divert his jaws away from the frozen boy's face. Black crashed into the wall, creating a large hole before he shook off the momentary pain.

"Viripin, get back!" Theodore shouted as his wand was pointing at Black's body. She obeyed and zipped out of Theodore's way, but was caught in Black's jaws yet again as he lunged himself at her. Theodore narrowly missed the two as they almost flattened him, bustling into the open bare street while tripping down to the ground.

The Parselmouth groggily got up to his feet again as the goat clomped near his face. The sounds of hisses and barking went on behind him as the giant dog and snake battled each other. He quickly turned around and lifted the bone-wand to aim at Black, but the wand wasn't in his hand. Theodore looked across the floor, hoping to see something that resembled the wand.

' _No, no, no! I couldn't have dropped it! How else am I supposed to —?'_

The rasping breaths returned. Theodore slowly looked up and around him to see one, then three, then seven Dementors gliding towards them from every corner of the High Street. His lungs instantly felt like they were infected, to fail him at any second as he frantically looked for a way out.

Black and Viripin didn't seem to notice the Dementors closing in, only clawing and snapping at each other to see the victor of their battle. Black sunk his jaws into Viripin's tail, earning a quick fling straight into _Tomes and Scrolls_ , almost decimating the bookstore. Black bounded out quickly enough, and shot towards the Adder as he knocked her into a cottage that had its door caved in.

"Viripin, stop," shouted Theodore. "Stop, there's Dementors! Stop!" He turned to the goat that stood still and attempted to make it move. "Go on! Attack them, do something! Please!"

The Patronus shone brighter than before and sped towards the Dementors. Several of them staggered as the goat attacked like a battering ram, sending multiple Dementors colliding into the buildings and stores.

Theodore tried to look for the bone-wand again, but the number of Dementors was increasing too quickly for him to register. He had to let it go, it wasn't worth dying over.

"Viripin, leave him to the Dementors!"

" _I'll be fine! Just get out of here, I'll be behind you!"_ She grew large leathery wings that resembled the Thestrals, and started to flap, but Black attacked her at the neck, forcing her on the ground. _"Go,"_ she hissed loudly, seeing the look of lividity on Theodore's face.

Theodore forced it out of his head, and brought out his own wand as he turned away from the snake and dog. The goat was starting to fade, and the Dementors was breaking through its defence. Not thinking a second further, the Parselmouth ran towards Honeydukes and swished his wand as he jumped. Lifted straight from the ground and into the air, Theodore felt his body becoming lighter as he 'flew', jumping over Dementors before landing clumsily on top of Honeydukes.

"It worked! It actually — what the hell…?" Beneath his foot was the bone-wand, shaking slightly as Theodore bent down to pick it up. "How did you get up here…?" He quickly pocketed the wand carefully, and started to run along the rooftops of shops and houses, timing his jumps perfectly between the gaps. Theodore almost stumbled off the Post Office due to its higher grounding, but kept his balance at the last second.

' _Viripin, where are you? Don't tell me you're still fighting Bla—?'_

"AAAHHH!" Theodore's thoughts were cut short as his leg was caught in a pit on a shoddy roof belonging to a cottage, twisting his ankle as he fell to the side. He had no time to think for he was diving headfirst into the ground, sure to split his skull in half if not into pieces.

Theodore flailed his wand thinking about anything to break his fall but he was still falling. He swished it around some more until he felt his left leg being hauled straight into the air as the ground started to move further and further away. The blurred image of a large dog being circled by Dementors could be seen upside-down as he ascended quickly into the air. The dog seemingly slipped away into the shadows, evading the Dementors while they began to disperse through the streets of Hogsmeade, severely disappointed that they allowed a prisoner to escape once again.

The Parselmouth swung by whatever was carrying him, barely able to cling onto his wand as it almost slipped from his fingers several times. He wasn't flying, was he? No wizard or witch could fly, and he definitely couldn't, despite how highly he thought of himself. Could it be…?

The hazy ground started to come closer while the image of Hogwarts came into vision, albeit not clear in the slightest. He hovered so slightly above the grass before he flopped onto it, sprawling on the ground as his stomach felt dangerously explosive. Theodore's mouth began to feel watery and full, and he knew what was going to happen next. Clambering onto his feet, he vomited onto the ground and wiped his mouth with his sleeve wondering how the hell did he carry himself from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts from just his leg.

" _Theodore! Are you OK?! This is what happens when you do stupid things: this entire thing was stupid! Oh, come here so that I can look at you!"_

He followed the Adder's voice and stumbled to the ground to keep his head levelled with hers. All that he managed to make out was a lot of green and chrome, but he figured out soon enough that it was Viripin who saved him from falling, not himself. Theodore's sight became aligned, and he could see Viripin normal-sized and fussy over him as she checked his face all around.

" _You seem all right. I don't know why you have such a problem with heights; we were barely twenty feet in the air,"_ she hissed annoyingly as Theodore's stirring subsided.

"It's because of what happened when I was younger when Louise and I —"

" _That's not the point!"_ she snapped. _"Theodore, you are to never do this again, OK? You need to keep your bravado in check, otherwise you'll kill yourself these days!"_

Theodore stood up and brushed his jeans as he said, "I'm not trying to impress anyone. And at least we got something out of that, right? We know that Black's a liar."

" _Is he really? Things do add up though. Black's an Animagus, so it would make sense if Peter was one as well. Scabbers is very much a candidate for being Peter, in fact, I'm willing to bet that Scabbers is Peter."_

" _Was_ Peter, Viripin," Theodore replied as he took the Cloak out from beneath his hoodie. "Pettigrew's dead, whether Black killed him a long time ago, or if Crookshanks ate him, although I'm leaning towards the former."

" _Then wouldn't he turn back into his human self if the vermin ate him?"_

"Viripin, I don't — I'm just really tired, OK? We have to get back into the Tower before anybody sees us, before Snape sees us. We'll talk about this later, but we have to go to sleep now."

" _Now you want to go to sleep…"_ muttered the serpent under her breath as Theodore threw the Cloak over them.

The two set for the castle following the carriage trail, eventually passing through the front gates and arriving at the front doors. Viripin flicked her tongue to smell behind the door, noting that Snape had passed by very recently. Taking these words with the upmost precaution, Theodore slowly opened them by just a little, and slipped right past before closing it behind him again. He tiptoed across the Entrance Hall and started on the steps when Viripin warned him that Snape was coming from the dungeons. Theodore suddenly made a break for it and ran as fast as he could, dodging Percy who came out from the Prefect's bathroom with Penny(?) and dashing straight for Gryffindor Tower. He thought that he heard Snape talking with Percy from behind, but didn't care at all when he reached the Fat Lady.

Quickly saying the password and avoiding the trolls' bats as they swung them fearfully in the air, Theodore closed the portrait and ran up into the dorm room, shaking with fear, relief and excitement. He silently folded the Cloak and placed it near Harry's face before he changed into his pyjamas. Viripin slid into her basket without saying goodnight, but he knew he didn't deserve it. She almost died for him, again, so now he was in her debt. But when hasn't he?

Theodore crawled into bed and set the two wands underneath his pillow, the bone-wand settling a little as he drifted away. Black did not once cross his dreams, nor did Pettigrew. For the most extraordinary reason, he dreamt about Aberforth wearing robes similar to his brother as he taught him how to cast a Patronus, causing two dazzling snakes to fly from the tip of his wand.

* * *

"Theo!"

…

"Theo!"

"Mmmh…!"

…

Theodore shot up from his pillow as he was thwacked by something that was soft and sturdy. The dorm was filled with the early morning sunlight, yet the other boys were still snoring away in their beds except for Harry. He was standing next to Theodore looking amazed and confused at the same time. Theodore didn't need to say anything as Harry procured the Cloak from under his armpit.

"Is that the Invisibility Cloak," mumbled Theodore in an innocent voice.

Harry didn't suspect a thing as he grinned in response. "I found it on my bed when I woke up just now! I don't even know who or what managed to take it from the one-eyed witch, but I sure am glad that they did!"

"Have any ideas as to who it could be," asked Theodore as he sprinkled leftover ingredients for Viripin near her basket.

Harry shrugged. "Not a clue. Wish I knew though. Snape probably does. He has to be watching the Map day and night."

"Obviously. Snape will lose his shit if he knew that someone went back to get it for you anyway."

"That, my friend, is true."

Theodore got clean and dressed himself in his uniform as he took his bag from the dorm. He tucked the bone-wand underneath a sleeping Viripin for safekeeping, knowing fully well that nobody would dare to bother her in her sleep. Walking out the room with Harry as the others started to wake up, the two chatted with one another about going to the Weasleys and how it was like there. Harry had stayed over there the summer before the previous one, and told him that it was his best one yet. Theodore had yet to see if this was true, but knew that doubts could easily be destroyed upon first viewing.

"Good morning, Potter, Riddle, Misses Granger and Pierre-Sayre. Early risers, I see." McGonagall was standing in the middle of the common room, apparently waiting for the entire House to wake up to give some sort of an announcement.

Theodore turned to his left and saw Hermione and Elvira leaving the girls' stairway at the same time as him and Harry. Hermione's cheeks were a little more pink than usual, but faded away when she saw the two cousins walking side by side. And although it was very faint, Theodore also noticed something on her neck as well. Something red…

The rest of Gryffindor House finally came down talking loudly, ready for the new day until they hushed at McGonagall's presence. She was especially disapproving of Fred and George goading a first-year into eating a 'mint', but kept her cool and proceeded to speak.

"Now, as you may be unaware, the school has been informed that a skirmish down in Hogsmeade had occurred in the previous night" — Theodore resisted the urge to gulp painfully and carried on listening — "and that, according to witnesses that were awoken from the disturbance, Sirius Black was sighted in the village."

Murmurs flew left and right as Black's name escaped from nearly every mouth. Theodore looked over to Hermione to see if she was using her uncanny ability to know whether he was up to something or not, but it didn't look that way at all.

"Quiet! Now, not only was Black sighted in Hogsmeade, but witnesses have also reported that a young male was on the scene as well, running on rooftops while unknown beasts battled on the streets amongst Dementors."

"Wicked!"

"No, Finnigan, not wicked! The 'young male' was a student who decided to leave the castle beyond hours to foolishly wander in an area flooded with Dementors! Not only did he run the risk of losing his life to them, but Black was sure to be nearby!

"Now, the Ministry have just finished questioning multiple people such as store-owners and residents this morning—"

' _Store-owners this morning? Aberforth didn't say anything? Wow…'_

"—and were, unfortunately, unable to give an account of who that student may be. They have until the end of the school year to give themselves up because if you are caught out, it'll be expulsion and a broken wand with you! You have been warned."

The common room became noisy once again as McGonagall left through the portrait hole. Theory upon theory was built in a matter of seconds as to who the 'mystery boy' could be. Theodore kept a calm exterior as he and Harry went over to join Hermione, Elvira and Ron, who too were discussing the current matters.

"Whoever that guy is, is a proper legend," grinned Ron. "Walks out of school at the dead of night, goes straight into Hogsmeade, escapes Dementors, Black and beasts all at the same time, and he's probably sitting comfortably in the castle as well!"

"He's not _legendary_ , Ron! He's incredibly stupid for doing something so reckless like risking his life, for what?"

Harry led the way to the portrait hole as he said, "That's probably what people say when we do something like this."

"But those times were different," Hermione returned as she followed. "People were trying to kill — the school was in danger, all right? It was necessary. This guy was trying to show off."

"Let's be honest: the only students who could probably fight off Black, Dementors and beasts are Harry and Theo, and I doubt that Harry would go so far out to Hogsmeade," said Ron as he was the last one out.

Theodore scowled at Ron, and was about to curse him out when Hermione cut him off.

"Please, Theo would never go down to Hogsmeade when Black easily attacked him from up here. There are two lines between confidence, bravado and stupidity, and Theo hasn't passed a single one of them. Have you, Theo?"

"As a matter of fact, I haven't," said Theodore as he crossed his arms.

"Only a joke, Riddle. Only a joke. But I wouldn't put it behind me to think that you're some kind of magical prodigy, capable of decimating villages with a single stroke of a wand."

' _How the hell is this guy so intuitive?'_

The Great Hall was still filled with nerves and joy from the approaching summer and exam results. Theodore looked up to the staff table to see Dumbledore in his own seat, discussing something secretive with Snape, who looked particularly dark on that morning. He kept his eyes on the two, squinting as if it would make him hear any better until he sat on the bench quickly after making brief eye contact with Snape.

' _Is he telling him about what I did? Dumbledore wouldn't expel me, would he?'_

A sudden urge to shout to the entire Hall that it was he who _terrorised_ Hogsmeade washed over, not so strong that he was able to keep inside; not so weak that he was tapping the table furiously.

Theodore was temporarily disrupted from his thoughts as Oliver came striding along, looking happier than he had ever been in the past three years. "Hey, Harry! McGonagall just told us that we're getting our pictures taken for winning the Cup this year. Get changed in your kit so that we can get it over with. You can even hold the Cup if you like, but obviously after me."

"Where's Fred and George," asked Harry as he set his forkful of eggs back on his plate, searching along the table to see the twins.

"I've already told them. Come on, everyone's waiting for you!"

Harry scoffed the rest of his food, then went to join Oliver quickly before he turned back to the other three. "Do you guys want to come see, or…?"

"Wai' up," said Ron with a mouthful of toast. He slapped his chest and joined Harry on his side before he too turned to Theodore and Hermione. "Not coming?"

"I'm all right. I've got to — it's all right, thanks," Hermione replied.

"What about you, Theo? Coming with?"

…

"Theodore!"

"Huh? Yeah, I — what?"

"Do you want to come with us to see the _winning_ " — Ron gave a sly look over to Slytherin — "team get their picture taken for the year?"

"No thanks. I think I'm just going to stay in the common room."

Ron shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt to get a bit of sun, you and I. We're basically vampires with ginger and black hair. But to the best of the both of you."

Harry, Ron and Oliver exited the Great Hall as Theodore was left with Hermione, who hadn't paid him attention afterwards.

' _Great, just when I want to tell them something, Ron and Harry disperse. What's even better is that I'm stuck with Hermione. She's going to fucking explode…'_

Theodore chewed his knuckle and swirled his spoon in his very sweetened porridge, pondering on what to do next. When it came to Theodore doing something unlawful and _reckless_ , Hermione was always volatile whenever she'd find out. But it was better to tell her first, to get the hardest part out of the way.

"Weren't you going to the common room, Theodore," Hermione asked with a spoon in her mouth.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm going up there, but there's something I need to tell you. And whatever you do, don't like, blow a fuse or something."

"OK…?"

He looked all around to check for anyone paying them extra close attention, then motioned her to come closer. Hermione scooted towards him, and leaned in. Taking one deep breath, Theodore sighed then brought himself to the Muggle-born's ear and whispered what he needed to say.

"YOU DID WHA—?!"

Theodore clamped his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming, and took it off quickly when heads were turned. Although her reaction was easily expected, Theodore was not prepared for it in the slightest.

"I told you not to overreact!"

"I'm _overreacting_?! You went —!"

"Whisper," he hissed.

"You went to Hogsmeade after specifically telling me that your life was much too important to put it in danger! Then you go ahead and do something so idiotic," Hermione hissed back.

"It wasn't idiotic; there's a reason why I went down to Hogsmeade, but I won't tell you now."

"Theodore Riddle, you tell me right —!"

"Ah ah ah! _Not now_ ," he interjected calmly before returning to his porridge. Theodore could see Hermione on his left gritting her teeth in near maddening frustration. Not giving her a chance to say anything out loud by not looking at her, Theodore kept quiet for the entire breakfast ignoring her obvious glares of anger and disappointment. She wanted the reason, and he was going to give it to her, when the four would be together.

"Ow!" Hermione slapped her neck with both hands as she yelped a little, saying that she was all right to others before she rubbed the area of pain in silence.

"Are you still wearing the Time-Turner," whispered Theodore as he tried to get a look at her neck.

Hermione scowled at him, but softened her expression when the boy's concern was evident. "Of course, not. Ever since that day, I've kept the Time-Turner in my pocket."

"But your neck is still hurting…"

"It's fine," she assured as she lifted up her collar. "Just a little stinging, that's all."

"Can I see?"

"It's fine, Theo, honestly."

Theodore watched McGonagall leaving the Hall through the door near the staff table, and turned back to Hermione. "Go to McGonagall. There's no point hiding from her now."

"I can't! I don't know what she'll do if she knew that I broke it! I don't even know how I did it in the first place," she muttered quietly.

"You're always badgering me on about doing the right thing, so you get what you give. You know that if you leave it to the last second, it'll be even worse. Come on, let's go," Theodore said as he stood up from his seat. Hermione sighed then nodded her head as she joined the Parselmouth's side to McGonagall's office.

They took a left turn and carried on through a first-floor corridor as Hermione was fiddling with the necklace in her pocket. She stopped when Theodore told her that she was going to break it even more until they reached the door.

"Aren't you coming in with me," asked the Muggle-born anxiously as Theodore stepped away from McGonagall's office door.

"I wasn't supposed to know about any of this, remember?"

"So you brought me here, just to let me go on my — you know what, thank you. I should've done this in the first place."

"You'll be fine," waved Theodore as Hermione knocked on the door, "McGonagall practically loves you."

"Oh, hush, Theo!"

Theodore left the first-floor corridor when Hermione vanished into the office, and was ready to go straight towards Gryffindor Tower for further thinking. He couldn't just sleep on the fact that he almost tried to kill Black the night before, or the possibility of Black being innocent with Pettigrew still being alive.

' _But he's dead. Pettigrew's dead and there's no way that he can be alive. Black or Crookshanks killed him, so he's —'_

"I think it's about time that we spoke to one another, Riddle."

Theodore froze on the stairway and turned slowly to meet his godfather at the bottom of the steps. Snape was looking particularly emotionless, like he had been kissed by a Dementor himself. "Professor, I have to —"

"Now, Riddle," said Snape in a darkly calm voice.

"Professor, I really can't go because —"

" _Now_ , Riddle," Snape repeated in the same tone.

Theodore kept his feet planted on the top of the stairway, but trotted down slowly to follow the Potions Master down into the dungeons. That burning anger which seemed to bubble every time he was around Snape returned as he stared at the back of his head contemptuously. Before, he thought it was just due to him acting even more antagonistic towards him, but now it was more than that. And maybe Snape wanted to know why.

They entered Snape's office that wasn't too far from the Slytherin common room entrance, a place that Theodore was intrigued to enter one day. But that was besides the point. The office was a place that Theodore rarely entered, only visiting the room whenever he'd need extra ingredients. But a day like this was different from those. Theodore didn't know what to do.

Snape slowly sat down and stared at Theodore for him to do the same, which he did. The boy's emotionless face mirrored his godfather's, and his posture was neutral, like the plainest mannequin from a rundown shop. Just silence. Theodore could feel something impending, but all that he could hear was complete and utter silence.

...

"Why did you leave the castle for Hogsmeade, Riddle?" Snape asked quietly, still no emotion in his voice.

"Pardon?"

"Why did you leave the castle last night?"

There was no reason to lie. Snape had the Map, the proof was right in front of him. He came out from the dungeons to look for him, and only him because he saw him leaving. For all he knew, Snape was probably watching the Entrance Hall for the entire time without Theodore knowing it.

"I left — I left because I went looking for Black. I went looking for him because I know what he did with my mother, and to Harry's parents. I wasn't just going to let him taunt me from outside the castle —"

"So, your best _approach_ to this is to retaliate for him _taunting_ you, am I correct?"

…

"You are impulsive. You acted so recklessly that you took it upon yourself to make an idiotic decision that could have cost your life!" There he was. Repressed anger, all pouring out as he had the boy cornered and silenced until now.

"I'm alive, aren't I? The Dementors didn't get me, Black didn't —"

"This is how you treat your life now?" Snape cut in again. "With an air of invincibility hanging around your head as you strut around the area with such arrogance?"

"If you would just listen —"

"You don't get to speak!" Snape snapped. "What you just did was gamble your life on the line by a thin rope, almost killing yourself as you thought selfishly about your mother's sacrifice. Is this how you repay her with your life?"

…

" _I said_ , is this how you repay her with your life?"

Theodore scoffed, not caring if Snape found it offensive. "My life… Since when have you ever cared about my life?"

"If you think that you can turn _anything_ on me —"

"Yes, I am turning it back on you! When have you ever cared about my life? What, when Black tried to kill me nearly three times this year? Did you even know about that?"

"Riddle —"

"When you asked if I was okay when I was purging the school of Muggle-borns and other students, because I'm sure you knew about that!"

"Riddle."

"How about the time when I had to face my father, my own father who I had no clue about when I was just twelve! When he was going to kill Harry, my only cousin! When Quirrell died because of me! Where were you to care?" Theodore harshly spat.

"Theodore —"

"Or how about this? When I was stuck in Stuggle's for all my life, living in a hellhole with nothing but one friend and a single note from my mother, _your_ friend, where were you? You knew where I was; you read the will. But you never came, did you?"

…

"She wanted you to take care of me, but I never saw you. Ten years, and you never came. You don't care about my life," Theodore said with a hardened voice. "Why lie to yourself?"

"That isn't true," muttered Snape so quietly that Theodore could barely make out what he said.

"Then why didn't you come?

Snape swallowed uncomfortably before he said, "I couldn't…"

"Why," said Theodore as he leaned inwards a little, waiting for whatever excuse that he was going to spew out from his mouth. He waited and waited, but nothing came out. Snape was silent, emotionless once more.

Theodore felt the anger inside him becoming dangerously explosive, sick of being denied answers when he wanted them. He stared back at Snape, dead in the eye, wanting to show him every single thing that brought pain to Theodore. The second year, those days from Stuggle's that he couldn't even tell Harry, Ron or Hermione, all of it. Theodore wanted him to see what he could've prevented, but it was not he who was showing what they felt.

…

"Why don't you care," Theodore asked after a dangerous silence. No words. Only his eyes. It was subtle, almost difficult to tell what was going on through Snape's stoic mien, but he could see it, or at least some of it. He sensed… overwhelming remorse. Pain… ultimate sorrow, and… and…

He became shut off again as Snape remained in his seat, his sallow features unchanging. Snape merely blinked as he looked straight at the boy without a single noise, not even a sniff. Whatever Theodore could do, whatever he was doing all this time, he never once felt anything that… _strong_ from anybody, Snape of all people! There was just so much, yet it all vanished in an instant. It was almost as if it were controlled, as if Snape wanted him to see…

Snape lifted himself from his chair, and glided towards the door without looking down on Theodore. Theodore felt the door open, and was waiting for it to shut, but looked down to the ground to see the light from the torches outside the room creeping inside.

"Shut the door when you leave," said Snape quietly before the door closed behind him.

Theodore shook it all off. These thoughts were always at the back of his mind, but he never expected them to leave through his mouth. Ever since he saw that will with Snape's name on it, the past was coming back to him coupled with the question of 'what if?'. And just now… they all just slipped out when he didn't want them to.

He rubbed his face with his palms and stood up to leave. Harry and Ron were bound to be finished with the team, and Hermione couldn't have taken that long with McGonagall either. He pushed the chair out of the way and turned to the door, but stopped immediately when he saw the familiar piece of parchment sticking out from underneath a jar of bile on a high shelf. Taking no chances, the Parselmouth stood on his tiptoes, and slid the parchment out, luckily catching the jar on top with a charm as it hovered back into place.

' _Better not take this, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look — hello. Snape's already got you working. I wonder if he's just outside the office, waiting for me to —'_

…

"Peter Pettigrew…?"

No. It couldn't be right. Theodore rubbed his eyes and looked at the Map again. Nothing changed. In Gryffindor Tower, skulking in the common room was a single dot with the name 'Peter Pettigrew' attached to it. It was moving, quite fast in fact, darting all over the common room and up into the boys' dormitory. But Theodore couldn't believe it. If Pettigrew was alive, and Black wasn't lying, then that meant—

"He's innocent," he said to himself. "He isn't mad… Black really was framed… and instead of listening to him, I nearly killed him… But, he still tried to kill me… I have to get Pettigrew before he gets away! I have to tell the others!"

Theodore quickly lifted the jar and slipped the Map underneath before he dashed out of the room (closing it carefully behind him). He wasn't lying he kept on thinking to himself. He was telling the truth and Pettigrew is—

"Theo! Hold on!" Hermione called out from the top of the marble staircase. She hurriedly rushed down the stairs and came under his chin as she looked up to him with reddened eyes. She definitely was upset, but it didn't look like she was crying.

"Are you OK? Is it your neck again? What did McGonagall say?"

"My neck's fine, but McGonagall said —"

"Hold it for later, Hermione," said Theodore as he started to go up the staircase. "Follow me quickly before it's too late! Come on, quickly!"

"What is it? Where are we — Harry, Ron!"

The two boys appeared from the other end of the corridor, Harry dressed in his Quidditch kit while Ron was brandishing a large golden medal in his hand. But they looked far from victorious, or even mildly happy. They looked completely dejected.

"What's wrong with you guys," Theodore asked quickly, wanting to make it before Pettigrew could escape. If he was lucky, then Viripin would've caught him before he'd even get there.

Harry shakily lifted up his hand to reveal a single white note. "It's — it's about Hagrid."

"What about Hagrid…?" Hermione asked with a slight croak in her voice.

…

"Hagrid got fired. He lost his job, both as a professor and — and gamekeeper," Ron spoke up slowly, staring blankly at his feet. "The Ministry overruled Dumbledore and are kicking Hagrid off the grounds before the year ends."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands as she gasped, tears slowly falling down her cheeks as Theodore became livid. "They can't do that! Tell me they didn't kick him out!"

Harry descended a few steps as he handed the note to Theodore. "It won't happen until the year officially ends. Hagrid has until the twenty-sixth to clear his things, then…"

"It's not fair," mumbled Hermione as she wiped her tears that didn't seem to stop falling. "Lucius Malfoy must've been behind all of this —"

"And that wizard who was sucking up to Fudge," spat Theodore as he handed the note back to Harry. "Him and Fudge, working with Malfoy. I hate them so much."

"Is there even a point for the appeal now?"

"Of course there is, Ron! You worked — _we_ worked so hard on it! We can't just give up!"

"Then who's going to take care of Buckbeak? We can't! We can barely take care of Fang!"

…

"Hagrid just can't go. Harry said it before, we have to do something in case we — guys, follow me," Theodore commanded as he went up the stairs.

"Where are you —?"

"Just follow me, OK? Don't ask any questions!" Theodore shouted before he ran up to the second floor. The others followed Theodore in confusion as he bounded up the steps, smacking himself repeatedly for stalling for so long. _'If he fucking escaped…'_

The quartet reached the Fat Lady and ran into the common room, up to the boys' dorm and into the third-year room. A tornado, maybe even a hurricane could've occurred, and they wouldn't know the difference. Shoes, shirts, robes and other clothes were thrown all around the room, ranging from Theodore's pants hanging from Neville's posts, and Ron's Christmas jumper nearly torn to shreds (he didn't look like he cared at all).

Theodore dove under Harry's bed, searching everywhere for any signs of a rat hiding in the shadows away from him. He clawed underneath, hoping to grab anything, but to no luck.

"Theo, why d'you bring us here," asked Ron as Theodore dragged himself away from Harry's bed and to Ron's next.

"Pettigrew…" Theodore answered from under the bed.

"Pardon?"

"Pettigrew, Ron. I'm looking for Pettigrew."

…

"But he's dead."

Theodore crawled out from under Ron's bed, and kicked away a bundle of Seamus's vests as he walked over to his own. "Pettigrew isn't dead, I saw him on the Marauder's Map. In fact, I was always seeing him on the Map as he was really Scabbers all along."

Ron looked at the others who shared the same look. "Are you OK, Theo? You're not —"

"Look. Pettigrew is alive because just six minutes ago, I saw him walking around in the Tower. I was in Snape's office and I saw him on the Map, in fact, I think I even met Pettigrew when I was in Hogsmeade yesterday night —"

"Knew it."

"— and he knew my name. How, you may ask? Because he's an Animagus and he was Scabbers for this entire time. That's right. Scabbers is just a man posing as a rat, but you know what else? Black's innocent. He wasn't the one who betrayed your parents because it was Pettigrew all along. He framed Black, faked his death and managed to get away with it by hiding with Ron's family, and Black is out there fleeing from the Dementors when they got the wrong man," Theodore gasped after saying all of that in nearly one breath.

…

"What the hell, Theo? Like seriously, what the actual hell?" Harry said with a blank face.

"It's OK, I knew you wouldn't believe me in the first place." Theodore turned and sank to his knees as he crawled underneath his bed to shake a sleeping Viripin.

" _Let me sleep,"_ she snapped violently. _"After everything you put me through yesterday, I don't want to — hey!"_

Theodore lifted the Adder slightly and plucked Pettigrew's wand from her basket before asking her a question. "Viripin, did you hear, see or smell anybody coming inside the dorm? Anybody different and odd?"

" _I didn't — I didn't see or hear anything. I was so tired that I could barely move, and now you're interrupting my sleep…"_

"But did you smell anyone? Come on, Viripin, I need to know! Anything…?" Theodore asked desperately.

It took her a while to think, but she answered in the end. _"Scabbers… I smelt Scabbers, but it was stronger, like that man from Hogsmeade…"_

Theodore thanked her and told her to go back to sleep. He slid out from underneath the bed and brushed the dust off his shirt, grasping the bone-wand as the others looked at him silently. "Catch all of that, Harry?"

"Y-yeah, but… so you were in Hogsmeade yesterday? And you saw Pettigrew? Are you sure?" Harry asked unsurely, but he didn't even believe in his doubts from the sound of his voice.

"Right now, I'm one hundred percent certain that I saw Pettigrew. The guy that I saw in Hog's Head was ratlike, like _seriously_ ratlike. The guy was sniffing all over the place searching for danger, and had his finger missing on his —"

"Right hand," said Ron suddenly. It was like he reached an epiphany that didn't serve him well at all. "Just like Scabbers…" The look of horror that Theodore knew was to come became etched on his face. "What the fuck?! Are you telling me that — that for the past three years, I was sleeping with a grown man in my bed?!"

"I'm sorry, Ron —"

"He saw me when I was almost nake—! I feel so dirty!" Ron cringed as he grimaced, scratching himself like he had a disease.

"But he dropped this," Theodore continued after giving looks of pity to the unfortunate boy, raising the bone-wand for all to see. "His wand. He was probably looking for this, but couldn't find it."

"Or maybe he just didn't want to check," suggested Hermione, "because Viripin was sleeping on it. If he woke her up, then he'd be better off hiding wherever he was. But what I don't get is _why did you go to Hogsmeade when you said you wouldn't_?" Hermione hissed with her arms crossed.

Theodore told them about Black giving him a sign telling him to go to Hogsmeade — Hermione muttered "And he calls _me_ a lunatic" — and how he got Viripin to get the Cloak for him. He told them how he left the castle and how he managed to get past one Dementor, but was saved in the nick of time by the owner of Hog's Head (Aberforth didn't seem like the kind of person to have everyone knowing that he was Dumbledore's brother), how he saw Pettigrew in the inn before he vanished, and how he had Black cornered before he escaped from the Dementors yet again.

"It was still stupid of you to go," scolded the Muggle-born.

"But it got me something. Black's innocent, or at least isn't fully guilty, and this could mean that the Ministry's got the wrong man."

"I'm all for justice, but why do you care so much, Theo," asked Ron curiously as he collected his clothing from Dean's bed. "The man nearly killed you three times already."

"It's because Pettigrew was a Death Eater and got away with it," Theodore replied darkly. "Anybody who supported Voldemort deserves to —"

 _Die, Theo? Were you going to say die? Valerie was a Death Eater. Did she deserve to die?_

Theodore looked down at the wand, feeling something latent within trying to conduct Theodore's power through itself. It didn't feel as good with his own wand, but it still felt 'right', familiar almost. Theodore had seen this wand from somewhere, he knew it… but from where?

" _My foundation and mark upon the world… That is what you are… Theodore…"_

That cold, high voice… _His_ voice…

"Theo?" Hermione came next to him, holding his hand with the wand, away from Harry and Ron's line of sight. "Your eyes…"

Theodore rubbed them quickly to reveal the hazel again. "I'm good. I'm fine…"

" _My foundation, Theodore… My mark..."_

 **Wow. I don't know what's wrong with me. This chapter, yet again, was going to be much much longer, but I want to keep you on your toes because the next one is going to be pretty hectic. And, we got just a tad bit of insight of what the future could hold for Theo and Snape's relationship with another. Damn, Theo was pissed! But I hope you liked this chapter, keep your eyes open for the next one and I will see you later.**

 **Guest: I think that with all the running around and escapades that Theo has and will do in the story will be enough for him. As for Louise, she's going to make an appearance, but that is for later.**

 **P.S: 200 FOLLOWS!**


	34. Chapter 34: A Cornered Escape

When the day started to die as the night began to fall over the castle, Theodore had kept the bone-wand hidden underneath Viripin; only he, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew of its existence and place of concealment. Under no circumstances did they intend to give it away to any of the professors, knowing that if they had any hope in finding the entire truth behind Pettigrew and Black, it had to be kept between them. So, there it remained, hidden, protected and out of sight.

However, keeping Pettigrew's wand underneath Viripin meant that they were expecting the wizard to make another attempt at retrieving it, but their expectations had not been met so far. Buckbeak's execution was nearing with only five days left to spare, and it was just over a week before Hagrid would be cleared off from the grounds. Let's just say that the four weren't in their greatest state of mind. Hagrid had almost been too much to handle, and on top of everything else they were sure to just lose it.

Tension was growing as the year was starting to come to a close. Sawer hadn't returned from Louise ever since he was sent for her birthday, and Madam hadn't given him a reply since his request. He was anxious to think that something went wrong with the owls on their destinations and wondered if they had even fulfilled the deliverances. Sawer's a smart owl, Theodore thought to himself. He'll know danger when he sees it.

So, instead, Theodore had spent the majority of the next few days with the others either in the Hall or common room, trying to talk like everything would turn out OK in the end. Call it lying to oneself or optimism, the four were trying their hardest to stay positive for Hagrid. They had to stomach what would occur in two days time, and had sent letter after letter to the half-giant, hoping that he would reply. To no luck was a letter sent back. Unfortunate, but expected. At least, by Theodore.

After eating breakfast on that morning, Theodore decided to break from the others, claiming that he had to discuss a few things with a teacher that could end up taking the entire day to resolve. This was very much the truth as Theodore intended to speak to a certain professor about something that could save his life in the near future. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too late for him.

"We're staying up in the common room tonight," said Harry discreetly from the opposite side of Gryffindor table, "so don't forget about that."

"Sure," Theodore replied as he stood up from the table. He said his goodbyes and proceeded to leave the Great Hall with the intent on finding that professor. He took a right turn from outside the doors, and went up a floor before reaching the Defence office at the end of a second-floor corridor.

Theodore knocked on the door, hoping that Lupin would be inside. He hadn't seen the man recently at dinner times or breakfast, and wondered if he was doing all right with himself. Theodore had taken it upon himself to make a simple chart regarding the lunar phases during the year, and had frequently went back to it to remind him when Lupin would apparently transform. A full moon was due to occur on the twenty-second, and Theodore wondered if Snape was still regularly giving him his potion. A stab of guilt was felt by Theodore as he realised that by not going to the dungeons every now and then, meant that he neglected Lupin's ailment and medication.

"This is going to be awkward," he muttered to himself. Theodore waited for a few minutes before knocking again, and heard a faint voice from behind inviting him inside before pushing through the door.

The office was dingy with the shutters on the windows blocking the sunlight from outside, barely allowing thin rays to penetrate into the room. That's not to say that it was completely dark. A lantern with a flickering blue flame was sat on Lupin's desk, emitting a faint glow that caught the man's face as he was sitting in his chair looking more fatigued than ever. Lupin lifted his grey face to the boy, and smiled weakly with a hand motioning him to come closer.

"Good morning, Theodore. What brings you here? You must be wondering about your final grade, no?"

Theodore took a seat in front of Lupin's desk before replying. "Actually, I wanted to talk about something else. Something that you must've spoken about with Harry."

"Fire away."

"I wanted to talk about Patronuses. Wasn't that the thing that Harry made during the match against Slytherin," Theodore asked. "I was just wondering since Harry was spending a lot of time with you before the match. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it?"

Lupin tapped his wand against the lantern which intensified its light, and sat up straight. "I have some experience in the topic. Harry did ask me the same thing a few months into the year, but may I ask why you are interested? Just out of curiosity."

"Well…" said the Parselmouth, thinking on what to say without giving anything away about Hogsmeade. "I mean, it does seem fascinating to perform magic that would repel creatures such as Dementors. I've never heard of such magic before, and to see somebody the same age as me doing rare magic has got me interested. Obviously, that's why I came to you."

"I truly do admire your drive to learn outside the norm. Very well. The Patronus Charm is rather rare with many wizards and witches being incapable of casting the charm, let alone a corporeal one."

"Corporeal?" said Theodore with just enough naivety in his voice to make Lupin reveal everything he had to know.

"A Patronus is, in its simplest terms, a physical manifestation of our positive thoughts. A 'guardian' that is as pure and incorruptible as the caster. Usually, when the caster has mastered the charm, the Patronus would take the form of an animal that the caster has a great connection or affinity towards. Every person that has cast a Patronus for the first time would not have any idea as to what animal they —"

Lupin suddenly started to break out in fits of violent coughs as he bent over to the side of his desk. He covered his mouth and had a hand firmly on his chest while the coughs echoed in the office.

"Are you OK, Professor?" Theodore asked with anxiety. He stood up and leaned over to where Lupin had his head facing the floor, and saw him spluttering on the ground. "Professor, should I go get Madam —?"

Lupin held out his palm and got through the last coughs before settling down. "That won't be necessary — I'm fine, Theodore. It's just my body _getting ready_ for when 'it' happens."

The professor coughed some more as Theodore sat back down slowly, staring at Lupin as if he'd collapse at any second. "Have you taken your potion at all recently?" he asked after an extended silence.

"Severus has gotten more sullen these days. He said that the given dosages would be sufficient, but I beg to differ. Then again, I'm not the Potions Master," Lupin replied, falling back into his chair.

"I'll go and get some —" started Theodore before he was cut off by Lupin.

"Thank you… And if you would be so kind, may I also have some Pumpkin Juice? It helps to ease the throat with the aftertaste."

Theodore nodded firmly, then quickly exited the office for the dungeons. A weird sensation in his stomach told him not to turn back despite an unavoidable confrontation with Snape. Where was this feeling throughout the entire year when he was actively trying to escape Snape at every turn? It didn't matter. Theodore hurried along the corridors and turned right to the marble staircase which was full of students either pushing through or lounging on the steps, making it difficult for the Parselmouth to make it to the bottom. Nevertheless, Theodore managed to pave his way through the tight crowd, and made his way to the dungeons.

He finally reached Snape's classroom door and looked all around him for any sign of the professor lurking in the shadows. Just a couple of nervous N.E.W.T students hanging about and nothing more. Once they cleared away from the area, Theodore had no other option but to use his palm the same way he used to do when entering the room. He pressed his hand on the door, awaiting the resistance that it would put up against him, but to his amazement, the door clicked open. Theodore took five seconds to blink in confusion, then slipped inside quickly.

Theodore was momentarily frozen with the fear of Snape being in the classroom beforehand, for the sounds of fluttering that came near the desk area was heard clearly. The shutting of a hidden portrait that was hung next to the shelf in the corner caught Theodore's attention instantly, turning his head as he almost had the urge to dive underneath the desk-tables. But that wasn't the case. There was no Snape inside the classroom; there wasn't even another human inside. Theodore was smacked with shock as he quickly recognised the hook-beaked raven that had been flying over the grounds in search for something. It slowly descended to behind the desk and fluttered its loose feathers, waddling carefully on its thin legs: it hadn't taken notice of the boy.

"What the hell…?"

The raven suddenly squawked at Theodore's reveal. It flapped its wings quite flimsily compared to how it flew outside and crashed into Snape's parchment sheets on his desk, sending them flying everywhere.

"Stupid bird! Do you want to get me in trouble," hissed Theodore. He ran over to the desk to shove the bird to the side and grabbed his wand from his pockets to give it a small wave, charming the parchments to rearrange themselves into the neat stacks that they were before. "Snape's already got it in for me, so I don't need you making things worse. Not that it can't anyway…"

The raven settled on its feet again, but was rather rattled by the boy's sudden appearance. Its wings were trembling unlike any bird that Theodore had ever seen before, and it carried on blinking while it darted its head everywhere, probably looking for an opening to escape from.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you or anything," said Theodore flatly as he looked around the desk, searching for a cauldron with the Wolfsbane Potion inside. "You're probably his replacement after losing Viripin. God, look how mangled your beak is! It almost looks like his! This guy doesn't know how to take care of animals!"

The bird waddled away from him and tried to peck at the portrait for it to open, but it didn't budge. Theodore ignored the odd behaviour and continued to scour for the potion. "It has to be here somewhere. Dumbledore wouldn't allow Snape to just not give Lupin his medication… You wouldn't happen to know where your _owner_ keeps any Wolfsbane Potion would you?" he asked the raven jokingly.

It squawked again and pulled away from the portrait to the diverging cupboard door where Theodore liberated Viripin. The bird pecked on the door repeatedly, causing the boy to wonder if the bird was more intelligent than he had let on. He swung the door open and was met with a familiar stench. A cauldron was bubbling as it held the silver-white colour of the Wolfsbane Potion.

"Huh. Well, would you look at that. You could understand me. Now, where's a goblet when you need one?" Theodore muttered. He found a slightly rusty goblet hidden on top of the shelves, and he gave it a thorough clean-through before pouring the potion inside. There was barely any left, so he had to be careful not to waste a single drop, yet not to overflow so that there would be enough for the rest of the week. The twenty-second was not far away at all.

Theodore finally filled the goblet with enough of the potion and hurried out of the classroom before Snape would arrive. The raven remained quiet for the entire time he was measuring the potion, up to when he left the room. Theodore left it at that and closed the door behind him before setting off back to Lupin's office, stopping briefly at the Great Hall to grab another goblet of Pumpkin Juice as well. Lupin was extremely grateful and awarded Theodore twenty points, something that made Theodore feel even worse that he hadn't been the one to make the potion for him. Alas, the Parselmouth said his goodbyes and left the office, not wanting to bother the sickly professor with his questions.

' _If it's rare magic, then surely it can come from a book? Hell, I'll just ask Harry; he'll know how to perform it anyway.'_

"Riddle! Riddle!"

Theodore turned his head to the attention of McGonagall frantically walking towards him, holding onto her hat as all the third-years in Gryffindor, and some of the fifth-years and second, were trying to keep up with her as she sped towards him. "Hi, Professor…? What's going —"

"Where have you been? Did you not hear the Headmaster's announcement," she asked almost angrily.

"Pardon? I didn't hear —"

"There's no time to discuss! You of all people should've been wary about this! Come along and follow me!" McGonagall instructed, pressing on as the Gryffindors followed her once more.

"What's going on," he whispered to Harry. "Why did Dumbledore make her round us up?"

Harry leaned in and said, "Dumbledore received some news a few minutes after you left. Apparently, Black was spotted again in Hogsmeade, so they alerted the school to go on temporary shutdown for the moment."

"But that's ridiculous! Black's only one person, he can't do anything against the school with Dumbledore."

"That's what I was thinking. McGonagall had been looking all over for you; she almost went mad when Peeves said that he saw you leaving the castle. Of course, he wasn't exactly lying…"

The Gryffindors carried on walking along the corridors and up the stairs towards the Tower with multiple ghosts and portraits bellowing at each other, screaming orders and ideas that should've been given a long time ago. McGonagall didn't tell them to hush and hurried the students along so that they could make it to the Tower in time, Theodore being given an extra shove to the front.

As they made it to the seventh floor, they approached the Fat Lady in the painting who attempted to flee from the image, but was blocked off from the other portrait-dwellers to remain in her place. Theodore said the password and waved off the trolls that grunted and sniffed at him before he climbed through the hole.

"You are to remain here, all of you," announced McGonagall as everyone settled into the room. "Not a single one of you is to leave this common room. I fear that what Black may inflict onto you" — a quick glance at Theodore — "will be far more harsh than what I have in mind. Fifth-, sixth- and seventh-years, I expect you to watch over the younger years while I'll go collect the rest of the House. Keep vigilant and —"

"There's no need to," exclaimed Hermione as she pointed at the opening portrait. "Look, Percy and Faye have got the rest of us!"

Percy and Faye Greysfield, the seventh-year prefect alongside Percy, was leading a single file of the rest of the House as they scrambled into the common room. The other prefects were found behind them, and seemed to be a little red in their faces. Perhaps Percy was a little overbearing in his duty as Head Boy.

"Mr Weasley and Miss Greysfield! Thank you so much! Here's a register with everybody's names. Please go around and mark each year group, except the seventh. I'll do that myself." McGonagall conjured seven parchment sheets and handed them to the six prefects while keeping one to herself.

"Guys, I think he's trying to get my attention again," Theodore said to the others quietly as they settled at the back tables. "Maybe he wants me to go back to him."

"But you can't go! Not when the castle's on lockdown like this! And Black still attacked you when you had him cornered, and there are Dementors still skulking around."

"Of course, I'm not going to go. I don't even know how to produce a Patronus."

"I think a Patronus is the least of your concerns on whether you want to leave the castle, Theodore," said Hermione, crossing her arms while frowning.

"I told you already. I'm not going to go. I was just saying that Black showing up in the clear could mean that he wants to speak with me again. He probably thinks that I gave it enough time to think things over."

Ron leaned inwards and held himself back when Percy checked them all off before whispering, "So, say he wants to speak with you, and it's important. How the hell will we get to him? It's not like we can send him an owl; it'll be too obvious. We can send Crookshanks to him though."

"That's a good idea, Ron. We can —"

"We're not sending Crookshanks to a place full of Dementors," hissed Hermione. "I thought it was established that he only attacked Scabbers because he was untrustworthy!"

"We know that, and we're sorry for the billionth time, Hermione. Crookshanks is friends with Black, and he can easily get out of the castle without any problems. We'll just have Viripin to translate what he'll say which would have to be a message from Black," countered Ron with a smug face.

"For your information, Viripin hates Crookshanks. In fact, why can't we just send her instead? She can turn into anything."

Theodore saw this question coming and said casually, "She'll probably just lose it, and would try to kill him."

"But — but," Hermione stammered.

"We're not sending Crookshanks or Viripin to Black," interrupted Harry. "Remember, we have to focus on catching Pettigrew. With his wand upstairs, it's our only leverage above him. We do that, then we can turn him over and Black gets his name cleared. Theo, if we have to go down there, like _have_ to go down there, then you can't —"

"We're already far too deep in this, Harry. There's no backing down, and we know this. We'll catch him, don't worry," Theodore assured his cousin with a slight smile. There wasn't a single lie in Harry's words; Theodore knew that the wand was the only thing keeping Pettigrew from leaving the grounds. If he was so desperate to get it back from them, then he had to be hiding in the shadows, maybe even running from Black himself. A part of him just hoped that for once, the year could end on a high note with Black freed, and Pettigrew caught. After the last two, he could really need a somewhat happy ending.

Percy was barking orders after the registers had been completed, and chastised Fred for trying to sneak out of the common room the second McGonagall stepped out of the portrait. The first-years were scared out of their wits as they were desperately clinging to each other's owls to write letters back home, but were told by Percy to calm down and relax.

"Black's not getting in a second time. The Headmaster and the Minister are sure to keep the castle protected, and he surely can't be that stupid to try and run through the Dementors in Hogsmeade," Percy declared with an air of self-reassurance.

So that's where the four remained for the rest of the day. They played Gobstones (Theodore was still terrible at it), talked even further about summer at the Weasleys, and several other things that could keep a conversation going for as long as theirs. The number of children in the common room decreased little by little, the noises dying as each person left for their dorms. Theodore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Oliver, Katie and three other first-years were the last of the House to remain downstairs, soon leaving the four alone as Katie was the last to say goodnight to them.

"What's the time," yawned Ron as he stretched his long arms across the table.

"Half-past eleven. I thought they'd never leave," Theodore replied after taking a quick glance at the clock. "OK, so I'm assuming we're going to talk about Black and Pettigrew?"

Harry nodded. "We're going to have to lure Pettigrew out somehow, like somewhere he can easily fall into a trap."

"A trap inside the castle?" Hermione asked.

"I was thinking _outside_. Or at least, around the grounds. I was also thinking that we could get Sirius's attention, so that he could sniff Pettigrew out in the open space."

Ron raised his eyebrow and said, " _Sirius_?"

"Yeah, _'Sirius'_. We can't just keep on calling him Black all the time; he has a first name."

"Let's agree to disagree," Theodore added as he leaned backwards on his chair. "He may be innocent, but he did try to kill me three times already. I'm still calling him Black."

"Anyway," Hermione interjected, "if we're going to trick Pettigrew into coming near the castle, then it better be a good plan. If he can still turn into a rat, then it'll be easy for him to escape."

"That won't be a problem. I already looked up the spell to reverse an Animagus's transformation. If he tries to make a run for it, then we'll catch him off-guard. The problem is that I don't think I'll be able to do it by myself, since I haven't had anything to practice on. So in that case, we'll have to do it all together. Got it?"

Harry nodded his head firmly while Hermione and Ron gave weak smiles. In all honesty, Harry was the only one full of confidence at the table. The others were a little sceptical on if they would succeed or not. The plan needed a severe combover, and there were also other factors including Snape. Theodore knew that if he tried to get anywhere close to the Entrance Hall, then it'd be curtains for him and the others.

"Oh, hello, Viripin," Hermione said happily. The serpent came slithering along the ground slowly as there appeared to be something white in her mouth. "What's that she got there?"

"Is that the wand? Viripin, why did you move it from your basket?" Theodore asked angrily.

" _Because it's been poking me ever since you put it there,"_ she snapped back. _"I'm not going to sacrifice another night's sleep while this 'thing' tries to break my back! My basket isn't exactly big, you know."_

"Then I'll make you a bigger basket, now put it back where it came from!"

"Theodore, relax. She's not doing any harm."

Viripin clattered the wand onto the table and pulled away when Theodore moved his hand towards her. It didn't last for long as he apologised, bringing her to curl up around his shoulders and on top of his head. Theodore picked the wand up — he used his robes to clean off Viripin's saliva — and held it closer to his face.

"Creepy wand," muttered Ron, shuddering as he leaned over Theodore's shoulder without bothering Viripin. "I don't remember my wand looking anything like this when I was at Ollivanders. Do you think he knows the evil kids from the good ones by the wands he sells?"

"It's basic wandlore, Ron. The wand ch—"

"Chooses the wizard, yes, I know that. I was just wondering why this one looks particularly in-your-face evil."

"I was getting to that," Hermione gritted through her teeth. "The wand learns through the wizard, just as much as the wizard does through the wand. It's guaranteed to change the older you grow because you change as well. My wand used to be plain, now it's got these… _things_." She pointed at the swirls crawling around her wand like vines up a tree.

"If that's true, then Pettigrew must've been fucking malicious. But I guess if you kill twelve Muggles, frame your friends and betray them, all whilst working for You-Know-Who, your wand would twist as well. Boy, can you imagine what You-Know-Who's wand looks like? Freaky!"

The bone-wand was vibrating again in his fingers, buzzing much more vigorously than before. He still hadn't forgotten about those words that came into his thoughts when he held it in his hand. They somehow made it into his dreams, a silky cold voice that used to give him unknowing comfort, now deep disturbance. For a second, he thought back to Ginny when she told him about her nightmares. Their talk was long overdue; perhaps, if he was allowed to go, the summer would give them enough time to —

"What the hell?" Harry's hand reached the insides of his robes and brought out his wand that seemed to be jerking wildly between his fingers.

"What's wrong?"

"My wand, it's — it's out of control…"

"Has this happened before?" asked Theodore as he held the bone-wand comfortably, resting his hand on the table.

"Only when I first got it, and back then it never reacted like — what the fuck?!"

Harry's and Pettigrew's wands blew out white, red and green sparks from their tips in sync, rocking wildly in both the boys' fingers with their grips slowly starting to falter. Suddenly, a thin golden thread was formed by the wandtips, hanging loosely in between before Theodore dropped the wand intentionally. The thread snapped and dissolved in the air, the bone-wand still jerking across the table by itself, capturing the children's attention. Neither of them spoke a word. They all just looked down on it, completely struck with confusion by what had exactly happened. And just for a moment, Theodore ran the words Ron spoke about the wand, and wondered how truly could a cowardly man like Pettigrew could obtain a wand with such chilling vigour and eeriness.

* * *

For the next four days of the remaining school year, the four had kept to themselves by planning and preparing for whatever trap that was intended for Pettigrew. Four days seemed like more than enough time to create a cohesive plan, but devising a method that was sure to catch a rouge wizard did not fare too well. Aside from the multiple distractions, lack of privacy and constant shifts in planning area, the quartet found it strenuously difficult, always hitting a dead end and moving backwards to where they started. It was only luck did they manage to progress with their plan, and that progress was not something to be entirely proud of.

However, some of their spirits were considerably lifted as the morning of the twenty-second caught up quickly. The four were sat in the Great Hall, awaiting for the day to finally end when a brown owl came swooping down above to land in front of Harry, who was admittedly startled by its sudden arrival. The owl shook its leg and was freed from the letter that was attached to it, flying off to where it came from.

"Guys, it's Hagrid," Harry said excitedly, tearing the envelope and plucking the letter from inside. "It says that he's staying in the Leaky Cauldron, and Buckbeak's having the time of his life. He — he's saying thank you for everything that we did, and how great of a friend he had in all of us…"

"Hogwarts won't be the same without him," said Hermione sadly, clattering her spoon inside her empty bowl. "I can't imagine seeing Hagrid going someplace else. What will they do with his Hut? Take it down?"

"Dumbledore would never let that happen. Hagrid's Hut will —" Theodore stopped mid-sentence. Dumbledore had suddenly arrived near the staff table with Snape, both looking unnervingly emotionless. For Dumbledore it was odd to see him without any vibrancy, but for Snape, Theodore had only gotten a glimpse of what he was hiding behind closed doors. Just a glimpse; nothing more.

"Do you think he's hurting?" Ron asked quietly as he too noticed Dumbledore's lack of joy in his expression.

"Of course. He just doesn't want to show it. I mean, it's not in his nature to… breakdown." Theodore looked at the old man some more, thinking that Dumbledore must've felt something intense towards Hagrid's dismissal. It was only natural for him to feel that way after everything that he did for him.

Breakfast seemed dragging for just an hour and a half and soon, the Hall began to clear up. Theodore told the others that he would be in the library trying to see if anything would be of use to them for their plan. He heard from one of the Slytherin prefects talking about a _Stunner_ , indicating that it was a spell of some sorts. He only managed to catch a snippet of the incantation; a spell like that could mean a swift victory without any chance of Pettigrew escaping. But if only it were that easy. Theodore then said goodbye to the others and proceeded to walk off to the library.

Theodore quickly entered the library and seated himself in a private corner on the far end of the enormous room. He figured that since Madam Pince was looking particularly sulky on that morning — not that it wasn't a surprise at all — he'd have to do the searching himself. Not that hard, right? There was just one thing that he needed to do, or have a grasp on at least.

He made sure that nobody was giving him any sort of attention (the library was empty, and he was certain that he was the only one there), and checked around the corners to see if Madam Pince decided to keep her eyes on him. Nothing alarming seemed to pique his interest. Theodore then brought out his wand and closed his eyes tightly.

"Happy memory… think of a happy memory…" he muttered to himself, trying to drag out what memories had brought him joy in his life. Not forgetting about his curiosity during the past few days, Harry had explained to him the key to successfully casting the rare charm: think of the happiest memory possible. Theodore almost laughed by what he thought was quite silly, but calmed himself down when Harry didn't even crack a smile. If it meant drowning yourself in unbridled joy for something so useful, then he guessed that it was worth it.

He thought long and hard, digging for that memory that would serve him well. _'When I told Harry that we were cousins. That was a good memory.'_ Theodore tied that thought down and waved his wand in circles as he muttered _"Expecto Patronum"_ quietly. Faint tendrils and light blew from his wandtip like cobwebs in the wind, drifting dreamily in air, completely weightless.

' _OK, that's good! Better than last time. But I can do better…'_

And he believed that. Digging and digging further down his subconscious, he scoured for that memory that would reveal his Patronus to him. It was almost surprising that the only time he could think about anything truly happy was when he was being assimilated by dark magic.

' _When… when I saw my mother's face for the first time…'_

" _Expecto Patronum!"_ A stronger glow from his wand was seen as Theodore leaned back in shock. Now this he wasn't expecting. Granted that it absolutely paled in comparison to Harry's, Lupin's and Aberforth's, he was getting there, he could feel it. But he could still do more…

' _When I… when I found out I was a — no. When I first met Lou—'_

"Having fun there, Theo?" Hermione's face popped out from around the corner as she smirked at the boy whose eyes were firmly shut. "I can see that you got a little distracted."

"Eh, I was going to get around to it. Besides, it's still morning, right? Plenty of stuff that we can go through before we — you know."

"Then it wouldn't hurt for two heads instead of one. I'll join you." And so, Hermione vanished from around the corner and returned with a stack of books ten minutes later. She plopped them in front of Theodore and sat on the opposite side of the desk, taking the highest book and instantly flicking through it.

"You know what this reminds me of? When I dragged you into helping me to find out about Slytherin and my parents," said Theodore. He had _Train and Guide: The Guide Towards Training_ open in front of him that depicted several methods of incapacitating opponents in duels.

"You didn't drag me, you were just… _very_ motivated to find out about him."

"It's all right: obsessive isn't a swear word, you can use it. I just find it funny how back then it meant everything to me, but now I don't even care for it."

Hermione looked up from her book and said, "Well, you must care just a little. Sure, he's not exactly the best historical figure to be related to, but it should be something to be admired at, or at least recognise. Having an heir of the Founders in the school is extremely rare. I think that you're probably the only Founder's heir still alive."

"Not the only one alive, remember," Theodore mumbled without taking his eyes away from his book. This was probably the furthest he had gotten when talking about his ancestor and father to Hermione in a casual conversation. The thought of a future where he could speak freely about it, even take a little jab towards it, seemed impossible.

"Right… Do you sometimes think about what he's doing out there?" she asked quietly. The topic was sensitive, but she hadn't touched a nerve too harshly so far.

"He won't come back. That's how I always think about him," he said back quite firmly.

"Sorry, I didn't — OW!" Hermione slapped her hands on her neck, wincing like she did when it happened for the first time.

"Again? Didn't you say that it stopped hurting?"

"I did, but it just keeps on coming back! After McGonagall took the Time-Turner from me, she had Madam Pomfrey give me a potion to help ease the pain, but it's not going — what are you doing?"

Theodore stood up from his seat and slid across the table to the other side. "Let me see what's bothering you. If it's that bad, then you should go complain again."

"Theodore, it's fine, really," she protested while she tightened her grip around her neck. "You don't have to —"

"Hermione, let's not do this, OK? You're in pain, and I just want to see what's the problem. There's no point trying to hide it now because sooner or later, I'll find out."

Hermione sighed deeply and closed her eyes as her hands fell to the table slowly. Her collar was already loosened, and her tie was undone around her shoulders, so all he had to do was to pull it down a little and…

…

"Shit…"

Hermione did a very great job at covering her neck. If she had never screamed in pain before, Theodore could believe himself not noticing it throughout the seven years of school. Around the base of her neck was a single red line that looked like she had been yanked by a white-hot noose. The scarring wasn't so explicit, but it felt disturbing to see it on her. The scar led all around her neck and down towards her chest to where she suddenly kept her hands on.

Hermione covered her neck once again, not batting a single eye to the Parselmouth who kept silent. "I thought — I thought that I could get away with the Basilisk last year. There was barely any scratching on my arm, so my parents didn't find out. But what am I supposed to do with this? What will they say when they see this?"

"Why didn't you tell me the first time," Theodore asked softly. "If we had looked for help back then, this probably wouldn't have happened."

"Because I didn't want you to worry. Isn't that what _you_ say when you're doing something crazy or life-threatening?"

Theodore managed a small curl of the lip as he said, "You're not using me as an example, are you? I'm like, the worst one to use. You shouldn't be scared to tell me these things, Harry and Ron included. Keeping them in the dark by telling only me isn't fair."

"Well, it's not going to be any use to them now, is it? I don't have the Time-Turner anymore. If I did, I'd think about going back to that lesson with Buckbeak and pushing Malfoy out of the way for none of this to ever happen."

"That would be handy right about now. Maybe you weren't so crazy about taking all electives. I wish I had a Time-Turner…"

Hermione scoffed. "There's no way I'm going to the next year taking all electives. Now _that_ is lunacy. I felt like complete and utter shit for this entire year," she groaned while taking the next book on the pile.

Theodore gasped and slapped his hand on his mouth. "Oh. My. God. Hermione Granger, _the_ Hermione Granger, just swore. And I was a witness to it. Goodness, if Christmas hadn't come early…"

"You're being ridiculous," Hermione replied with a smile on her face. The two decided to leave the library much earlier than they intended to, knowing that if they were going to execute their plan, they needed to be all together for as much as possible. They met Harry and Ron in the common room soon after, going over all the risks that they could possibly face in a few possible hours. Pettigrew was still dangerous and probably was just as unstable as Black. But something told Theodore that they couldn't lose at all. Something very, very small.

* * *

Sunlight still covered the grounds, setting an orangey hue across the castle, lake and fields. The hallways were still full of stragglers enjoying the rest of the day, waiting for the oncoming evening to set to tell them that it was time to return to their common rooms. They weren't the only ones feeling lethargic as the teachers also became relaxed, being more mellow in the corridors, giving more freedom to the students after curfew. Certainly not by enough though, but just enough for Theodore, Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"What's the" — Ron stretched and yawned — "time now? We've been walking around for hours!"

"It's half-past eight. We only got about thirty minutes till we have to go back to the Tower again," answered Theodore, clicking his pocket watch before setting it back into his robes again.

"You mean until _you_ have to go back. The only reason that they cut down our curfew is so that you would be safe."

"Well, then it was pretty pointless in the end, wasn't it? You got the Cloak ready, Harry?"

Harry slapped his stomach that seemed to bulge a little. "You sure you won't need it? I can give it to you, and we'll be able to go —"

"No, it's fine. And the Invisibility Cloak won't shield me from the Map anyway. It's not like I'm trespassing, or at least not yet. We still got loads of time."

The four walked side by side down to the Entrance Hall, stopping at the bottom of the steps to see Theodore off. "It's not too late to switch around," said Hermione.

"I'll be fine. You guys worry too much."

"It's only because you made Snape go mental at least three times this year. A fourth time, and he'll probably explode!"

Theodore simply shrugged and told them that it couldn't get any worse. Well, could it? He'd been slashed across the face by a crazy man, and was attempting to save that said man from his false conviction. Nothing could possibly top this.

The others hid behind the hourglasses when a couple of sixth-years came from McGonagall's classroom while Theodore turned to the dungeons. Snape couldn't have been anywhere else inside the castle but inside his classroom or office. Theodore wasn't breaking any rules. If Snape saw him coming, then he couldn't do anything to him: he kept on telling himself that.

The Parselmouth came to Snape's classroom door, but turned his head to the left, facing the corridor that led to the Potions Master's office and Slytherin Common Room. He couldn't afford to be caught out by either teacher or a random student. Taking his chances, he pressed his palm against the door and pushed his way inside.

For a split second, he saw the portrait next to the shelf swinging just a little before it rested by being tilted on its side. A single ebony feather descended quite clumsily in the air, finally landing on the Marauder's Map that was distinct on Snape's desk. Theodore closed the door behind him and rushed towards the desk, brushing the greasy feather aside as he almost knocked the rusted goblet full of Wolfsbane on its side.

"Shit! I forgot to give Lupin his potion, and he's going to transform tonight! He's probably — what…?" His attention was drawn away from the goblet and to the Map that was folded on its side, but again still active. He grabbed it quickly, thinking that Snape must've seen the others in the Entrance Hall and had somehow snuck past him, but then he saw it. Saw _them_.

Pettigrew's dot was inside Hagrid's Hut idly, squirming just a little, but otherwise remaining still. But another dot, a dot that was moving far too fast for a single human, was heading towards the Hut. _Severus Snape._

"He's going after him… Snape was looking for Pettigrew this whole time, not looking for us… I have to tell the others!" Theodore grabbed the Map and dashed towards the door, but turned back to grab the potion before he exited the classroom.

' _Snape doesn't know that he's an Animagus; he could give him the slip, and we could lose him for—'_

Theodore suddenly hid in the crevasse just behind the archway to the dungeons, ducking as low as he could from the approaching footsteps. He glanced down at the Map and watched Lupin's dot moving down the stairs and to the archway. The Parselmouth kept his breath under control, slightly pushing himself further into the crevasse. Lupin's dot stopped, then walked off to the front doors, sending an echo through the dungeons by their closing.

Time had passed so quickly. His pocket watch read eight past nine. A whole thirty-nine minutes gone in just a blink of an eye. He looked back at the Map, muttering to himself, "Where is he going without his potion? Why — you've got to be fucking kidding me!" Theodore bounded out from his hiding place and ran to the doors, levitating the goblet to follow him behind.

' _Why did you guys leave? Don't follow Lupin, stay where you are so I can tell you where Pettigrew is!'_

The sun was naturally falling behind the horizon, creating purples across the sky, darkening the grounds and beyond. Theodore ran as he looked down on the Map, seeing six dots that crossed all over the place almost throwing him off.

Snape just managed to catch the Parselmouth's eye before he disappeared off the Map in the direction towards Hogsmeade with the other three tailing him. Lupin's dot diverged from the carriage pathway towards the Whomping Willow before it too vanished. _Sirius Black_ came racing from the edge of the Forbidden Forest and zipped across the grounds to Hogsmeade soon before each dot became lost across the parchment's borders.

Stuffing the Map in his robes after deactivating it, Theodore then broke into a full sprint, pushing his body further than he ever could, his muscles burning under how much energy he needed to muster. Another swish of the wand, and he flew straight over the gates, barely stumbling on his feet as his balance was near perfect.

' _Come on! Push harder! Go faster…! Faster!'_

Theodore's legs unwillingly gave way when he saw a mound of black cloth laid near the golden archways. _'No… not you guys… Not you guys…!'_ He dropped to his knees and prodded the pile of cloth, feeling something squirm, followed by the faintest nasally groan. "Harry? Ron, Herm— Professor Snape?"

His godfather didn't respond, and his pale face was unreactive. Theodore rolled him over a little to his side and tapped his face repeatedly. "Professor! Professor, wake up! Pettigrew could've escaped by now, and my friends are going into Hogsmeade where the Dementors — wait… he Stunned you…"

There was still no time. Pettigrew was still around somewhere, and he didn't know if Harry could defend himself and the others from all of those Dementors. He grabbed Snape from underneath his shoulders and hauled him over to the side of the archway that was covered with brambles and blackberry bushes. Snape was obscured by the thick branch that was protruding from the bush, still unresponsive to his clumsy placing.

"Sorry. I'm…" He left it at that and pelted into the village without looking back. Hopefully, the Dementors wouldn't stumble by his side.

The streets were barren once more, despite the dying sunlight that was retreating above the cottages and shops. Theodore didn't feel the usual sensation of his chest closing in on itself, marking that he was clear from Dementors. But he heard shouting… loud voices coming from up ahead, just before the four-way junction. He ran faster and faster through the streets, then took a sharp left to the cul-de-sac where Hog's Head was.

"Stop! Don't you take another step closer!"

"Get off him!" roared Ron from a distance as his arm was outstretched with a wand in hand.

"I said get back!" a familiar voice squealed, hidden by Ron's tall figure with Harry and Hermione beside him, both keeping their wands pointed in front of them. "Get back, or I'll kill this —"

"Oh, don't stop short for me, _Peter_ ," Theodore announced puffily as he joined his friends with the bone-wand oddly being in his grasp. "It is Peter, isn't — what did you do?"

It was true all along: thinning colourless hair, a pointed upturned nose, beady eyes and a hand short of a finger brandishing a wand that Theodore recognised as Snape's, almost firmly driven against the skull of an old man.

"Aberforth! You fucking let him go —!"

"Ah ah ah! Y-you can't do anything if I have him hostage," squeaked Pettigrew with some fear in his voice. "I'll do it, you know! I could kill him!"

"If you kill him, then you won't have any leverage," seethed Harry, glaring venomously at the man who caused his parents' deaths. "We got you outnumbered, four to one."

Pettigrew stiffened and dug the wandtip further into Aberforth's brain. He barely even looked conscious; his eyes were swirling in their sockets, and his body was just limp. Pettigrew was more dangerous than Theodore thought, being able to take down two proficient wizards in a matter of minutes. "You won't let th-this man die. You're too caring for that, just like your father —"

"How dare you say anything about his father after what you did to him," raged Theodore. He could feel his eyes burning with the same anger he had towards Black, but it was much more potent here.

Pettigrew attempted a terrifying grin, but it came off rather silly and off-putting. "But you must understand me, Theodore! Yo-you must understand how it feels to be under the Dark Lord's influence and power, no?"

"You say another word and I'll k—!"

"Don't! O-or I'll kill him," babbled the traitor as he cowered backwards. "Drop them. Your wands, d-drop them, or else…"

…

Hermione's was the first to clatter on the ground, then it was Ron's. Harry and Theodore both kept theirs in hand. They had no intention of losing, much less to a piece of filth like him.

"I said drop them!"

"Theo… drop it," whispered Hermione fearfully while she tugged slightly at his robes. "Come on, do it… or he'll kill him…"

He heard Harry's wand dropping to the floor and turned his head to him. Harry didn't look back, and only kept his murderous stare at Pettigrew who was blinking wildly at Theodore, or to be specific, the bone-wand. It shook in his hand like it never wanted to let go. Theodore didn't want to let go, but Aberforth could die. He couldn't let him die…

The wand's hook swung a little on Theodore's little finger before it was the last to fall. Pettigrew giggled, but still kept his hold onto Aberforth's hair. "Let him go then."

"You're lucky. I would've killed him, you know. Your father taught me enough magic that would haunt your dreams." Theodore almost lunged forward, but was held back by Hermione and Ron, and kept himself firmly to his spot. "You're a lot like the Dark Lord. I should know; I've been around you for three years. But, unfortunately, I think it's about time that I left. Goodbye, children, and thank you, Ron, for taking good care of me. Say hello to Percy for me, will you?"

Pettigrew dropped Aberforth to sprawl on the ground and charged away, suddenly shrinking as he ran. So then why was Theodore grinning? _'You fucking idiot…'_

Theodore quickly reached into his robes and brought out his own wand, pointed straight at Pettigrew as he yelled _"Stupefaye!"_ A whitish-red jet of light erupted from his wand and hit Pettigrew straight on his back, causing him to stumble a little, but not crumple as intended. Theodore noted that he didn't say the correct incantation, but forgot about it quickly, lifting his hand as the wands on the floor rose in mid-air and were immediately snatched by their owners.

" _Kubdilsha Mabdilko!"_ bellowed the four in unison for Pettigrew was already in his rat form, trying to squirm under a crack between the buildings. Well, not for long. Bright blue lights illuminated the street from the four wands, showing the four what was happening before their eyes so clearly.

Pettigrew was flung into the air; his tail disappeared, then his arms and legs returned, his dry skin coming back as quickly as they left before his entire being slammed onto the ground. But a broken nose didn't stop him at all. He scrambled for Snape's wand in front of him, beating Harry to it. He raised it up and aimed at the defenceless boy point-blank, but nothing happened to Harry. A shadow flew over their heads and crashed into Pettigrew, blindingly sending him skidding across the ground for it was so fast. The giant dog pinned the traitor down, baring its jaws before it swooped down for the kill—

"No! Don't kill him, Sirius!" The dog froze. He turned his head towards Harry, growling devilishly with his grey eyes almost fading away completely, but still visible. "Yes, Sirius. That's what I'm calling you. Don't kill him, please. It's the only way for you to be truly free from all of this. If you kill him, then… what's the point?"

Black blinked at his godson, clearly lost in thought before he found himself again. The dog began to shrink; the hair retreated back into the skin until the face of a tortured man came into view. "Harry… you know what he did to me… to you…"

"I know what he did," said Harry as he took a step closer to him, "I know everything that he did, so he'll pay the price in Azkaban. You'll be free from the Dementors, and we won't have to see him again if you spare him. It won't be mercy —"

"Sirius, please," stammered Pettigrew from underneath his former friend.

"Shut it! I ought to kill you for what you did! How could you, after everything we did together?! How?!" Black snapped. His hands were dangerously close to Pettigrew's neck, but no choking sounds were heard from the traitor.

"It wasn't my fault! You – you were the one —"

"If I hear another word, I'll — Remus?"

Everyone swivelled around to see Lupin sicker than ever, but alive and walking. He was brandishing a wand in his left hand, but did not raise it at all. He merely staggered over, body struggling to keep upright. "When I heard bangs and shouting from the Shrieking Shack, I didn't expect to see you here, old friend. I'm rather surprised that nobody has come out from their buildings to see this disturbance."

"Wait — old friend?" said Ron with his jaw dropped. "Since when were you friends with Sirius Black?!"

"Since the day that we met on the first train ride to Hogwarts. Him and… dear god, Peter? How — what's going on? First, I see Severus unconscious near the bushes, now my friends are either back from the dead or out of prison!"

Black scoffed. "Can't believe that idiot is a teacher here. Dumbledore's lost his mind!"

"Sirius," Lupin started, hand still on his wand, "explain to me what's going on. Tell me how Peter's alive, how you escaped from Azkaban, all of this. Before…" He looked up to the sky for night was starting to fall.

"It's a rather long story, old friend, and I do not think that _you_ have enough time," Black replied. "I just want you to know that I never betrayed James and Lily. I was never their Secret Keeper, despite what everybody else was told. This bastard" — he pressed his palm painfully into Pettigrew's ribs — "was the reason that they were killed, wasn't you? You sold them to Lord Voldemort, didn't you?!"

"I didn't — I swear!"

"How am I to trust you, Sirius? It's been far too long…"

"If you won't believe me, then believe them. They know the truth."

Lupin turned to the silent teens and asked them softly, "Is all of this the truth?" They nodded their heads without hesitation, earning an inaudible gasp of surprise from Sirius. "Dumbledore told me that you four were a handful, but he never said that you were liars. I want to apologise, Sirius, for not believing you."

"No. Don't. We both done our fair shares of suspicion towards each other, but it's finished now. We can put this all behind us. Can we, Harry?"

Harry grinned at his godfather. "Yeah. Yeah, we can."

"And I wanted to apologise to you too," said Sirius to Theodore, "for everything that I've done to you. I truly couldn't remember any of it until recently. Like it was only flashes in my mind. I never meant to hurt you, and everything that I said about your mother was —"

The Parselmouth raised his palm. "Let's just bring Pettigrew to the castle and not get ahead of ourselves. You're still a criminal to everyone else, remember? Oh, I almost forgot!" He turned his head around and motioned for the goblet to descend from the air into his hand. "You'll be drinking this now. I almost forgot to give it to you. I'm sorry."

Lupin waved the apology aside and thanked him. He braced himself for the taste and chugged down the potion until there was nothing left. "Truly revolting… but a willing trade with being locked in a room for several hours at a time, scratching and biting yourself."

"Is that why you go to the Shrieking Shack," asked Hermione curiously. "To keep your transformations contained?"

"Transformations?"

"Mr Weasley, have you not recognised any of the indications of my _condition_ during the year? Miss Granger has surely caught on. Don't tell me you weren't paying attention in my classes?"

Ron raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't follow."

"Professor Lupin is a werewolf, Ron."

"WHAT?!"

Theodore knelt down next to a stirring Aberforth, supporting him on his side and helping him gradually to his feet. The innkeeper mumbled incoherently, and carried on muttering "got me from behind", and "said he was running".

"Aberforth, you're going to be OK. Don't hurt yourself." Theodore allowed him to use his shoulder to help lift himself up, even if he struggled under the weight. "I haven't seen any 'hospital' shops here or anything, so you'll have to come with us to the castle as well…"

"No… leave me here with Ruckus… leave me with Ruckus…"

"Aberforth, who the hell is Ruckus, your goat? I can't leave you here! God knows how many times he Stunned you. We're going to the castle. Hey, Harry, Ron, Hermione! What do we do about Bla— I mean, Sirius? We can't just waltz in with him and Pettigrew."

"We were just talking about that. If we bring him —"

"ARRRRRGGHHHH!"

Everyone jumped at Lupin's howls of pain as he fell to his feet, screaming while saliva dripped from his mouth. He was shaking violently on the ground, his spine cracking painfully and pushing through his robes until his back tore right through. Greyish-black hair started to spread along his body, covering every inch while he only grew bigger and bigger. He gained claws on both hands and feet that broke through his shoes, and his snout pushed through his skull. It all looked so painful, disturbing to the very bone.

"Remus…" called Sirius as he watched the werewolf growling dangerously. "Harry, Ron, hold him down for me. Remus? You know who I am, don't you?" His hand was outstretched, closing the space between the two friends. Sirius didn't look scared, but he should've been. Theodore had no idea if the potion was enough, or if it was still effective at most. There was no telling. "Remus? It's me. It's Sirius… your friend…"

The beast growled even more and prowled like a predator towards Sirius, jaws ready to snap with foam building on the sides. Sirius displayed no fear and kept on walking. Closer, closer… Lupin stopped his growling when he felt Sirius's hand brushing against his snout slightly. He remained still. The werewolf then unhinged its jaws and yawned before it blinked back at Sirius, devoid of any hostility.

"I've never been so close to him when I was in my normal form without him attacking me," Sirius revealed in awe. "That's the reason we became Animagi. For Remus. We knew of his lycanthropy, so we set ourselves a task of turning into animals. I got a dog, the traitor over there got a rat, Severus got a bird and —"

"My dad? What did he get?"

Sirius chuckled as Lupin released another yawn. "Why, your dad just had to have something that was cooler than the rest of ours. He was originally going for a lion and a phoenix, but —"

Pettigrew started to giggle again underneath Ron and Harry, although Theodore was attentive to how truly evil it sounded in his ears. It didn't suit him at all, being far above his caliber and league.

"What's so funny, Peter," spat Sirius, moving his hand for the two boys to move to the side as he stared down on him. "Mocking me for reminiscing our schooldays?"

"I always had a plan," he gurgled, ignoring Sirius as well as the pain on his chest. "The Dark Lord told me this, just in case you'd turn…"

Sirius looked at him confusingly, saying, "What? What are you talking abou—?"

"YOU KILLED JAMES AND LILY POTTER!" screamed Pettigrew at the top of his lungs.

It happened again. The screaming, the thrashing. Sirius's body started to change as everyone backed away from him. The dog emerged in Sirius's spot; his humanity was stripped, for his soulless eyes told them everything. Sirius barked madly and charged forwards with his striking speed.

Theodore had his eyes on Pettigrew and saw him shrinking down into a rat, vanishing into the same crack with his tail — he suddenly felt his lungs and ribs being ripped and punctured in a second and was thrown back violently on the floor as he foolishly disregarded the oncoming beast. Theodore started to shiver on the ground, feeling the blood pouring out from his chest, hearing the screams of Hermione, Harry and Ron pounding in his ear and the blurry image of Lupin bounding above him to clamp his jaws around Sirius's neck. It all happened so fast that he couldn't tell what was going on: all he knew was that he was going to die, for real this time…

"Theo! What do we do, Hermione!" Ron panicked as Theodore began to wheeze slowly. "He's dying!"

"I-I don't know," she stammered back with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I — I never healed someone —"

"He's dying, Hermione! Do something!"

"I can't! I can't, I don't know how! Theodore, please hold on for me, please!"

Theodore could barely hear her. He was just slipping away…

"STOOOPP!" Two flashes and massive bangs flew across Theodore's limp body and exploded at the two beasts that were battling, sending one of them crashing into Hog's Head while the other narrowly missed Aberforth who was on his knees against a pole. Snape had his wand outstretched from the entrance of the cul-de-sac before he shortly hurried over to the dying boy.

"Professor," said Hermione tearfully. "I couldn't —"

"Stand aside," he said frantically, almost surprising the three with the explicit fear in his face. They scurried backwards, not noticing that their hands were stained with blood as Snape waved his wand over Theodore's chest slowly. _"Vulnera Sanentur… Vulnera Sanentur… Vulnera Sanentur…"_ He chanted this again and again; his voice would sometimes croak just a little. _"Vulnera Sanentur…"_

Theodore could feel some of the pain being alleviated, and his flow of oxygen slowly being brought back up to normal levels. His eyes fluttered on the brink of consciousness, somehow being lulled by the faint singing in his ear. It was… calming. Like he heard it before. His lungs were being knitted back together, he could feel it, and his ribs were clicking back into place, mending themselves. He was moving away from that brink… but was slipping back over. Cold…

The Dementors were coming. They already arrived, probably all of them. An army of wheezing creatures of darkness started to close in on everyone, trapping them inside the dead end, sucking the joy that was being depleted. Aberforth was the first to fall victim to being overwhelmed for his weak state could no longer hold up against them.

Snape had his arms stretched out wide and backed away as the trio carried Theodore behind him on his command. "Stay behind me! Whatever you do, do not move! Potter! Come here!"

"Why — Guys? Guys!" Harry watched Hermione and Ron stumbling to the ground to Theodore's side, falling unconscious to the Dementors as well. They were nearing, closer and closer… "We have to help them!"

"Then help them! Cast a — a Patronus with me, and don't you lose your concentration!" Snape instructed firmly with his wand pointing at the army. Harry prepared his wand, albeit lazily, and pointed at the Dementors.

 _"When have I ever lied to you, my son? I've been honest from the moment you spoke to me. I have no reason to lie."_

 _"DON'T LIE TO ME!"_

Cold…

" _Expecto Patronum!"_ Snape and Harry chanted in unison, producing white lights while it only grew colder.

"Come on, Potter! Do better! Again!"

" _Expecto Patronum!"_

 _"Oh god… oh god… no… No… No…"_

So cold…

"Again, Potter! You're being sloppy," chastised Snape with his words slurred. "Do — Do it again!"

"I'm trying…" muttered Harry tiredly.

"You're not trying hard enough! Do you want them to die? Do — do you want your godfather and cousin to die? Feel it, Potter! Feel it and release! Stop being weak!"

" _Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum… Expecto…"_

" _Be strong for me… Be strong for Salazar… Please… Please, be strong…"_

Slipping… He was slipping again…

" _EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

Theodore lolled his head to the side, eyes barely able to register from the blinding lights with his consciousness starting to fail him completely. He felt so weak, felt so wrong that he could hear his father's words in his ear again, clear as day. It was like he was in a dream. It was like all of it was a dream. There he saw a stag and a doe bathed in light that was white and pure, charging through the shadows as they obliterated them from a mere touch. Their lights were so beautiful to look at, to see them intertwining together to destroy the darkness. The lights never faded; they grew stronger unlike him, whose eyes closed not in weakness, but in the comfort of knowing that he was safe somehow.

" _Sleep, Theodore. Sleep…"_

" **What the hell?" Harry's hand reached the insides of his robes and brought out his wand that seemed to be jerking wildly between his fingers.**

" **What's wrong?"**

" **My wand, it's — it's out of control…"**

 **Fuck me, it took me ages to right this without laughing! I remember seeing a post where the word 'wand' was replaced by 'penis', and I just lost it. I'm such a child…**

 **So many things happening at once! Sirius seems to have trigger words that turn him crazy, the wands were linking up by a golden thread, and Snape was worried over Theo! Does this mean that he cares…? There's too much to talk about so I'll leave you to think for yourselves. Heads up for the final chapter of PoA that's coming next. I hope you'll like that one as well as I hope you enjoyed this one. Later.**


	35. Chapter 35: Our Last Resort Pt1

A sharp intake of air was all that it took to take the pain to its most vigorous levels. His chest was blazing with agony as well as his forehead; he was excruciated by its terrible sting. Theodore wondered to himself why wasn't he rupturing his throat by screaming, but it felt too detrimental to do that, or anything for that matter. His chest was still painful, his head was full of that thunderous pounding of rushing blood, and he couldn't tell where he was. Was he still on the streets of Hogsmeade? No, the air wasn't cold around him. In Hog's Head? Couldn't be that either: Aberforth was too weak to speak properly. Then where…?

Theodore pressed his numb fingertips against the surface beneath him and felt the soft texture to deduce that he was in a bed of some sorts. OK, so he was brought inside somewhere — he mentally groaned, for it felt so exhausting to think. He balanced his body on his weak arms and legs, then proceeded to slide himself up the bed, hissing in more pain as the possible wounds under his robes stretched open. Finally in a seating position, Theodore rubbed his eyes to clear the fogginess before him. He could recognise his surroundings now — the hospital wing that was filled by the full moon's light was easier to see now. This was good and bad.

His chest was starting to throb as much as his head. Theodore remembered Sirius going crazy after Pettigrew screamed at him. He remembered him slashing at his chest, almost biting his head off when Lupin saved him, then… then… He brought himself back down to simple thinking, taking his time to observe the injuries that had been inflicted onto him. His right forearm was wrapped tightly in dark-grey bandages, and his forehead was bounded by similar material. Theodore lightly poked at his ripped robes, feeling bandages around his chest, but immediately pulled back when the pain became too much.

' _Fuck! Hurts so bad…! I should be dead; I couldn't have survived that. He almost ripped my lungs into complete shreds… I — I need my wand. Vulnera Sanentur, that was the spell Dumbledore used before. I'll — no…'_

It wasn't there. Not in his pockets, not on the bed or even the bedside table. He lost his wand. Theodore was ready to flail in lividity, but stopped when he remembered about his chest wounds. He didn't want them to reopen again.

Theodore rotated his head after pushing away the privacy screens when he grudgingly staggered off his bed to see if the others were present in the room. They were screaming for his name until it faded out, and he had no clue if they recovered or even survived the Dementors.

' _Stag and… doe…'_

On the bed to his right was Hermione with her face turned away from him, still and silent. Theodore felt his heart wrenching, his disorientation telling him that she was dead, but the faint whistles and mumbles from her calmed him down. They saved her, but did they save Harry and Ron? Theodore went over to the bed on his left and saw Ron in a similar state, silent and shivering a little under his sheets. Bars of chocolate was neatly stacked on his bedside table and on Hermione's and his own, suggesting that he hadn't woken up at all. Two out of three. Here's hoping that Harry made — where was he? Theodore craned his neck to the beds next to his two friends, but all he saw was empty mattresses instead of his cousin.

"You're not dead… You can't be —" It hurt to breathe, much less speak out loud. He fanned his chest before he scoured the wing to search for Harry. He felt the Dementors closing in on them, and Harry never faced so many in his life before. "Tell me he got away…"

The hospital wing was completely empty — bar two Ravenclaw girls that had pustules the size of pebbles on their bodies — when he reached the furthest bed near the doors. Harry wasn't here. He was supposed to be here, but he wasn't. It made no sense to him: what had happened in Hogsmeade for Harry to not — wait… Behind the doors — someone was speaking…

"…seems as if your position is blocking you from your own foolish mistakes!" Snape sounded unusually livid. Theodore had been a witness to these bouts of rage, possibly the only one to have seen more than one, but there was something unhinged and almost destructive in his voice that made Theodore feel a little small.

"Calm down, Severus," Dumbledore's muffled voice from behind said in his usual calm voice. "Let us not lose our heads here —"

"But this is preposterous! Absurd and dangerously idiotic! Why should I calm down?! Why?!"

Theodore heard Fudge's voice attempting to overpower Snape's as he said, "I would listen to Albus if I were you, Snape! You could be held in account for aiding an escapee of Azkaban to evade the Dementors and —"

"Is that what you care about? Me _allowing_ Black to escape when _your_ Dementors cornered me and four students without the intention of stopping at Black?"

"Severus —"

"No! Because of your carelessness, Riddle could have died! A child could have died, and it would have been your fault, _Minister_!"

"Surely, you must understand that what happened tonight was just the guards fulfilling their roles, Severus," said a third voice. Its strong tone revealed it to be the old wizard from before again. "I understand your anger, but don't you think —?"

"I do not," Snape snapped. "You wouldn't possibly understand!"

"Forgive me, Severus. I had forgotten that the years bounded up in the castle and your little dungeon had turned you quite soft. The children, no doubt. Is it that you might be losing that sharp edge that you once possessed?"

Snape began to growl dangerously on the other side, but they became subsided quickly enough when Dumbledore interjected the conversation once more. The Potions Master took a sharp sniff and said, "You do not think that I would have captured Black, given if I had the chance to do so? You think that for our pitiful childhood friendship, I would allow him to seek freedom from the world? After what he has done? You are sadly mistaken. I want to see him clapped in irons, dragged by the feet all the way back to Azkaban!"

"Then by all means, explain to us the reason why Sirius Black is not being held captive by the Ministry, Severus, since you claim to want him back in prison."

"When I went down to Hogsmeade for… _reasons_ , I was attacked from behind and left on the ground. Upon waking up did I realise that somebody had hidden me from passing Dementors, and I saw masses of them moving towards somewhere.

"Luckily, I overtook them and found Black with the children in the nick of time. Riddle was already dying on the ground, so I Stunned Black to tend to the boy before capturing him. And if it was not for the Dementors that you allowed to roam freely, I would have caught him! Potter and I had to push back an entire army of them, and we could have died!"

"As I said before, the Dementors were just doing their —"

"To hell with that," snarled Snape. "Have a look for yourselves! Riddle, Weasley and Granger! Riddle has barely recovered from his wounds, and this was the second time Black had almost killed him! Second time! Look!"

"That won't be necessary, Severus," said Dumbledore. "The children are already far too affected for anyone to disturb them. Let them rest in peace while we focus on what is at hand. If we are to subdue Sirius, then we must vacate the castle and search the grounds. Can we do that please?" All that Theodore could hear was silence until it was broken by Snape's grunt of approval.

"So, from my understanding, it was Theodore who commanded this plan to capture Black," asked the other wizard curiously.

"They all had an equal part in this," Snape replied scathingly. "No doubt that it was Potter who led the charge of suicide straight into Black's grasp. They were begging for trouble."

"Well, I beg to differ. Lucius told me about the boy Riddle. His sorting was not truly a Hatstall, but to be considered for Slytherin, only to be changed at the last second says something about him, no? I'd like to think he commandeered this little skirmish, despite the unfortunate outcome. Such thirst for success that was evident in his own fath—"

"I think that while his drive for becoming a great wizard is admirable, it will not serve him so well should he be backed into a corner. Do not encourage this behaviour, no matter how much you claim to know of him. Always one to forget where a line cannot be crossed, Theodore."

What did he mean by _'Always one to forget where a line cannot be crossed'_? Dumbledore didn't think that it was solely his idea to go after Black, did he? As worrying as it seemed to be, Theodore's behaviour had not changed so much from the day he entered Hogwarts, so why was he commenting on it now? He never once saw Dumbledore ever being disappointed in him before. Even the thought of that made him feel a little dejected.

And Snape! How could he forget about what he just said? For the entire time, he only really talked about him! He said he healed him before the Dementors came — any sane teacher would've done the same thing, but the way he was going on about it made it seem as if he cared… a lot.

"Dumbledore isn't angry, is he?"

Theodore nearly squealed and scurried backwards from the voice that startled him, lightly brushing his foot against the door so that it screeched a little by its hinges. His hands were over his mouth, and he was staring straight at a conscious Hermione who too covered her mouth to stop any sounds from coming out. The Parselmouth quickly looked down to the floor and noticed that the faint glow from the torches in the outside were becoming faded and black.

The incoming footsteps spiked them with a combination of fear and adrenaline as they ran to their beds — Theodore grimaced from his pain — only throwing their bodies in believable sleeping positions the second the hospital wing doors flew open. Orange light spilled into the room and mixed with the pure white of the moon. Theodore had his arm over his face, but kept a small gap underneath to peer over to the doors to see the outlines of the wizards looking over to them. Not a word was thrown across the room when the door closed again.

"Why d'you scare me like that?" Theodore moaned as he sat up painfully. "They were talking about what happened, and we haven't got a clue about Lupin! They could've said something!"

"You woke me up when you stood next to me! I saw you listening at the door, so I wanted to listen as well. You're not the only one who has no clue about what happened after we passed out." Hermione squinted at the boy's bandages and gasped loudly. "Oh no! You're hurt, I remember!"

"It's fine. I'm not dead."

"But I almost thought you would be," she replied sadly. "I had no clue on how to help you. There was so much blood and — and…" She opened her arms wide and embraced the boy tightly, pulling away when he hissed in pain again. "I'm sorry! Gosh, I keep forgetting! The Dementors felt really horrible…"

Theodore reached for the chocolate on his table and unwrapped it for her to take. "Here. I don't need some anyway. The Dementors barely got to me, unlike you and Ron." Hermione broke off a piece and ate it while suggesting that he should take a bite as well. "It wouldn't hurt, I guess. Let's wake Ron up; we have to talk —"

"Already awake, guys," muttered Ron. He crawled up the bed and brought his knees to his chest, still shivering from the Dementors. "I feel incredibly shitty. Man, was that horrible… Wait, you're OK!"

"That's an understatement. My chest is killing me! I don't know what the hell happened to Sirius for him to lash out like that — ow…"

Hermione patted Theodore's shoulder and said, "You need to take it easy, Theo, and calm down. You don't want to make it worse. Here, Ron, have some chocolate."

"Cheers." He crunched on the piece and perked up a little in his bed. "Amazing stuff that is. Don't feel cold anymore. Hey, where's Harry?"

"We don't know. Snape said that he and Harry fought the Dementors off long enough for everyone to escape. But we don't know what happened to Sirius or Professor Lupin. From the sound of it, it looks like they ran off at the last second, but part of me thinks that Sirius went to go look for Pettigrew again."

"Lupin's a werewolf," muttered Ron to himself. "How mad can Dumbledore get to hire a werewolf? A Death Eater, a celebrity, and now this. What's next, a vampire? Theo, did you know that he was a werewolf?"

Theodore nodded. "I was making Wolfsbane Potion for him the entire year so that he wouldn't go mad. Dumbledore is… _weird_ , but he's not insane. Professor Lupin is a good person; I doubt he's like other werewolves."

"Well, whatever he's doing at the moment must be tiresome. Morning is coming soon, and the moon is going to disappear. He'll have to hide somewhere if he doesn't want to be caught by somebody," said Hermione, staring at the moon while taking another piece of chocolate.

It was becoming too much to bear now. Theodore threw his head back and groaned even louder, hovering his hand over his chest as he resisted the temptation to clutch it. Hermione and Ron reached out to him to help ease his pain, but were unable to when the sounds of the doors squeaking echoed through the room. They jumped into their beds, and Theodore gritted his teeth wishing that he had his wand to help heal himself. Maybe they couldn't heal his wounds. After all, if that were possible, then he would've been in the common room by now.

The door closed, and the stranger walked closer to the trio with light footsteps, like they were on their tiptoes. Theodore closed his eyes, waiting for the person, who could've been Madam Pomfrey, to pass over and leave. The slight breeze over his face told him that someone was standing right in front of him, but he didn't detect any change of light through his eyelids.

"Theo! Theo, wake up! It's me!" Harry's voice came from nowhere as Theodore sat back up for the third time. The Cloak was shedded and revealed Harry's face, which displayed anxiety and breathlessness. "I didn't see you wake up when — Ron, Hermione! You're OK!"

"Yeah, we woke up sometime after Theodore did. Harry, where did you go? What happened to us?"

Harry sat on the edge of Ron's bed and explained the recent events to the three. "When Sirius went crazy, and after Pettigrew managed to get the slip from us, the Dementors was starting to close in. You guys remember that, right?" They nodded their heads and allowed him to continue. "Right, the Dementors had us trapped, and you guys fell unconscious, leaving me with Snape to fight them off together. I had no clue that he could make a Patronus, and I didn't think I could either at that time. But I did. My Patronus is a stag, you guys."

"So that's what it was," muttered Theodore to himself. "It wasn't a dream… So, Snape was the doe? That's pretty weird to think that it's almost the same as yours."

"I was thinking the same thing as well. But I was so exhausted that I could barely stay standing by that point. The Dementors were pushed all the way back, but there were way too many of them. We were going to take you all to the castle when a bunch of Aurors came over with Fudge.

"Sirius woke up, and they started to shoot curses at him when he tried to kill them. Lupin got up and tried to stop him, but they shot curses at him as well. They both got away, but I think they seriously hurt Lupin from the blood that he left behind. Anyway, they picked you guys up and said that they needed to interrogate you when you'd wake up. Snape was furious for some reason. I mean, I think he was. I could barely remember…"

"But it was all for nothing," said Ron downheartedly. "We almost had Pettigrew. If we had just knocked him out a second earlier, Sirius could be free right now. Now he's gone, and it'll only be a matter of time before they corner him. And if the Dementors get him…"

"That's not true, Ron. Look." Harry reached into his robes and brought out Pettigrew's wand. "I wasn't so dizzy that I couldn't recognise the wand. For all we know, Pettigrew is probably checking the area right now looking for this. If he still wants it, then he'll be around somewhere."

"Did you get my wand?" Theodore asked hopefully.

Harry's face fell as he said, "You lost your wand? I-I didn't see it on the ground. Did nobody pick it up for you?"

Theodore sighed and brought his face to his palms. The one thing that was supposed to be the symbol for his magic was lost. No other wand would choose him, and he'd be going on throughout the years without one. Surely one of the Aurors must've seen his wand laying on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Theo. If I had seen it then —"

"No, it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up for that. Sirius is still out there looking for Pettigrew, and the Aurors couldn't even capture him. We'll have to find them before it's too late."

"But that's impossible," said Hermione. "Sirius just attacked you and escaped a bunch of Aurors! Every exit and entrance of the castle, probably this room as well, is going to be flooded with them! We can't leave without them noticing, even with the Cloak over our heads."

"She's right, you know," added Ron. "They'd be idiots to leave the entire place unguarded, especially with Theo in the building. This is, what, the second time he nearly killed you?"

"Third, actually. There has to be a way around them. If only I had —" His eyes flashed as he remembered it. The Map. Theodore separated his torn clothing and searched through his robes for the Map. They could make it to the one-eyed witch and go searching through there, or maybe the other secret pathways outside the castle without anybody knowing.

"Theo, what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for — for the Map, where is it?!"

"Calm down, man! You're going to — Theo, slowly!"

Theodore hopped off the bed and ducked underneath to see if the Map had fallen to the floor. Absolutely clear. Snape couldn't have taken it from him again, could he? It was right above his chest; it would've been ripped — Theodore stood straight back up and hobbled over to the bin on the opposite side of his bed. Hopefully, it would be there…

Hermione grimaced when he rummaged through the bin to pluck out a bloodied and shredded piece of parchment. "Put that thing back inside, that's not sanitary! It's full of blood!"

" _My_ blood, Hermione. This is the Marauder's Map. Sirius must've clawed through this and me at the same time. Give me your wand." Hermione crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Harry, give me Pettigrew's wand." Harry chucked it over to him, and he caught it with ease before pointing straight at the parchment. _"Reparo!_ What's the Cleaning Charm again?"

"Um… _Scourgify_ , I think?"

"OK. _Scourgify!_ " The mended Map was being shedded of the layer of blood that had blotted most of its area. The other three gathered around him to see the Map after its activation, seeking all the possible trails that wouldn't get them caught. Hermione was correct in thinking that Aurors would be posted everywhere for on each floor were dots that held names unrecognisable to the four. Theodore caught onto Proudfoot and Savage roaming along the third-floor corridor, a floor that was right above them. Flitwick, McGonagall, Sprout and Vector were also on the lookout in the corridors, mostly brushing past the hospital wing doors.

"Shit. We can't even get out of the room! Wait, look!" Ron pointed out. "Dumbledore and Snape are going to Hagrid's Hut with the Minister and a bunch of Aurors! Dawlish, Williamson, Lestr— Pettigrew!"

The four ripped their eyes away from the adults and followed Ron's finger all the way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Pettigrew's dot was moving quickly, no doubt in his Animagus form, and was heading to the Forest briskly before he vanished over the edge.

Harry stood up immediately and grabbed the Cloak. "OK, we've got to get there now! If he hadn't told them already, then Snape is the only one who knows that he's an Animagus! He could, I don't know, catch them out and blow them into pieces like he did last time!"

"All right, I'll be a lookout when we're under the Cloak," started Theodore as he pocketed the bone-wand. "McGonagall won't be easy to —"

"Tell me you're joking."

Theodore turned his head to Hermione, confused by what she was talking about. Judging from her tone of voice, she wasn't happy about something. "Huh? Joking about what?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're not leaving this room, Theodore!" she returned sternly.

Theodore frowned at her and said, "You can't keep on telling me what to do, Hermione. Why shouldn't I go?"

"Why shouldn't you — you're hurt!" she spluttered angrily. "You can barely walk; I don't think that you can even jog let alone run, and your right arm is bandaged up! You're going to get yourself killed if you leave this room!"

"But if we have any chance of getting Pettigrew, then all four of us have to be —"

"Harry, listen to yourself! Look at him! He was dying just a few hours ago! And this wasn't the first time this year that this nearly happened to him! Inside the dorm, during last summer as well! Three times already, and the fourth could be the last! You're not going, Theodore!"

Theodore looked open-mouthed at Harry and Ron, expecting them to side with him against the ridiculous assumption that he could die on school grounds. "OK, all of that did happen, but it was never _that_ serious, was it? I didn't — I'm not dead, guys. I can get —"

"I think you should stay, Theo," said Ron quietly. "She's right. Even you don't know how damaged you are. I… I hate to say this, but you're kind of a liability."

"I'm not a liability," snapped Theodore. "Harry, come on! You know if I come, we'll get Pettigrew before he goes for good! Come on…"

…

"You're not coming," decided Harry after thinking through the silence. "Come on, we haven't got enough time to be waiting inside here." Theodore was stunned with brief shock that turned into anger, and started to lift himself off the bed when suddenly, he was pushed back onto the sheets. Harry looked at him fiercely, his arms outstretched as he said, "You're. Not. Coming. You're too weak right now."

"I'm not weak!"

"I didn't mean it like that. You're staying here and that's final. If I have to push you down each time until you can't get back up, then I will. Don't make this harder for yourself, Theo. Stand down."

Theodore pierced his gaze that was full of resentment at his cousin in silence. His right hand was tightly clasping the bedsheets, even if it was trembling from the pain in his arm. He soon broke contact and slowly moved himself backwards, face contorted into an ill-natured scowl. He faced down to his lap, not wanting to look at any of them while he dropped the Map next to his leg for Harry to pick up. One injury to the chest and now they didn't want him to come. As if they never had anything life-threatening brought upon them. _'Hypocrites,'_ he thought to himself darkly.

Harry folded the Map slowly and began to trudge away, only looking back twice at his cousin. Ron followed too in silence, opening his mouth to say something before closing it shut. Theodore laid his body to the side and turned his face away from them, or rather her. Knowing her, Hermione would probably pat his shoulder or attempt to hold his hand. Not this time.

Theodore felt her presence as her shadow came over him; he was ready to pull away from any sort of contact that she tried to give, but he wasn't expecting to feel something soft against his cheek. Not in the slightest. Some of her hair fell over his eyelids, but her kiss upon his cheek took him away from that. Hermione pulled away and rubbed his arm before the doors of the hospital wing closed shortly after. Theodore grazed his cheek with his thumb. She just kissed him… He couldn't hold onto his short-lived anger for that much longer, just because of that? His heart was racing so fast that it almost felt like it was about to burst through his chest: it probably could.

' _She kissed me… She — what the hell?'_

He lifted himself for there was something poking him in the back, something sharp. Was he that injured to not register the pain after sitting on whatever it was? The bed didn't feel like it had springs underneath, so he was certain that it couldn't be — Pettigrew's wand. He still had it. The wand spurted sparks of red flames from the tip, but not enough to singe the bedsheets and his robes.

' _If I can't help directly, then… But they said not to leave. Hermione didn't want you to leave; she already cried for you before… But I did the same, and I'm not going to let that happen. I have to help them. I have to…'_

* * *

McGonagall could've been the end of them. Ron had to duck for his height was compromising their presence with their legs semi-exposed, and Hermione on the side almost brushed against the teacher, only causing McGonagall to rub her arm before pacing the corridors again. Harry had no clue how she didn't notice it being them, or how she didn't hear the hospital wing doors opening from afar. Granted that they opened it when she was furtherest away, he thought that she'd have noticed something wrong. Then again, teachers not noticing students had become the norm during his time at Hogwarts.

"Guys, Flitwick is coming around the corner," whispered Harry to the other two. "Quickly! In here!" They bustled into the broom cupboard with the singing cloak and had to thrash it around for it to stop immediately. Harry and Ron held it down while Hermione lit the tip of her wand as she checked the Map. "Is he still out there?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, he is," replied Hermione, "and so are three other Aurors. I can't see us getting out of here!"

"Make a distraction then."

"Um…" She looked down on the Map, then suddenly widened her eyes. "Right! I don't know if it'll work, but if he can do it, then so can I."

"If who can do what?"

Hermione ignored Harry's confusion and slowly peeked out from the door as she set it ajar. She then brought her wand and pointed it outside, closing her eyes in thought before a red spark flew out from her wandtip. Hermione retreated and closed the door, warning the others to cover their ears. Suddenly, a loud bang that was followed by roars erupted through the hallway, sending a tremor to the broom cupboard. Above the deafening sounds, Harry could hear the shouts of the Aurors and Flitwick on the other side. He took the Map from Hermione's hand and saw their dots hurrying away to the third floor.

Taking the chance without any hesitation, the trio left the cupboard and ran towards the marble staircase, almost forgetting to put the Cloak above their heads. "That sounded like the thing Theo conjured on the last Quidditch match," said Ron breathlessly.

"That's because it was. I just suddenly got the idea when I saw his — it was the perfect distraction."

"Well, it's a good thing that you're just as good as him. Guess hanging around him for a long time leaves an impression on you, huh?"

"Yeah…" Her cheeks became a little red which could only be seen by Harry as they pressed on. Flitwick and the Aurors were the only obstacles that they encountered on their destination to the front doors, and something told them that they would only be the first.

They reached the marble staircase soon enough — Ron was having trouble keeping up with the others when his knees were bended slightly — and waited around the corner to check over the Map. Harry glanced down at it and saw the dots of various wizards all clumped together near the front doors. Snape, Dumbledore, Fudge, the old wizard and multiple Aurors pushed through the doors, talking above each other until Snape overpowered everyone else's.

"I knew what I was doing until you called me off!"

"We are supposed to be looking for _Sirius Black_ , not rummaging through the gamekeeper's old home like scavengers," the old wizard shot at the Potions Master harshly. "Why did you lead us there, Severus? What, was Black using the place as a hideout all this time?"

"It's complicated," Snape muttered.

Fudge flustered with a little bit of anger, declaring loudly, "Complicated? What could possibly be complicated about looking for this man, Snape? You were certain that he was in Hagrid's home, yet we yielded no evidence of him even visiting the house!"

"Albus? Haven't you got anything to say to your employee? You've been awfully quiet since we left the hospital wing."

Dumbledore fixed his purple hat to the other side and spoke calmly like always. "While I am rather confused by Severus's actions, I do believe that he must be going some sort of way forward. A feeling from the gut, if you will."

"If we are to work towards capturing the escapee, then we must" — Hermione sneezed and accidentally jumped up a little — "What was that?"

"Sorry! My nose is —"

"Pat your hair down," Harry instructed quickly, "and you too, Ron! Duck quickly!"

Fudge was staring over to the staircase with the comfortable feeling that somebody was listening onto them: Harry could see it clearly. It was almost as if he could see him. He put that thought out of his mind and remained perfectly still while holding both Ron and Hermione's arms. If they didn't move, then maybe…

Snape followed Fudge's stare and glanced over to the trio grimly, but didn't say a word. Neither did Dumbledore, although his eyes displayed mild curiosity than a distaste for any intruding ears. "A ghost, perhaps," drawled Snape when he turned back to the others. "Although they are not alive, they are still capable of imitating the living, no?"

"I guess," said Fudge sceptically. "But we mustn't sit around like ducks here, for Merlin's sake! Black may have infiltrated the castle for all we know! Theodore is well protected I presume."

"Minerva can handle herself quite well," said Dumbledore. "Theodore, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger are in good hands, Cornelius, do not worry."

"If Black has entered the castle somehow, then the first place to check would be Gryffindor Tower. He attacked the area once before, and it will not be fallible to think he will strike there again."

"Then that is where we will go! Follow me," announced Fudge. He briskly walked up the stairs and led the way up to the Tower. The trio crouched a little in the corner of the staircase to avoid the collective footsteps of Aurors stepping near their feet. Snape was the last of the crowd, stopping momentarily to gaze down on the hidden teens.

…

"Hmph... It's open," he said quietly before he disappeared to the upper hallways.

"He's helping us? How come?"

"It's because —" Hermione stopped speaking, knowing that it wasn't her secret to tell. Neither of the boys dwelled on her hesitation to speak further as they aimed for the doors. They swung it open without a single screech of the metal squeezing against each other and ran along the pathway to Hogsmeade, diverging only when they saw Hagrid's empty home in the distance.

The moon was fading in the sky, and the sun from the far ends over the valley and mountains was slowly starting to rise. Harry was tempted to throw the Cloak off them, feeling it unnecessary to keep it on when the Aurors had left for the castle. Not to say that they wouldn't keep an eye out for those who stayed back. When they reached the edges of the Forest, Harry finally pulled the Cloak off and stuffed it under his robes. The Map showed them that they were on the borders of the parchment, meaning that it would be no use when inside.

"Mischief managed… Let's go!"

They barely took ten steps into the eerie woodlands when Hermione gave a choked shriek. "Oh, my God! Professor Lupin!"

The man was hidden underneath a broken tree that formed an overpass between two large boulders on either side. Harry could barely see him as the light from the early sun hadn't touched the grounds of the Forest. He lit the tip of his wand and pointed it to the area of Lupin's vicinity, taking in the abused sight of the near-unrecognisable professor.

Lupin was in a crouched position and was unusually still, despite being huddled against dried leaves and twigs. It looked even more uncomfortable due to the fact that he was completely naked. Harry saw new and old scars running along his back, arms, legs and neck; saw the countless bruises that came from the Aurors before leading to most parts of his body. He honestly looked like a corpse that had been dumped casually.

"He's just tired. Look at all those scars… How do you think he got them?"

"Probably from fighting other werewolves," answered Ron. "That, or he could've done it to himself. Charlie once said something about werewolves scratching themselves when no humans are around."

"Should we leave him here? He looks in a really bad shape."

"We could send fireworks in the air, but then they'll come over to us. If they see Lupin like this, it could end up bad for him, and for us. We — we have to move on. Sorry, Professor Lupin."

Hermione conjured controlled bluebell flames that danced around Lupin, not burning the man or the leaves and wood around him. The trio nodded at each other, as if to say that it was for the best. They couldn't give away their position, not now. Side by side, they slowly entered deeper in the Forest, cautious of whatever it had to throw at them.

* * *

 _'This is stupid. This is so stupid, and you're stupid. Just go back to the fucking hospital wing, you idiot!'_

Theodore almost scared himself with the things he did. How was it that he managed to slip around the castle he knew for only three years, effectively evading teachers who had resided in the grounds for a minimum of double his lifetime? He had fractured ribs, bruised lungs and a wand that didn't belong to him, despite it working so perfectly. It was crazy to know that he could use another's wand without it breaking in half.

McGonagall didn't prove to be much of a hinderance as he thought; it required for him to guesstimate her position behind the door when her footsteps would become loud then quiet. Seizing the perfect moment, he escaped from the wing and was hobbling up the Grand Staircase, painfully jumping and ducking everywhere when he'd see a ghost, a teacher or Aurors roaming the corridors. He even thought that he saw Proudfoot and Savage on the third floor.

' _Now they bring Aurors. Seriously, what's up with — ow…!'_

He clutched his chest softly and brushed his palm over his bandage. All this movement was staggering to his injuries; he could see why they didn't want him going with them. Although he tried the Healing Spell multiple times on his chest, nothing seemed to get better. Perhaps he wasn't in the right state of mind.

" **ROAAAARRRRR!"**

Theodore nearly fell off the moving stairway. What the hell was that? It wasn't even just the roar, it was the explosion too. Was Sirius fighting against the Aurors? He shook his head knowing that he wouldn't risk coming inside the castle after exposing himself again. The man was probably still running around the Forest in his demented state of mind. Theodore got onto the next stairway and waited as it shifted to the next platform.

He made it to the seventh floor, thinking himself as a madman for leaving the wing. He was dangerously out of breath, and his throat was terribly parched. If anybody was awake inside the common room, he prayed that they'd be merciful to give him any type of food, no matter how small. The security trolls were nowhere to be seen near the Fat Lady's portrait: Theodore thought Dumbledore must've dismissed them when they couldn't even keep him from leaving the castle. He spoke the password to the irritated woman and struggled his way into the Tower.

Theodore had barely closed the portrait behind with extra care until he heard his name being called out from the couch. He turned his head to see the petite form of Ginny rushing towards him with her braid flying behind her wildly.

"Theo! What happened to you?!" she asked hysterically. Ginny came right in front of the taller boy and looked up and down at his bandages, grimacing a little when she saw his ripped robes. "Did — did Sirius Black do this to you…?"

"Yes — I mean, no. I — Ginny, you shouldn't be out of bed. It's…" He glanced over to the clock. "Fifteen past five? It's been that long?"

"Theodore, what happened to you, seriously? I didn't see Harry, Ron or Hermione coming back up yesterday, and I thought that they must've run off somewhere!"

Theodore limped over to the stairway, but sat down on the steps to keep his breath under control. "Everything's fine, Ginny. You don't have to worry about anything —"

"Excuse me," she snapped. "I have every right to worry! Ron's my brother, and it may not be so clear to you, but I am your friend, as well as Hermione's. Telling me not to worry is a shitty thing to say when you're coming up here all bloodied and… _this_!"

Well… that wasn't exactly an unexpected reaction. It seemed as if she really took after her big brothers. Never had he heard 'sweet, little, and innocent' Ginny swear in his life before. But it was bound to happen. Theodore grabbed onto the railing and hoisted himself on his legs with minor help from the girl. "Look, I can't tell you everything, OK? There's just so much going on right now that my head's not in it properly. But believe me when I say this: they'll be fine. I'll be fine, Ginny. You have to believe me."

"How can I when you look like this? How should I imagine the way Harry — I mean, Ron looks like?" She looked over her shoulder and pushed him behind the tables in a clumsy manner. Ginny apologised quietly when she saw him nearly tearing up on the floor, but turned her attention away from him. "Good morning, Professor Dumbledore."

"Good morning, Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore. It was like he casually strolled into a normal lesson of the day. "Is it not a little too early to be waking up? I know that you are to be leaving in three days time, so I understand your excitement to go back home."

Theodore felt more feet crashing onto the ground and listened to Ginny's response. "Just irregular sleeping, Professor. Is there going to be an announcement for us?"

"No, nothing like that. Sirius Black has been sighted yesterday, as you are well aware of, and we have been revisiting his recent places of attacks. But it seems as if it is completely safe here, so I will not disturb your early morning any further."

"Of course," she added sweetly. "I'll be going back up to my bed now. Goodbye, Professor Dumbledore, and to you too, Professor Snape."

Snape made an incomprehensible sound and left the common room soon after Dumbledore granted the redhead farewell. The stampede of feet was closed off with the sound of the portrait closing, and Ginny bent over Theodore to help him up to his feet. "I feel terrible! I didn't think that they'd be happy to see you here."

"Good thinking; they'd be pretty pissed. Plus, you're so _naturally charming_ that it's almost scary."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. So. Are you going to tell me what's really going on? Is Black after you again?"

The Parselmouth sighed. He was too tired for this. "Ginny, I understand that you're worried for them, OK? I'm not going to lie to you just to make you feel better. But trust me when I say this: Ron, Harry and Hermione are going to be all right. They all got off fine, better than me anyway. I just — I have to help them. I can't just stand here waiting for them because everything can go wrong in just a second, so I have to go after them."

"But you can't! You were about to cry when I pushed you to the floor!"

He frowned at her and said, "I wasn't going to cry! You try and firm having your ribs being slashed and walking it off."

"Then let me go with you," Ginny protested. "If it's me and you, we'll easily find the others wherever they are, and we could —"

"No, Ginny. The others were mad at me for trying to leave with them. If I bring you along, they'll kill me. Just stay here for me, please? I don't want you getting hurt again after last year. You have to stay."

" _Theodore! Where have you been?!"_ Viripin slithered down the steps and across the ground to Theodore's feet and winded herself around his body. _"You scared me; I thought — Do I smell blood? Is that your blood?! Why are you bleeding?!"_

Ginny scoffed and muttered, "I'd like to know myself…"

"What?"

She straightened herself nervously and brushed a few locks behind her ears. "Nothing! I-I said nothing! Look, if you must go, then hurry! They're probably in trouble right now, so get going!"

"Um… all right. I — We'll be going now…" Theodore picked up the rest of Viripin's body and started to walk over to the portrait hole. "Wait, how did you know —?"

"No time, Theodore! Hurry up!" Ginny frantically opened the portrait and helped him through the hole. "Make sure you get there on time, and don't die. Good luck, Theo!" She gave him a very quick hug before the portrait closed in front of him.

…

"Why is it that _you_ never seem to stay in the same place?" grumbled the Fat Lady. "For God's sake, this is a school! Go to sleep!"

"Sorry." Theodore turned in the other direction and waddled quickly to the next rising moving staircase. If he couldn't go through the Entrance Hall, then this was… the forth-best option behind it. Plus, he was desperate.

" _Where are you taking us,"_ hissed the snake sulkily.

"To the Astronomy Tower. Hopefully, none of the teachers are up there." He took a left turn when he entered the highest corridor and walked straight forward.

" _For what reason? What business could you possibly have up there?"_

"If you want me to apologise for nearly getting myself killed, then you should just ask instead of being moody about it. I am sorry, Viripin, but there's no time for —" The Bloody Baron drifted strangely in the air, forcing Theodore to duck behind a pillar. "— for that. I have to go to the Forbidden Forest. I can't explain it, but I have to."

" _All right. But you'll tell me what happened to you, OK?"_

"I will, I promise. Let's go." Theodore raced down the hallway and ran up the spiral staircase of the highest tower, vividly remembering when they had to smuggle Norbert out of the castle. He reached the top and took in the light from the sun. It was already early morning. Hogsmeade sounded like it happened so long ago… Theodore looked over the ramparts of the Tower to see the entirety of Hogwarts. It all looked so serene, yet he couldn't keep his gaze for so long. "All right… Viripin? Now, what I'm about to do may seem a little crazy to you."

Viripin tightened her body around his shoulders. _"What do you mean? Theodore, I'm scared."_

The Parselmouth gulped as he trudged over to the very edge of the Tower. "You know, I-I am scared as well. I wouldn't ever consider doing this again in the near future, but then I'd be lying… Oh God… All right, I'm going to do this…"

" _Theodore, think about what you're doing!"_

"I have. I… have." He moved away from the ramparts and breathed deeply. "This is the quickest way to them…"

" _Honestly, I think you've actually gone mad. Like seriously mad, Theodore."_

He let out a stifled laugh. "I think that myself as well. OK, OK. One… two…" Theodore took one final breath and charged towards the edge of the Tower, feeling Viripin wrapping herself even tighter around her, but no hissing was heard. He leapt from the ground and felt weightlessness washing over him as he fell faster and faster…

 **I freaking wrote like 22K words in 9 hours on my phone so what I said about this being the last chapter is a half lie. That's right my people, a three parter ending to PoA! And not only that, I will be releasing the second part to this an hour after this one so I'll be keeping you on the edge of your seat. There's no time to chatter so later!**


	36. Chapter 36: Our Last Resort Pt2

His shoulders suddenly became free of restraint, and he saw Viripin somehow managing to slide down underneath his body. Falling so quickly, falling so fast until weightlessness became null in a second.

Theodore found himself holding on tightly to feathers as golden as the sunlight across the school grounds. They rippled with the air gliding in between and underneath, almost glowing in front of Theodore's eyes. He heard the powerful beating of wings in the air… What was this?

"Viripin… what did you…?" No, he couldn't fall off. Not when he went through all that trouble. _'Control it,'_ he thought to himself. _'Don't fall, don't fall…'_

Theodore held onto Viripin's form for dear life when she dived towards the ground. His stomach was on its edge; he could feel himself slipping. ' _No… hang on, Theo… Hang on…'_ They were soon levelled in the air along with the disturbance of Theodore's stomach, soon slowing down. Theodore had his eyes closed the entire way and had no clue where he was. It was all so quick, but so long at the same time.

"Viripin… I don't feel… I'm not feeling…" he slurred quietly on the creature's back.

" _We're almost there, just keep it together… All right, we're here! Don't fall off, OK? Don't fall —"_

Theodore rolled off onto the fresh grass and spluttered in a crouched shape on the ground. He didn't know if he could take being subjected in the air so many times. "Never… want… to do that… ever again… Is that you, Viripin…?"

Piercing chrome eyes that were planted in the head of a creature with an orange beak was staring down at him. Golden feathers were glinting from the sun's reflection, enhancing the Parselmouth's view just enough.

…

"You're a Hippogriff. Nice."

" _Thank you. Now, up you get! There you go, nice and slow. It's not everyday you throw yourself off a tower to join your friends, you loon."_

Theodore was yanked in the air by Viripin. He was feeling a lot better being on the ground. Oddly enough, none of his bandages became loose or even exposed his wounded flesh. Lucky he guessed. "I think I'm good. Remind me to never do that again."

" _Let's not lie to ourselves. You're going to do something even crazier next year, I can see it now."_ She shrunk down and changed back into normal, hissing to the boy, _"Where to now, Theodore? We're here."_

"Forwards," he stated, getting Pettigrew's wand ready. "You smell, I follow. That's how we're going to make it over there in this creepy… forest. Lupin should definitely be back to normal right about now…"

Viripin flicked her tongue along the ground and slithered into the accursed woodlands, leading the way as Theodore followed without hesitation.

"If you smell any of them, or anything rather off, then you tell me, OK?"

" _I smell someone…"_

Theodore stopped and crouched down to her level. "Already? Who is it?"

" _It's… it's that professor. The one we saw sleeping on the train. R.J. Lupin."_

"Professor Lupin is here? Maybe this is where he got tired. He's probably hurt as well. Take me to him."

" _No need to. He's right over there,"_ the snake confessed. She poised her head in the general direction of the broken tree laying on its side. Theodore picked her up and walked slowly over, taking one measured step at a time. Lupin wasn't feral or anything at the moment, but he still had to keep his focus on his surroundings. He wasn't the only werewolf in here.

"Professor… what did they do to you?" Theodore quickly disrobed himself, leaving him with only his torn white shirt and first layer of his uniform, and draped it over Lupin's tortured body. "Fudge and his fucking Aurors. They didn't show him any mercy."

" _The others were here just recently,"_ said Viripin. _"They're not too far off from here. I can smell them from across that tree over there."_

"I'll go on my own from here. I want you to stay here and watch over him. If it seems like he's in trouble, then… turn into a phoenix and help him the best you can. For all we know, Pettigrew —"

"ARRRRGGGHHHH!"

That scream sounded like Harry, but it was too garbled and high-pitched. And Hermione's voice wasn't even close to that. Theodore brought Viripin down to the ground next to Lupin and told her to stay with him. He clutched the bone-wand tightly between his fingers, and he ran through the branches and brambles, gritting his teeth against every pain that was punished onto him. Through the gaps in between his fingers, he steered his way through the thick trees and luckily jumped over the roots sticking from out the ground. God forbid he'd trip and land straight on his chest.

Enough was enough as he cast the Severing Charm continuously in front of him to clear the plant protrusions. That was much better. The screaming was sharp and quick, but it had to have come from here, he was sure of it. Theodore stumbled onto a wide area that was clear of trees and bushes. The ground was horribly uneven, almost resembling a desert that was replaced with dead leaves and soil instead. Similarly during the night, the tree up above created spots of sunlight onto the ground and imprinted the floor beneath with its glow. Theodore was so sure that he heard something from here…

"Theodore! Theodore, look up here!"

He darted his head up instantly and saw only just the sight of something moving up above. As his eyes adjusted slightly to the darkness of the setting, Theodore clenched his fist when he saw them hanging from the canopy of the trees. Harry was the first to be recognised, but it was very difficult to tell that it was him. It was like he was encased inside a wooden cocoon that only displayed his face and his face only. The second face that he saw belonged to Hermione, also trapped inside a wooden prison.

"How did you guys get up here? I'm going to get you down, just —"

"He's behind you, Theo, look out!" Harry shouted.

Theodore spun around and pointed the wand at the ratlike wizard who likewise, aimed a wand back. _His_ wand, to be specific: he could tell so easily. "You release them now and drop my wand, Pettigrew! I'm not joking! You bring them down right now!"

"No!" Pettigrew squealed, sniffing in the air. "I w-won't do anything you say until my truth is heard!"

"Your truth has already been heard, and we don't care! You're going with the Dementors to Azkaban where you belong, you treacherous piece of filth!"

Pettigrew aimed Theodore's wand at his heart, trembling with so much fear, even though he had the upper hand over the children. "I'm not afraid to hurt you, Theodore! I-I can do things, things that are dangerous! S-so don't tempt me!"

"Is that so? By all means, do your worst. Let's see how _dangerous_ you really are with my wand," Theodore taunted with his arms wide open. If his wand still remained loyal as the day he got it, then it wouldn't hurt him. "Go on, then! Attack the only child of your former _Dark Lord_! What if he finds out? Will you be brave enough to face him again when he's still weak and bodiless?"

"I-I… I can still hurt them! I can choke the life out of their lungs! Ev-even if you try to attack me, they'll die! I mean it!"

Theodore looked up at the two, then back to Pettigrew when he realised who was missing. "Where's Ron? What did you do to him, Pettigrew?!"

"No! I won't say anything more unless my truth is told! I — ARGGHH!" Pettigrew jumped backwards when a large shadow leapt through the darkened gaps between the trees and into the area. The black dog growled viciously at Pettigrew and was met with some hostility from the injured boy, who slightly pointed his wand to him.

Sirius quickly came into view and stood between the armed wizards and said, "It's all right, Theodore. I'm back to normal."

"Prove it," said Theodore quickly. His hand couldn't pull away from him.

"Trust me. I don't know what happened back there in Hogsmeade, but I can assure you that it won't happen again. I never meant to hurt you —"

"You said that before you went crazy and nearly killed me! Again! You were this close to shredding my heart, Sirius! This close!"

"I'm sorry," Sirius nearly croaked, somewhat falling slightly back in fear of the boy as Theodore's voice became more vicious. "I — I don't know what's wrong with me. But you know the truth, Theodore! You know that it was he who betrayed James and Lily!"

"Lies! All lies! My truth, Theodore! What about my truth?! You killed —"

"Shut it," shouted Theodore. "I already know your _truth_ , Pettigrew. You sold Harry's parents to my father so that he could kill them in cold blood. I don't have to listen to anything you have to say to me!"

"But he lies, Theodore! Sirius lies! The news, the rumours! It was all true!"

"Theodore, take him down," said Sirius huffily. "If I try anything, he could give me the slip again. Don't want that to happen."

Theodore raised the wand and was about to cast the Full Body-Bind Curse on him when Pettigrew screamed out loud again. "Noooo! You must listen to what I have to say! Sirius doesn't know the whole story! He doesn't know how truly involved he was with Lily and James's deaths, how Valerie was involved as well! He doesn't know, but I do, Theodore! Let me tell you!"

Sirius turned back to the silent boy and glared at him desperately. "He's trying to get inside your head, Theodore! Don't give him the chance to escape again! Ignore him and Stun the bastard before he gets away!"

"Do — do you want to know the truth, Theodore," Pettigrew asked in a calmer voice. "Do you want to know how your f-father truly arrived at Godric's Hollow that night to kill Lily and James? Do you?"

"Theodore, stop listening," screamed Hermione from above, "and take him down! This could be the last chance to free Sirius!"

"Do you want to know my truth, Theodore?"

"What truth," spat the boy. "There's nothing left for you to worm yourself out of this one, Pettigrew. What truth?"

Pettigrew blinked almost humanlike and cocked his head to the side. His lips curled up into a grin to show his crooked, yellow teeth. "From the moment you met him, from the moment you spoke to him, Theodore, Sirius has been lying to you. To all of you. I never betrayed the Potters on that night. It was him. For this entire time, the man responsible for their deaths was rightfully locked up. Sirius Black sold Lily and James to the Dark Lord."

"You're lying. You're a filthy liar, and I have had enough. _Petri_ —"

"Then look me in my eyes and say truthfully that I am a liar, Theodore," Pettigrew proposed with his voice being hardened to a slight degree. "Do it, Theodore. I-I know that you can always tell…"

"Theodore! Stun him!"

Theodore's body was perspiring so quickly. Pettigrew's words had grabbed hold of him from the second he mentioned his mother. There were so many things that was said about her. A great woman, a lost soul, the Dark Lord's temptress… He had to know if there was a truth in any of them because he couldn't go another year, month or even a day being lied to by everyone. He locked his eyes onto Pettigrew and just allowed them to do the rest. If he focused hard enough, then he could detect… extreme cowardice. A large sense of self-preservation and selfishness. These were already leaking from his entire being, but… underneath. He could see it… No… Underneath all of that, there was… truth. Genuine and pure truth in his thoughts.

Theodore turned to Sirius and stared at him blankly. Whatever he did to see into people like that had never lied to him before. If that was the case… "Have you been lying the whole time, Sirius?" he asked quietly.

Sirius took a step towards Theodore, but Theodore instantly drew the wand against him. Holding up his hand in defence, the man protested, "I-I didn't, Theodore, you know I didn't! How — how can you believe him when I told you everything? You were the first person to believe me, now you're turning your back on me? Pettigrew is getting into your head —!"

"I've learnt how to deal with people getting into my head, thanks. Or maybe I haven't. You've been leading me on this entire time, haven't you?"

"Theodore, please… Don't make this hard —"

"Answer the question!" Theodore exploded. "Were you lying to us or not?!"

"I wasn't! I swear on my life, I had nothing to do with James and Lily! I — I didn't…! Please, you must believe me!"

"All right, what kind of sick game do you both have going on here?! One of you is telling the truth, the other says he's the truthful one! Why shouldn't you both be thrown into Azkaban, huh?!"

"Because it was never me, Theodore! I was right there when the Dark Lord decided to go after James and Lily, and I was there from the very beginning. I know everything. Just let me explain."

Sirius was shaking his head on his knees, and Hermione and Harry were watching silently from above, seeing their friend being beyond persuasion of deviating from learning the truth. Theodore held onto the bone-wand a little longer until he motioned for Pettigrew to speak, and for Sirius to stay silent.

"You are wise, Theodore, just like your father —"

"Just say what you need to say before I hurt you both," Theodore snapped.

"Yes, OK! OK. It all started when the Dark Lord made it his mission to hunt the Potters down to kill baby Harry. He had to think of a plan; he knew that the opposition would surely put up their own defences against him to prevent him from ever reaching the Potters. His quest required many things, and Sirius over here was one of them. He was born from a family who were heavy supporters of the Dark Lord's cause, and he was directly affiliated with the Potters as well. The word had gotten around quickly that Sirius was made godfather for Harry, so that piqued the Dark Lord's interest.

"The Dark Lord had been hopeful in gaining Sirius's trust by enlisting him, resorting to methods that were unlike him. It was impractical for him to meet with Sirius in person, so he sent his most loyal follower to infiltrate the other side for the purpose of _swaying_ Sirius to the Dark Lord."

"My mother…"

"Yes. Valerie. She was valued above all the others. Never once had she failed him in her servitude towards him. He knew that she possessed the skills needed to fool the opposition right under their noses. She was just that good. I — I was almost taken aback how quickly Sirius warmed up to her when she joined their ranks. I don't know what she did to him for her to win him over so suddenly, but I wouldn't have minded seeing her —"

Theodore had the wand pointed high above his head again. "If you finish that sentence, then this conversation will end, and so will you."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to — don't change your mind now, Theodore, please! The reason why she was able to infiltrate the other side so flawlessly was because her crimes against humankind was only revealed a month after her death! The identities of Death Eaters was kept highly secretive with the Dark Lord, some not even aware of their fellow neighbour's similar activities. To them, Valerie was a woman of determination that was intent on crumbling the Dark Lord's reign of terror, fooling even the great Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard that ever lived! She was a master of deception, just like her master. Traits that have certainly been crossed over to their only child.

"But while she was under the pretence that she was to destroy the opposition from the inside, the Dark Lord's true agenda was unknown to her. As vicious and ruthless as Valerie seemed to be, the Dark Lord knew her as a family woman who would never give up her own kin, let alone her only living relatives. He knew that she wouldn't willingly give them up to him, so that was his plan set forward. It was true that I was the one who told the Dark Lord about their plan as using a Secret Keeper, but I never said anything about their location," Pettigrew added quickly. Theodore was beginning to look a little unhinged from hearing his mother's name so many times.

"From my given information, the Dark Lord had made the assumption that it would be her to become her brother's Secret Keeper. From there, he would know how to extract it from her, not by coercion, but from her undying obsession with him. And the Dark Lord was not wrong. James and Lily chose her to become their Secret Keeper under the impression that she was on their side. But that's where it started to become rocky. Two weeks before her, James, and Lily's deaths, she fled from the Dark Lord, supposedly carrying the secret lovechild between her and her master."

"Why? Why did she run away with me?"

Pettigrew shook his head rapidly as if fleas were biting at his skin. "I do not know! The Dark Lord was furious! His closest source to killing the Potters was lost, and he lost a valuable follower at the same time. He ordered his other Death Eaters to capture her before she'd be lost forever, and so would be the Potters. They came back empty-handed, but the Dark Lord soon learnt of another who held the location of the Potters in their soul."

" _You_ ," growled Sirius. He arched his back and was ready to pounce at Pettigrew.

"Actually, it was _you_ ," returned Pettigrew almost coolly.

Sirius stopped in mid-air and lost his canine features; he took a moment to remain in his dazed state from what had been revealed. "No… that's not right. I was never their Secret Keeper… you were."

Pettigrew giggled a little and said, "I wasn't James and Lily's Secret Keeper! Why would they choose me, somebody who was always treated as a sidekick over their closest friend, Sirius Black? Don't you remember, _old friend_?"

"I… I don't. I don't remember any of that…"

"That's right, of course, you don't remember! I mean, why would you?"

"Why wouldn't he remember that he was their Secret Keeper, Pettigrew? Tell me, now!"

"In the time when the Potters were in hiding and Valerie had defected from the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord took a different and rather crude approach to the situation. Upon learning that Sirius was the Potters' remaining Secret Keeper, the Dark Lord tasked me into leading him straight to the Dark Lord's clutches personally, kidnapping him for just hours at a time during the day. The Dark Lord would then attempt to break into his mind continuously, subjected him to torture beyond imagination. To see what the Dark Lord had inflicted onto you in such short amounts of time is commendable to the both of you.

"The hours increased each day, more torture, unhinging even more of the mind. The Dark Lord pushed himself as far as he could, holding onto the little patience that spared your life. He attempted to penetrate your mind with his powers, filling your head with himself through his unmatchable skills!"

"Skills?" said Theodore, not surprised that his father had immersed himself in magic he couldn't even hope to fathom. "Skills with the mind? What is it, what's it called?"

"The Dark Lord kept his secrets too, Theodore. The difference between the both of you is not so big after all, is it? He had the power to see clearly into the minds of others, to take what he needed and to rip them apart. Feebler minds stood no chance against him!"

"But it's all a lie," interrupted Sirius. "It's all one big lie, can't you see it, Theodore? If all of this happened, then how am I unable to recall any of this, not even a single conversation? You drove yourself into a corner, Peter. You failed; it's over."

Pettigrew giggled again, only a little lower. "Clinging so desperately at your self-taught innocence? I said it before, Sirius, of course you wouldn't remember. You didn't honestly think that he'd let you go back to the others with all of those memories, did you? Every time the Dark Lord failed to extract the information he needed from your mind, he'd wipe your memory clean of your frequent torture. You'd wander back without a single thought on what happened during those hours, smiling like you always did.

"That's… that's not true…"

"Have you ever wondered why he'd always go berserk, but never seemed to remember, Theodore? He wasn't aware of it, but it was all taking a toll on Sirius. The torture, the harsh modification of his memories. The Dark Lord's methods was too powerful to be kept at their lowest levels. His constant use of magic on Sirius's brain was slowly starting to tear his sanity into shreds, reducing him into the unstable savage that has been attacking you for so long! But he didn't know at all!"

"But it doesn't make sense how he switched when you said something about Harry's parents. I thought that it was Azkaban that messed him up."

"Much more than what the Dark Lord intended. Before, Sirius would put up more of a fight before he'd turn feral, but yesterday was so simple. Like angering a child. Your father believed his power to being absolute, but he did not keep to the same methods. Well, he had some on the side. The Dark Lord knew that if Sirius was the Secret Keeper, then he'd be the only one capable of visiting the Potters in hiding. So he tampered with his mind some more, embedding trigger words so that when heard, he'd lose what was left of his sanity. _You killed James and…_ "

Sirius staggered back onto the ground and began to shake like before. "No… please don't…"

Theodore remembered when he screamed those same words on his first proper conversation with Sirius. He guessed correctly that he wasn't right in the head, but it wasn't his fault at all. Theodore set him off because he was lobotomised by his father. "That was it? All someone had to do was to say those words and he'd go crazy?"

"Not just those words. There was ' _want to see the baby, Sirius?'_ —"

Sirius twitched on the ground screaming for Pettigrew to stop.

"' _Sirius, is everything OK?'_ "

"ARGHH!"

"' _Lily, I didn't mean it.'_ "

"STOP! PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!" screamed Sirius.

Pettigrew held his tongue for a second, then turned to Theodore again. "If he heard enough of these words together, then he'd be as dangerous as Remus under a full moon without any of that potion you gave to him. A crude plan to attack Lily, James and Harry, but it was a plan nonetheless. But over on the other side, Sirius's irrational behaviour became evidently a problem, causing most to distrust him. It was only by Dumbledore's word did they do their best to keep him levelled, for he refused to give anybody else the title as Secret Keeper, a title he felt should live and die with him. They all thought of his descent into insanity a result of the inbreeding in his family. The Black's were renowned for marrying their first cousins.

"Sirius was underneath protection from the Dark Lord when his disappearances became known to his allies, but Dumbledore still insisted on keeping him active within their organisation. Their fight against the Death Eaters was starting to favour their own side, even bringing back an ally they thought they had once lost. Your mother."

"But you said she fled from You-Know-Who with Theodore," Harry said from above. "Why would she ever come back when he was looking for her?"

"I was shocked to see her alive and well when she returned; so was everybody else. We asked her how did she manage to evade the Dark Lord's reach, and she said she had been hidden with her brother in their new home. An unlikely story that was eaten up quickly. Valerie was an integral warrior during the war, and to see her returning meant that Sirius wouldn't prove to be as much of a liability than before. All was well until Halloween night when Valerie had Sirius cornered, using her allure to keep him in place —"

"No…" whispered Sirius under his breath. His head was hung low, and his face couldn't be seen under his long hair. "I…"

"She held him behind after a meeting on that fateful night," Pettigrew continued as he ignored Sirius's whimpers, "and manipulated him like a naïve little boy who couldn't see past her exterior. On that night, Valerie asked him if he remembered where the Potters were hidden, and he told her everything —"

Sirius was sobbing under his matted hair, crying 'no' over and over again.

"— from the name of Godric's Hollow, to the very number of their cottage. His mind was so loose that he had lost his grasp on mistrust, spilling his secrets to the only person who was supposed to know."

"But she wouldn't betray them!" Harry shouted. "She wouldn't betray her own family when she ran from Voldemort!"

"But it wasn't really Valerie now, was it?"

…

Theodore widened his eyes as he pieced it together so quickly that it felt too painful to acknowledge. "It wasn't her at all… It was _him_ all that time. Sirius told _him_ …"

"Yes. The Dark Lord bested the 'infallible' Fidelius Charm. He was disguised as the traitor, knowing her exceptionally well from the way she talked, all the way down to her smile. From the second Sirius had revealed their location, the Dark Lord instantly left for Godric's Hollow and killed James and Lily."

Sirius was crying harder now, crouching down with his bony hands covering his hidden face. "I remember… What have I done…? James… Lily…"

It was true. Almost everything Fudge said was the truth. His mother really was his father's right-hand woman. Pettigrew was never the Secret Keeper, it was Sirius. And he told him straight in his face, right before he killed them. Theodore had been in denial, sometimes swayed over to believe the rumours while sometimes condemning it completely. But none that mattered now. Sirius did betray them… No.

Theodore flicked the wand back up at Pettigrew's head and stood in front of a broken Sirius, adamant of letting the ratty wizard getting to him any further. "I couldn't care less about you said, other than the fact that all I'm hearing is that you turned on your friends. Let Harry and Hermione go, or I'll hurt you. Fudge doesn't need to see you with all your limbs, just your face."

A solid gulp from Pettigrew was followed up by, "Yo-you won't do anything to me. You need me alive if you want to clear his name. He's not innocent, you know, I am. You probably don't even know how to use that wand."

"I think I do, Pettigrew. It still baffles me how something like _this_ could choose someone like _you_."

"That's not my wand. Mine was lost when I was forced into hiding twelve years ago. I do not deserve to even use what power is held within that wand. Although — although, should I have expected any different? It's only f-fitting for a son to use his father's wand."

Theodore looked down at his hand and stared at the bone-wand with immediate disgust. He should've known better. No wand this sinister-looking could belong to someone like —

 _Her face radiated pure beauty as she looked down on her child with so much love and tenderness. His eyes rarely flicked open, but that was to be expected of a newborn. She cradled him softly, and she kissed him on his forehead multiple times to tell him that she was there and that she'd never leave him._

 _A thin finger as white as bone reached into the robes of the hooded figure and plucked out a wand matching its owner's tone of skin. It trailed the wand above the baby's head, swirling clockwise almost dreamily while the cold voice spoke silkily from nowhere._

" _The foundation of my new power starts with you, Theodore. My being, my absolute being has created you. You will be and hold my mark upon the world, Theodore. That is what you are… My mark upon the world…"_

How did he remember that…? It wasn't even that clear, but… that was his father talking to him. And his mother… he had never seen her up so close and… Theodore wanted to crush the wand in his hand, to pulverise it into an oblivion. It was like a knife that had been stained with the blood of so many innocents. The wand that killed his uncle and aunt, the wand that was going to kill Harry…

"Argh! Shut up! _Flipendo_!" cried the boy, aiming straight at Pettigrew's chest. Pettigrew almost tripped backwards when he swished Theodore's wand in front of him, creating a barrier that nulled the spell. Theodore threw three more jinxes at him, then shot a green spark to Pettigrew's feet, sending him hurtling behind the green smoke when it exploded.

Turning back quickly to the others, he slashed in the air precisely and said _"Diffindo!"_ to the stems linking Harry and Hermione to the canopy. The cocoons cracked and released the two from their hold, counting themselves lucky with their wands in their hands as they used the Levitation Charm to slow down their fall. They landed safely on the ground and instantly pointed their wands at the smoke.

"Show yourself, you coward!" Harry snarled. There was no distortion in the cloud to suggest anybody being behind there. "Pettigrew! He's fucking running, we have to catch him quick!" He threw himself to the ground in front of Sirius and lifted his chin to see him reduced to tears of pain and regret. "Sirius! We need you to sniff him out before he gets away! Come on!"

"How can you even speak to me when I'm the reason you don't have a mother and father?" he said weakly.

"There's no time for that! Sirius, this is now, OK?! If you don't transform and sniff him out, he'll be gone forever, and I'll be stuck living with the Dursleys for the next four years instead of being with you! Find him, please! Please!"

Sirius nodded with a blank expression and told them to stand back. His body ruffled with fur as if a thick blanket was thrown over him, and his clothes was gone within an instant. Sirius whimpered for a second, but did not forget Harry's request for he sniffed along the Forest floors and peeked his head through the green smoke. He immediately barked at the three teens and dashed off through the smoke, prompting them to chase after him.

The trio hopped and slid around the trees while keeping an eye on Sirius in front. Surely, the castle must've known about their second escape from school, both under the span of twelve hours. Snape would probably be looking for him right about now…

"Guys? What happened to Ron?" asked Theodore breathlessly behind Hermione and Harry. His chest was giving way, and his lungs felt smaller and weaker.

"We told him to run when Pettigrew ambushed us from behind," Hermione replied. "He just escaped the vines that he made with your wand and vanished. I hope he didn't make a wrong turn; there are dangerous things in here. Theo, you can't keep this up!"

Theodore was clutching his chest, but still persisted that he could go on. "I can do this… I'm fine…" He felt both sides of his body being supported by Harry and Hermione who lifted him slightly from underneath his shoulders to remove some of the weight on his feet.

"You guys were right. Can't keep… this up…"

Sirius took a sharp left turn as the three followed, and barked at the dip in the soil that was covered with sunlight and leaves. Something was burrowing under the roots, and it looked too fearful for it to be a disturbed forest-dweller.

They pointed their wands at the dirt and cried together, _"Kubdilsha Mabdilko!"_ watching the ground explode like a mine had been placed beneath there with Pettigrew scrambling to his feet gingerly. The mud did not blind him from the trio, and his hand was still holding Theodore's wand. Hermione stepped in front of the two boys and lifted her wand the same time Pettigrew lifted Theodore's. She started to mutter the Full Body-Bind Curse, but Theodore almost froze when he heard Pettigrew speak his own incantation to himself.

" _Avada…"_

"NO!" Theodore tried to push her out of the way, thinking for a split second that his wand wouldn't kill its master from another's hand if he got there first. But he wasn't fast enough. His pain in his chest crippled him from moving any further. She was going to die…

"… _Keda —"_

The Killing Curse did not fly from Theodore's wandtip for Pettigrew could not finish his words. Theodore almost lost sight of him, in fact. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't tell if it was real or not. All of a sudden, Pettigrew's body was flung across the air and crashed into a tree so violently that it almost snapped in half. Theodore cringed when he heard the cracking of the man's bones, and he peered his head over to where his body slumped to the ground mundanely like an abused rag-doll.

A mossy, blue car that had its paint peeling off to reveal the deep-orange rust underneath rumbled in front of the teens and dog; its left flashlight was not blinking in rhythm. Theodore quickly recognised the car as a Ford Anglia, but was dumbfounded as to why of all reasons did it decided to pulverise Pettigrew of all people until the answer came to him with a red mop of hair.

Ron dizzily got out of the car and grinned at the looks on his friends' faces before he stumbled over to the ground. He soon found his balance and shook his head to stop himself from falling over again. "So… did I get him?"

"Ron!" The trio all ran up to the tall redhead and squeezed him tightly in their embrace. Ron looked extremely embarrassed, but patted each of their heads like they were his younger siblings.

"How the — when did you —?" Harry stammered. "You fucking ran him over with a car, Ron!"

"Didn't expect you to go that dark, but I'm not complaining at all! I'm glad you're OK, but tell us something. How the fuck did you get this car back?" Theodore asked when he pulled away from him. He was still in utter disbelief.

Ron puffed up his chest a little and began to explain himself. "When Harry and Hermione told me to run when Pettigrew got them, I thought about getting you, Theo. Honestly, we all knew that you weren't going to stay inside the hospital wing."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," replied the other three together.

"So, I was running back to the castle, or I thought I was. I've never been here before, so I was absolutely clueless with my direction, and I'm never coming back in here after what happened."

"What happened?"

Ron shivered a little, then swallowed. "There was this — massive nest of spiders. Not normal, little spiders that you see in the corner of the room. No, I'm talking about these fucking huge spiders that were as big as my head! And th-those were just the newborns! You should've seen these two big ones that were like twice Hagrid's height!"

"Whoa…"

"And you know what's crazy? Hagrid was the one that brought them here, they told me! Aragog and Mosag! They would've eaten me if it wasn't for Dad's old car! Thank Merlin that Dobby stopped us from going through the barrier that day."

"Dobby?" Theodore said confused.

Ron ignored him and carried on speaking. "The Ford came just in the nick of time when I was about to be devoured by millions of flesh-eating spiders. When I got in, it boomed straight off and got me the hell out of there. The car let me take control when we were in the clear, and I was going to find you guys. It took me twenty minutes until I heard Sirius barking. I saw you guys turning Pettigrew back into normal and was going to try block him off if he tried to escape again, but the breaks stop working for some reason." Ron shrugged nonchalantly and crossed his arms. "I guess as long as he doesn't die, then it'll all be fine."

…

 _Three, two, one…_

"Oh, my god, I killed him!" Ron shrieked. "He's dead! I actually killed someone! Oh God!"

"Do not worry, Ron. You haven't killed him. He's still alive," affirmed Sirius's dead voice from the splintered tree. "Well, for now." He took Theodore's wand from the ground and pointed it at the heap that was Pettigrew, not twitching a single eye or muscle.

Harry didn't care that he was armed; he marched over to his godfather and was determined to stop him from crossing the line. "Sirius, don't! We've already been through this, this isn't how it's supposed to end!"

"You don't know that, Harry! Everything is — is coming to me, and I can remember it all! I can feel the pain from having my mind being ripped apart… I can see Valerie asking me about James and Lily when it wasn't really her… and it's all his fault!"

"Sirius, no," Harry pleaded. "Don't! Don't become the killer that everyone thinks you are! You have a choice to spare him and be free while he stays in Azkaban! Please, Sirius!"

…

"He used me… to kill your family," uttered Sirius grimly. "It's because of me and him that you lost your family, Harry. It's both of our faults."

"I still have a family, Sirius. You and Theo. I didn't think I had anybody until I knew both of you properly. _You_ are my family, and I'm not going to let them take you away to Azkaban again. Think — think about my dad. What would he say if he saw you like this, ready to kill his friend in revenge? What would he say, Sirius?"

Sirius grimaced a little, and a tear leaked out from his hollow sockets. His bottom jaw quivered along with his hand as he thought back to his friend, seeing him entirely through the boy that was standing in front of him. Harry lowered himself slowly and reached for Theodore's wand; he met no resistance from Sirius who allowed it to slip easily from his fingers.

"If — if you're not well, then there will be people to help you. We'll make sure that you'll get the help that you need, and we'll be right beside you the entire time, Sirius. I promise. It's not your fault, it was his. Yeah?"

The man brushed his filthy rag of a sleeve under his eyes to wipe away his tears. "Yes. You're right. I won't do this. I'll spare him for you."

"And for _you_ too. Don't forget that, OK?"

Sirius gave him a little smile and opened his arms out for a hug, a hug that Harry didn't refuse at all. Godfather and godson embraced each other on their knees while Hermione, Ron and Theodore watched them from a distance, unable to keep their smiles hidden.

"That's so sweet," cooed Hermione.

" _The Boy Who Lived and His Godfather from Azkaban._ That'll make the headlines — No! Not again!" Ron was holding the broken half of his second wand that was held by unicorn hair, resembling the old one that belonged to his older brother. "Mum's going to kill me this time! I can't go back home now!"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Hermione assured him, although it was a well known fact among the four that she was a terrible liar.

Theodore walked over to Sirius and Harry, and politely asked for his wand back. It had barely been eight hours, and he missed it so much. The right kind of warmth flowed through his arm when Harry handed it over to him, but it was purged from his body when he shuddered at the sight of Pettigrew's mangled body. His legs were broken, his left arm was dislocated to bend the other way, and his face looked completely squashed. Theodore would've thought that Sirius was lying to them when he said that he was alive, but the wheezing sound that came from his nose validated his statement.

"This is very, very bad!"

"Why don't we just mend it right now?"

"Theo, wands can't properly mend other wands," said Hermione in a matter-of-factly tone. "It would seem all right from the outside, but it will just break again when it's being used. It's impossible."

Theodore had the odd feeling of euphoria running through himself as he couldn't stop grinning at her. "It wouldn't hurt to try. Also, if you don't want me to do something, never say 'it's impossible' to me again."

"Noted," she muttered.

Theodore took Ron's broken wand and pointed his own where it split near the middle. He uttered the spell and saw the pieces sticking together like glue before it became impossible to see the damage. "Here's hoping. If it doesn't work, then I'm sorry, Ron."

Ron sighed. He tapped it against his knuckles before attempting to do any magic with it. Pointing it at his temple, he said, "Doesn't look like it'll break that easily. All right, here we go. _Doltorqeor_!" Ron's face broke into a massive grin as the Cheering Charm worked perfectly on him, though he would've been just as elated. "You fixed my wand! Theo, you brilliant you — AHH! This is amazing!"

Hermione's jaw was dropped, and so was Theodore's. He didn't even half expect it to work, yet he did the impossible. "How was that even possible…?"

The Muggle-born picked up her jaw and smiled at the amazed boy. "Well, when it's you, Theo, anything's possible."

The Ford Anglia revved up and threw the boot open to grab everyone's attention. Ron ecstatically pocketed his wand before lending it to Sirius so that he could levitate Pettigrew over to the car. Pettigrew was stuffed in the back, and it took them all to make sure that it wouldn't fly open for him to escape, but that looked impossible for them to even think about. After that, they all entered the Ford with Ron in the driver's seat, Sirius in the passenger's and the other three in the back.

"Just follow my directions, Ron," said Sirius a little more cheerfully than before. "I've been coming in this place for so long. Of course, the Map didn't go that far."

"The Map?"

"Yes, the Marauder's Map. Didn't I mention that we made it?"

"You made the Marauder's Map?" Harry asked in awe. "You guys were the Marauders?"

"Well, we weren't _exactly_ called Marauders, but yeah. We were the Marauders. I was informally known as Mr Padfoot, and the other one was called Wormtail."

Harry sat back and rubbed his chin, musing for a while over the names in the Map. "So, you're Padfoot, Pettigrew's Wormtail, Professor Lupin was Moony — that was obvious — there's no surprise that Snape was called Hookwing, which meant that my day was Prongs! What was he, an antler?"

Sirius laughed raucously. "Ahh, I remember calling him a puny antler when we first transformed! James was not happy. No, he was a stag."

"A stag…" Harry stared out of the window at the passing trees, forgetting that they were inside possibly the most dangerous part of the school. "Theo?" he whispered to his cousin.

"Yeah, Harry?"

"Thanks for not listening to me. If you had never left, then we wouldn't have caught him."

"Eh, I think I need to stop ignoring you from now on. I don't think I can take running so fast like that again. And you should be thanking Ron of all people. Flipping took Pettigrew out with a car, how wicked is that?" Theodore whispered back with a small smile. "Thank _you_ for saving me. You know, back in Hogsmeade. I owe you a lot for that."

"You already did, Theo. You freed Sirius."

"Correction: _we_ freed Sirius."

Harry lightly elbowed him on the shoulder and sat back. He was too happy, much too happy. And Theodore thought he deserved all of it. Theodore turned over to Hermione lightly humming to herself while she tapped her fingers against her lap. His heart began to beat furiously in his chest when he remembered her kiss. That soft kiss on his cheek which had him wanting more… _More…_

Theodore scooted a little closer to the girl, feeling immense relief and stupidity towards himself that he finally understood what he had been feeling towards her for the past two years. And to think that he had been avoiding it for so long. His chest was on fire, but he didn't mind it all that much. He just thought about her, and only her…

 **I spent so much time trying to find a loophole around the Fidelius Charm but I just said fuck it and changed it up in the way that gives the least confusion (to me anyway). I like how I'm referring to them as teens now, not children. Gives a nice sense of maturity and realisation of their growth. And it's not us who's doing the realising (nudge nudge Theodore (how dense can you get?)) Get ready for part three because it's not over. See you in an hour. Later!**


	37. Chapter 37: Our Last Resort Pt3

They all squinted when the light from up ahead shone straight through the windscreen. Theodore told Ron to stop and quickly got out of the car to retrieve Viripin and Lupin; both were awake and well. Sirius helped his friend to the car on shaky knees while Viripin wrapped herself around the Parselmouth adoringly, apparently forgetting that he threw them both off a tower. She seemed very forgiving of him.

The Ford Anglia then pulled out from the Forest and drove across the fields to the front doors of the castle. As expected, every single Auror, Fudge, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and the old wizard were standing by the castle, and it was a sea of mixed expressions. Alertness, annoyance, near-absolute rage, and curiosity. The Aurors all took one look at Sirius and pointed at the car on Fudge's orders. This was going to be fun.

"Black! Exit the car with your hands up!" demanded Fudge. "The Dementors will be on their way, so unless you give yourself up and release your hostages, we will attack!"

"Hostages? He's lost it!" said Ron. "How are we going to go about this then? If Sirius leaves the car, then it's over for him."

"Theo, follow me. Excuse me, Professor." Harry climbed over Lupin's legs and opened the stiff door with a solid kick. Theodore followed him soon after, and the two faced the adults, blocking them off from Sirius.

"Get out of the way, boys. You're harbouring a criminal."

Theodore's mouth ticked as he held in his scoff. "An innocent man more like. You've got it all wrong!"

"Riddle." Snape looked at his godson blankly, not showing any sign whether he wanted him to talk, or to move aside.

"We — we know that Sirius Black is innocent," Harry announced. "He doesn't deserve punishment in Azkaban —"

"Look," Fudge cut in with an annoyed look on his face, "I know that he is your godfather, Harry, but he isn't innocent. He's a murderer."

"But he isn't! He was framed for somebody else's crime who hid when Lord Voldemort disappeared!"

Several gasps of fear escaped from most of their mouths except for Snape, Dumbledore and the old wizard.

"Peter Pettigrew, if you were wondering who we were referring to. He faked his death and was hiding with the Weasleys as a rat Animagus!"

"Dumbledore," shot Fudge at the relaxed man. "Do you allow your students to talk such… _rubbish_?!"

"On the contrary, I am rather intrigued by what they have to say. This is a very curious theory, children. Would you care to present to us any proof of him?"

The look on his face made the two boys believe firmly that Dumbledore knew they were telling the truth. Fudge's double chin wobbled when Theodore told Ron to reverse the car so that the boot would be facing the sceptical adults. The boot door flew open and Pettigrew was thrown from his place of temporary rest, groaning in severe pain when he hit the floor.

"So you really are alive, Peter." Snape stepped forward to look down on his former friend with utter disgust and contempt.

"Severus," whimpered Pettigrew. "Severus, they hurt me… I was tortured for all this time —"

"Shut it, you lying piece of dung! I have been tracking you ever since I saw you on the Map. Remember? You were foolish to remain in Hogwarts, even more to give yourself away!"

"Merlin's beard," bleated Fudge. "It — It really is Pettigrew! And his finger, look! It's missing!" He turned his head to Theodore and dropped his jaw in wonderment. "Was it you who was behind everything? Behind finding this man?"

"It was all of us actually. Even Sirius. You would've gone about thinking that he was guilty of killing those Muggles and betraying the Potters all this time if he had never escaped." None of his words seemed to get through to the Minister. His face was still struck with awe at the Parselmouth.

"Sirius, you can come out now. They're not going to attack," said Harry quietly to his godfather.

"Are you sure? Because a few moments ago, they were ready to blow me to pieces."

"It'll be fine, don't worry. It'll be fine."

He barged his shoulder against the door and walked out of the car slowly; his instinct for keeping his hands up in the presence of the law was still strong within him. The Aurors were gripping their wands tightly, some even raising it towards him until they were told to stand down. "Hello, Minister."

"Hello… _Sirius_. This is… this is something."

"It is, isn't it?" There was a huge amount of restraint in his voice. "I'm afraid that I am unable to tell my own story. But they can. Listen to them, please."

Theodore caught the old wizard's eye staring at his left hand where he held his father's wand. He hid it quickly in his pockets: he didn't want him anywhere near it.

Fudge scratched his left eyebrow and sighed before saying, "I never thought that I'd be listening to a story from teenagers as an alibi. Very well, speak away."

Harry and Theodore started from the very beginning when Voldemort marked the Potters for death, explaining to them how Pettigrew was an informant for Voldemort as well as Valerie Potter (Theodore did his hardest to not show any attachment to her in his words). They talked about Sirius's torture, how Valerie fled instead of remaining with Voldemort, how he was used as the Dark Lord's puppet until his downfall in Godric's Hollow.

Everyone was listening quietly to them, not daring to interrupt the flow of information that was being explained. It was until the part when Ron had ran Pettigrew over with Mr Weasley's old car did they finally stop to ease their raspy throats. The lack of sleep was getting to them.

"Well… this is interesting news. You can't expect me to just gobble all of this up at once, you know, but there is a chance of having the fair trial that was denied of… _Mr_ Black. I'll alert Amelia that we'll be having a new trial in the summer, Dolores too. Albus? I believe that you'll be attending, should it come to be?"

"Of course, Cornelius," Dumbledore beamed back at him.

"All right. In the meantime, I would suggest that you'd remain in _St Mungo's_ for your injuries. And… is that Remus Lupin?"

Harry widened his eyes in shock and looked at Theodore anxiously. "Uh, yeah! It's Professor Lupin," Theodore babbled. "He also tried to go after Pettigrew, although he was knocked out for sometime. We — we found him injured in the Forbidden Forest."

"Is that so…? Well, he doesn't look like he's in such good shape. I would recommend that he too would remain at _St Mungo's_. If he was a part of all this, then he could be a witness in the upcoming trial." Fudge looked over the castle thoughtfully like he was visiting for his leisure. "What a year. Rita will be all over this when she finds out. Dawlish, Proudfoot, Savage! Detain Mr Pettigrew and tell the guards to clear off from Hogsmeade. Rosmerta and Aberforth have already suffered enough. Let's go!"

"Wait, please! Please, I'll do anything you want, just don't throw me into Azkaban! Please! Please!" Pettigrew squirmed as much as he could when he was suspended in the air by the Aurors. "I'm innocent! I am, please! You must listen to me! Sirius Black, he's a follower of the Dark Lord! You're falling under his Dark powers! Wait! I-I can tell you one thing: the identity of the Dark Lord's child! He exists! His name is Th—"

" _Stupefy!"_

The spell hit Pettigrew square on his back and silenced him completely. The old wizard pocketed his silver wand while his eyes lingered distastefully at the broken man. "Keeping your mouth quiet is a virtue, _Mr Pettigrew_ , no matter how much you want to use it."

Sirius knelt down to both boys and hugged them tightly, holding them close as if they were his own sons. He thanked them repeatedly; he thanked Hermione and Ron repeatedly, and helped Lupin out of the car as they walked side by side with the Aurors and Minister, waving back happily at the four teens.

"Well, children, the time right now is seven-fifteen. You have been awake for far too long. I suggest that you get a 'good morning's sleep', and I suggest that _you_ , Theodore, return to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey is not all that pleased with you, you know," said Dumbledore with a slight chortle on the end.

"I wouldn't think so, Professor. I —" Theodore looked over Dumbledore's shoulder to see Snape looking back at him before he slipped away into the castle doors.

"Hurry along then. I fear that what you have accomplished tonight will make any amount of housepoints pale in comparison, but that should not matter. I have a good feeling about Gryffindor this year. Since there is no danger, you are free to go up by yourselves. Well done."

"You knew, Professor, didn't you," said Harry when he was the last one through the door. "That we were looking for Pettigrew?"

The old man gave a simple shrug and said goodbye as he announced that he had to visit somebody close down at Hog's Head Inn.

"We've been awake for nearly twenty-four hours," grumbled Theodore on the middle step. They started to walk up the stairs when they were joined by Harry. "I almost got a hole in my chest, and I go off running into the Forbidden Forest."

" _I hope there's a lesson in this,"_ hissed Viripin on top of his head. _"Listen to Hermione."_

"What did she say," Hermione asked curiously.

"Nothing," said the Parselmouths quickly.

"Mr Riddle." The quartet halted at the last step by the sound of the familiar voice down in the Entrance Hall. The old wizard had his lip curled by just a little when he saw Theodore frowning at the intrusion. "I wanted to congratulate you, Mr Riddle. No doubt that your efforts in subduing a criminal and clearing an innocent man's name was a result of your determination and leadership."

Theodore crossed his arms and said stiffly, "I wasn't a leader in this, nobody was. _We_ freed Sirius, not me. It's an equal win between the four of us."

The wizard smiled even more. "Ah, so humble. Aren't you, Theodore? I can see that you possess a lot of humility, but that secretly hides all the pride inside of you, and that is good! You should be proud! You are so much like your father, looks and all."

Theodore heard Harry breathing heavily beside him as he dropped down a step with his fists clenched tightly. However, his words did not invoke the same type of reaction in Theodore. He smiled back at the old wizard in a way unlike him and kept his voice levelled. "I wouldn't think otherwise, since you know all about my father, don't you?"

"I know enough. I remember when I first met him, not on the train, but right here in this Hall. Such a long time ago. Well, it is morning time, and you have been out of bed for so long. I must be getting home soon. A busy day is sure to come. I will see you later, Theodore Riddle."

"Maybe you will, Theodore Lestrange."

Lestrange narrowed his eyes a little in acknowledgement of his name and nodded at the boy before he vanished behind the castle's front doors.

"How does he know your father," asked Hermione when they walked back up the stairs.

Theodore yawned loudly and patted his chest a little. The stinging had subsided by just a little bit. "Man, I'm _really_ tired! Madam Pomfrey is going to kill me when she sees me walking through that door!"

"Stop avoiding the question, Theo, and answer it. How does he know your dad?"

"He said it, didn't he? They were old school friends. It's no surprise that he knew who I was when he saw my face. I just can't believe I didn't realise it sooner."

Lestrange was soon dropped when they reached the hospital wing to drop Theodore off. When they left, Theodore felt something vibrating in his pockets; he took his father's wand and couldn't believe that he was attracted to some of its power. So many lives from just this piece of wood and feather. It made him wonder what kind of monster was living inside him when he was his age. Buried down deep within, that was true, but was it always there…?

* * *

Theodore looked over at the clock in the corner to see the time read three forty-seven in the afternoon. It was definitely not enough sleep for somebody that has been deprived of it for nearly a day, but he felt full with energy. The entire wing was completely empty, and he was its sole inhabitant. It was for the better he guessed. The news about Sirius being vindicated for being under the control of the Death Eaters could've been spreading like a wildfire without any of his knowledge. These would be the better rumours about him during the past three years, but it meant that his name would be tossed around half as much as Harry's, and if the _Daily Prophet_ got their hands on the story, well…

He left the bed gingerly and looked over his cleaned bandages to check any damage. Madam Pomfrey said that there wasn't much that she could do to help, and that he was free to leave in the morning. So he got clean and wore the casual clothing that was laid out for him on his bedside table before he pushed his way out of the wing.

"Oh, Theo! You're finally awake!" Hermione greeted happily as she leaned off the wall opposite the wing. She looked side to side, as if somebody was listening in before she closed the gap between them. "Hi."

"Hi," choked the Parselmouth a little before he swallowed harshly. This was… new. Theodore's ears and cheeks were burning a little, and his fingers had minds of their own when they tapped against his thighs. "Are you — _ahem_ — are you OK?"

She nodded her head and smiled a little more, making his heart jump in his chest. This was all so, so new. His heart skipped beats, and his heart jumped, but it never did both for one person at the same time. "How come you're keeping your bandages? Aren't you supposed to be better now?"

"Oh, about that, Madam Pomfrey said that it was much harder to heal than a normal knife slash to the face. Although she said that I would be at full health in a few days, there's going to be permanent scarring over here," he said as he pointed at his chest. "Everywhere else is fine. Just got to keep these for a little longer."

"Well, I hope you get better. She wouldn't let us in to visit you, so I thought that it would be really serious. By the way, Harry and Ron are waiting down in the Entrance Hall for us. Everybody's been talking to and about them, especially you."

Theodore groaned as they turned right towards the marble staircase. "That's the last thing I need, having everyone all up in my face and asking me questions."

"I thought you liked the attention," said Hermione with a slight cheeky grin. For the first time, any retort from Theodore was not heard from him; he only smiled back at her.

"Nice to see you on your feet, Riddle!" called Ron from down the stairs. "You got more sleep than me for sure! Come look at what Harry's got!"

"What is it?"

Harry's plastered grin earlier in the day did not falter as he held up a letter with his name on it. "It's from Sirius. He wrote back to me in less than a day. I was waiting for you to wake up so that we could all read it together."

"Come on, open it then!" Theodore said eagerly. It was almost funny to think that he and Sirius almost killed each other, and now they were on friendly terms.

Harry ripped the envelope open and read the handwriting as it said:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _The Healers at St Mungo's are going wild! Some of the injured Aurors in there tried attacking me when they saw my face. A warm welcome I suppose. I guess I must get used to this now. The trial hasn't been set for a due date, but it's been confirmed for the end of summer. And I don't mean to blow my own horn here, but I think I got it in the bag! All I can say is that I'm glad that crazy fool Crouch has been removed from the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I want to see his face when he sees me walking straight into the Ministry. That would be priceless._

 _Remus is doing all right here, but I'm scared that they will find out about his 'you know what', granted that it only just passed. It's like the old days when we'd find ourselves in the hospital wing after stupid accidents. He's looking rather peachy._

 _But the thing that I wanted to say was about me taking care of you. I know that you want to stay with me, Harry, and I want that too. I was supposed to be your guardian, should anything have happened to your parents, not those Muggles. I want to be there so bad, but I can't. It's too dangerous for me to be around you if all these words in my head are not found. I don't want to end up hurting you. It may take months, maybe a year at least before I'll be clean. But look on the bright side: I'll be a free man by then. Don't be sad, Harry. It'll soon come, I promise._

 _From Sirius._

"Hey," consoled Ron when he saw Harry's face fall a little. "It's much better than him being on the run. You can even visit him during the summer. Everybody knows where _St Mungo's_ is."

Harry perked up and nodded his head. All in all, he had a godfather who was going to take care of him soon. He wouldn't have to live with the Dursleys ever again. Just him and Sirius.

The four left the castle to roam along the fields of school to take a fresh breath of air. People were pointing and staring at them, whispering among each other when they walked past. The amount of students outside was surely larger than those inside, for everyone was enjoying the summer heat and they should. The Dementors were gone, Sirius was no longer a threat and everything seemed perfect, if they didn't forget the date.

Everyone looked over to the Entrance Gates that swung open to let in five wizards, one witch and a Hippogriff on the side. Lucius Malfoy was trotting over to the home of Hagrid's while Hagrid himself stomped behind them without any emotion in his face. Fudge, Lestrange and Mulciber were huddled up together looking particularly exhausted from visiting the school so often. Plus, it was just around eight hours since they last left. And the witch was someone that Theodore recognised in an instant, and unfortunately, it was the same towards him.

"Look at him! He's so handsome! When they told me he was handsome, they never said he was this handsome!" The witch grabbed Theodore's right hand with both of hers and shook him wildly. She didn't even notice his bandages. "You must be Theodore Riddle! My name is Rita Skeeter, and you must've heard of me, right?"

"Yeah," returned Theodore as he shook his bruised arm irritably. "I've heard of you."

"Well, let's cut down to the chase! I want an exclusive interview with _you_ , and Mr Potter, for my article on the _Daily Prophet_! Imagine it now, fifteen year old boy successfully solves the murder mystery behind the Potters! That'll make the headlines! Oh, sorry, darling," she added when she saw Harry scowling at her.

"It wasn't a murder mystery, everybody knew what happened. And it wasn't just me, gosh! Who's telling people this information: it was _us four_. Not just me, not just Harry, _us_!"

Rita grinned and showed her golden tooth to the annoyed teen. "He's humble as well! Oh, everybody's going to eat you up! Nobody's seen a face like this since Gilderoy Lockhart."

Theodore simply walked away from the witch and regrouped with the others without looking back. Hagrid was standing by his Hut with Buckbeak held by a thick piece of rope around his beak. When he saw them walking over to him, his eyes flashed with brief happiness, but Theodore couldn't notice it over hearing Draco's sniggers from behind him. He, Crabbe and Goyle pointed and laughed when Mulciber posed with the axe, and almost lost it when Hagrid looked like he was about to cry again.

"Dickheads," seethed Ron under his breath. "I ought to see how he'd act if Daddy Malfoy got the sack from being a school governor."

"Same," said Harry in a similar tone. "Somebody's got to have some dirt on him to keep him in check. I — where you going?"

"Somewhere, quickly!" Theodore answered back. He was walking straight towards the elder Malfoy who was speaking with Mulciber until he was noticed. Oh, he had some dirt all right.

"We'll continue this conversation later on, Mulciber. Let me have a chat with young Mr Riddle here." The executioner left the two on their own as Malfoy carried on speaking. "What is it that you want, Mr Riddle?"

"Nothing that big, only for you to do as I please," Theodore answered casually.

Malfoy snorted and said, "Please do not disrupt my work with your childish games, Mr Riddle. There are more important things at hand than for me to worry about your empty threats. If you will excuse me —"

"But they aren't empty threats; I can guarantee you that they definitely aren't. But you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Hold me back a second further, and it will not end well for you," Malfoy hissed. "What do you want?!"

"Haven't I told you already? I want you to do whatever I want. That, or I'll tell them."

"Tell who what?"

"I'll tell the Ministry that it was you who gave Ginny Weasley the diary last year."

That one choked him. Malfoy coughed in his gloved hand and had flickers of fear in his eyes, darting over to the Minister before back to Theodore. "What — what are you talking about?"

"You know, last summer, when you generously accepted to help a poor, orphaned _half-blooded_ boy for no particular reason. When you only volunteered so that you could give me my father's diary. When _that_ plan failed, so you had to throw it away to Ginny instead. Isn't that what you wanted, Mr Malfoy? For me to use my father's diary so that I could attack innocent children? If so, then you got your wish. Not only were you responsible of those kids nearly dying, you gave a child a Dark artefact. Surely, that's a lot of time in Azkaban, no? Let's count it up, shall we? Possessing a Dark object, Voldemort's in fact, intention to give that object and —"

"What do you want from me," Malfoy interjected grimly. "Already tired of your childhood that you want to blackmail wizarding families that have much more worth than your Muggle name? What do you want, Riddle? Money, a house, my — my life?!"

"Money doesn't mean that much to me, and I already got a home in my name from my mother. Valerie Potter. You know her, right? No, I just want one thing from you: accept the appeal, revoke Hagrid's dismissal and let both of them back in school. That's all I'm asking, Mr Malfoy. All I'm asking."

Malfoy was breathing out of his mouth noisily. Draco was looking over to his father and schoolmate with curious eyes. "You know," he said in a shaky voice, "I really _hated_ your mother."

"That makes one of us. Come on. The twenty-third is not yet over, Mr Malfoy. You still have time. But I don't."

The blonde wizard walked over to Hagrid's Hut without any of his usual grace and called Fudge and Lestrange over to speak with them. For a fleeting moment, Theodore felt the fear that Malfoy would just tell them that he was being blackmailed by a boy and would somehow turn the tables on him. Aside from the evil glances that came his way, Theodore was neutrally staring at the three wizards before they broke and walked straight up to Hagrid.

The half-giant knelt down when called by Lestrange and ten seconds later released a roar of absolute victory. Everyone in his vicinity was terrified for they never seen Hagrid so happy. He jumped for joy as he sent tremors through the ground, then cried on his knees when the other three patted him on the elbow.

Theodore was doing his own leap of joy inside him as well. Capturing Pettigrew, clearing Sirius's name, getting Hagrid's job back at the same time saving Buckbeak's head? It was like he bathed in Liquid Luck, and it was all absorbed through his pores. Draco's face started to go red with anger when he saw his father and the other Ministry officials leaving for the gate without seeing an execution. If he could make Lucius do this, then what else could he profit from him?

He put that out of his mind quickly enough and jogged over to the others to join them when Rita blocked his way. "Duty calls, Theodore. Unfortunately, I won't be able to write about another Hippogriff Execution, but I have all the material I need for _Lucius Malfoy's Sudden Change: A Good Man or a Man Under Blackmail?_ So many things to write, so little time. But _you_ ," she cooed whilst pinching his cheeks, "are on the top of my priority this summer! If you're reconsidering about that interview, then here is my card. Don't lose it! Goodbye, Mr Riddle! I'm going to make you famous, and you'll love it!"

…

He absentmindedly pocketed the pink card and ran over to Hagrid, who had his arms out wide to scoop them all in a hug. "It was yeh, wasn' it? Yeh jus' talked ter Malfoy righ' before he revoked everythin'! Tell me it wasn' yeh!" Theodore gave a sheepish grin and shrugged just a little. "Miracle kid! Yeh a miracle, every single one o' yeh! Amazin'! Jus' amazin'!"

The four spent the rest of the day in Hagrid's Hut discussing what had happened on both sides when they were separated from each other, from Hogsmeade to Sirius to Dementors and Pettigrew. This may have been one of the longest days of their lives, but without a doubt was it one of their bests, and they knew that entirely.

* * *

Well, it was almost over. So much had happened over the year that it came as a surprise whenever it was brought up. The Dementors in the train, the Quidditch matches, Hogsmeade and so much more. The stakes were being raised each year, and they couldn't see the fourth being anymore extraordinary than this one. They just couldn't.

As the four saw it coming, the _Prophet_ soon published their first article on Sirius being on trial again for his innocence while constantly reminding everyone that Pettigrew came back from the dead. Rita's version of the story was highly exaggerated, but none of her facts seemed falsified compared to the actual events. Except for the little appearances of his name being shown on nearly every single page. _…was cleared by Theodore Riddle and his companions_ , or _Harry Potter and Theodore Riddle have caught the culprit_ , or even worse, _The Champion of Hogwarts goes by the name of Theodore Riddle…_ He'd hate to know what would've happened if his picture was taken. There was already enough attention towards him and Harry in school; they didn't need anymore from outside.

"Not even a single mention of me," muttered Ron when he set down the newspaper on the table. "You'd think I'd get some credit for running him over."

"Tell you what, Ron. If I get an interview someday about this, I'll be sure to mention you in the purest detail. I'll even throw in that you flew the car into the school for safekeeping."

Finally, the twenty-sixth came for the end of the third school year as exam results were being handed out in the morning. Neither Hermione or Theodore had gotten higher in either of their exams, both achieving mirroring results in every subject with only minor differences in percentages. Elvira had them tied in Charms as the three highest in the year, and both of them were unfortunately beaten by Harry in Defence when he earned a perfect grade. But they were proud with their results and so was Harry and Ron.

"I need to work on facing my Boggart over the summer," Hermione stressed when she waved her results sheet around. "If they come up during my O. and I can't face them, what'll happen then?"

Theodore was looking down on his Potions grade that was marked one hundred percent, unable to clear his mind from thinking about his godfather. He hadn't spoken or seen him since they brought Pettigrew in. Was he avoiding him? Theodore had no clue as to why he never left to at least talk to him. He was right there all this time, and they could've talked about anything. But could they? The year's highs certainly came with its lows, and Snape was one of them.

When Gryffindor proved to be victorious for the third time in a row, Theodore was eating the last meal of the year like it was his last. Oliver was clanking goblets with everyone, and the twins gave a jokingly heartfelt toast for him as it was his final year at Hogwarts.

"Here here, here here!" Everyone took a swig of Pumpkin Juice and clapped for him as he bowed to everyone. The feast continued as Theodore stuffed his face with the last bits of food that he could fit inside. Madam still hadn't replied to his letter, and Sawer only came back the day before with no note from Louise either. He was beginning to wonder if they had reached them at all and that he wasted money on an owl.

The feast was soon over as the students returned to their common rooms to spend their final minutes in the castle. Theodore told the others that he would up with them soon and that he had to do one final thing before he'd leave. He trailed behind the Slytherins going down to the dungeons and heard Draco cursing from in front before Flint told him to be quiet. Nobody had noticed the Parselmouth following them, and they didn't notice when he split away to wait outside Snape's office door.

…

He knocked on the door three times and waited for Snape to allow him inside.

"Come in."

Theodore twisted the handle and entered the office to be met with Snape rearranging jars on the shelves behind his table. They both stared at each other for a while, then it was broken soon enough by the boy. "So, the raven that came inside your classroom… That was you?"

Snape murmured a little to confirm his question, then flicked his wand to shift his belongings into a relatively small trunk in the corner. He went back to rearranging and labelling the jars as Theodore stood there sheepishly, waiting for conversation. What was he supposed to say? The words made no sense in his head; only one question seemed to form itself in all of its madness.

…

"Do you — do you want to talk?"

Snape froze for a moment, then murmured again. Theodore took that as a yes and sat down promptly without another word. He didn't know why he was so quick to sit. Snape set the jars down and turned to face him from the shelves. Still stoic as ever. But he had to get it out of him.

...

"Why didn't you come for me when I was at Stuggle's? You knew, but… you didn't come."

…

"I knew every single type of danger that would come your way… should you have stayed with me. If I took you in and raised like I should have, then I would not be protecting you at all. Followers of the Dark Lord could have taken you from me and would raise you to become just like your father. Your mother did not want any of that. I could not pass you off as my own; the public would find out soon enough. If they knew who your parents were, nothing on Earth would stop them from killing you. I could not take… I could not do that to Valerie…"

"But… but she said it had to be you…"

"Valerie could have wanted me to take you in, but she knew in her heart that I could not… Your mother… I missed her so much, and I was hurt… but I was not going to let her son die. That was the least that I could do…"

…

"And — and you still think about her?" Theodore managed to give out.

Snape lifted his eyes to the boy, face and eyes shaped by his hurt as he looked at the remaining vestige of Valerie Potter. "Every day…"

Theodore didn't feel angry at all. Here he was thinking that it'd all fall to irreparable pieces when it was the opposite of that. He didn't know much, probably not even enough, but it was enough for him. If only he knew that he cared before, if he knew that someone out there truly cared for him when he didn't think so, then he wouldn't have said any of those things.

The sounds of footsteps and chatter along the hallway behind the office door broke Theodore's immersion as he was reminded that it was time to head for the Express. "I — I have to go now."

Snape merely nodded his head and summoned the papers on his desk to his trunk, flicked his wand one last time for the intricate locks to fit themselves into each other. The door opened slightly, but he didn't hear it close. Theodore was standing halfway through the doorway with his hand inside his hoodie pocket.

"If — If you really think about her every day, then this could help you remember her." Theodore brought out a small photograph from his pocket and slid it across the table. Valerie, twenty years old, was smiling brightly behind her home in a garden. Turning back around to the door again, he was almost left…

"Thank you."

Theodore didn't turn back, yet he couldn't help stopping that twinge of happiness creeping on his face. He closed the door softly behind him and left the dungeons for Gryffindor Tower to quickly get his animal companions when he saw Harry and Ginny walking down the steps together. Viripin was wrapped around Ginny's shoulders, and Sawer was hooting in his cage when he saw his owner approaching.

" _Had a good year?"_ hissed the Maibian Adder when she was passed onto his shoulders.

"The best so far, that's for sure. And I'm certain that the next will be even better."

" _Haha, don't push it."_

"So you got your mum's house, she left you her inheritance, but you have no idea where any of that is, and… and…"

"Yes, Ron. Snape is my godfather. I've only said it three times."

Ron gazed at the will again, twisting his face for the fourth time in confusion for it still didn't make any sense to him. The castle and grounds were vanishing from sight as the Hogwarts Express rumbled along the railway back to King's Cross, and the quartet were inside their own compartment with the air of Theodore's revelation being unable to escape.

"Snape is your — how come you never showed this to us before?"

Theodore took the will back and stuffed it in his pocket. "Tension was running high between us, don't you remember? Besides, it's not like it matters that much, right? Snape's still my teacher."

"And your godfather," added Ron as he bit into a Cauldron Cake. "Next year is just going to be weird. Imagine one of your relatives teaching you a subject. I wouldn't mind Charlie taking over Magical Creatures for a bit. Hagrid's great, but… you know."

"After Buckbeak's dead trial, I'm sure that he'll be more careful. I hope he will anyway. Did you ask him about these spiders, Ron?" Theodore asked, chewing on a Liquorice Wand.

"No fucking way I did! Next, he'll be introducing all of us to them like mutual friends!" He looked over to Hermione, who was sitting next to him while she oddly stared into the space in front of her. "You're unusually silent. Missing school already"

"Hmm? No, I was just thinking about the summer. We're all going to your house still, right?"

"Theodore's undecided, and Harry is — Harry? Still thinking about Sirius?"

Harry shook his head and blinked. "Just thinking about the holidays as well."

"I might see if Madam Geoffrey would drive me up to Elmbridge before I come over," said Theodore. "That way, I'll see if you'll like the house."

"Why?"

"Well, we're going to share it, obviously."

"But it's yours, not mine! Your mum gave it to you, and you can't share it if my name's not on the will!"

" _Potter_ Residence, Harry. Not Riddle, _Potter_."

"Your last name may be Riddle, but you're as much of a Potter as I am."

Theodore looked over to the fields outside as he said, "Theodore Potter… Can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'll stick to my own name."

"Fine by me, Riddle. Fine by me."

They spent the rest of the journey back playing about while Theodore attempted the Patronus Charm before they'd reach King's Cross. Despite utterly failing (Harry said that he was making superb progress), he knew he was capable. He wondered what animal was hiding in his soul, waiting to reveal itself when it was ready. He was hoping for a snake like Viripin.

When the Express came to a halt and the children spilled onto the platform, Theodore covered his arm bandages as much as he could while shifting the one on his head to make it look like a tame injury. Madam wasn't going to be happy at all. They passed through the magical barrier soon enough, and saw all their carers waiting for them, from Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mr and Mrs Granger, the Dursleys, but no Madam or Gretchen. More time to spend the last few minutes with friends he supposed. He followed Ron, Ginny, Fred, George and Percy over to their parents as they hugged every single one of them, Theodore, Harry and Hermione included.

"I heard about what you did, Theodore," beamed Mr Weasley while shaking Theodore's hand firmly. "Certainly had the Ministry's corners being filled with your name, that's for sure!"

Because it was him, Theodore repressed his annoyance to the general belief that it was down to him and him only to capturing Pettigrew, and he just smiled at the elder Weasley while replying with, "Actually, Mr Weasley, Pettigrew wouldn't have been captured if one of us weren't there. In fact, it was Ron who saved the day in the end. If he didn't take him down with the Ford Anglia, then who knows what could've happened!"

Ron grinned at his mother nervously like he was expecting an embarrassing lecture from her, but received one of her powerful hugs as she ruffled his hair a little. "I'm so proud of you! I shouldn't be encouraging you to taking down Dark wizards, but I guess it's just the Prewett in you. You gave the car in to the authorities, right?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I did!" Ron glanced over to his dad, then back to his mother.

Theodore had slunk away a little from the family to see Harry off with the Dursleys. The sight of him nearly startled Petunia completely. For the slimmest fraction of a second, Theodore thought of introducing himself properly over to them as the Dark Lord's son in the most casual way possible, but was held off the notion when somebody poked him a little in his back.

"Mum and Dad are in a bit of a hurry, so I have to go now," said Hermione quietly in front of him. "I also wanted to thank you for what you tried to do in the Forest. I didn't see it coming so quickly so… thanks."

"Hmm? What — what thing did I do?" Theodore's memory of the Forest was blurred when he fell asleep right after. "You mean leaving the castle?"

"No, I mean — don't worry about it. I'll see you soon, OK?" Hermione lifted herself on her tiptoes and planted her lips on his cheek again before she waved at everyone whilst skipping to her parents, who were already outside the building.

Theodore touched where she kissed him and stood in the middle of the Muggle platform without realising where he was. It took the repeated calling of his name to snap him out of his daze when Madam Geoffrey came into full vision.

"Theodore, I've been calling your name for how long? How was your — Dear God, what happened to you?!" She checked all over his skull and asked if he had any other injuries to which he said only on his arm. He'd hide his chest from her for as long he stayed at Stuggle's, and that was the truth. "Theodore, what — _why_?! Why do you look so hurt?!"

"We did horse-riding. Turns out that it's not really my thing. But I'm all right; the matron is a real professional. Said that it'd heal up nicely in a few days."

"You sure I don't need to take you to the hospital?"

Theodore nodded. "Madam, did you get my letter about me wanting to stay over my friend's house for the holidays?"

"I did, but that bloody owl was screeching and wouldn't let me send one back to you. Professor Dumbledore never told me that you trained owls to send letters. Now, where are these friends of yours? Are they here?"

He turned and pointed at the Weasleys, and they all waved back at him. "See? They're friendly people. Devon is not that far from here, is it?"

The Madam smiled back at the amiable family of seven and turned back to the Parselmouth. "I've gone an entire year without seeing you though. You even got a little beard growing on your chin. But if they are good people, then I see no good reason for you to not go, but I have news that I've been wanting to tell you for the past month."

"What is it?" Theodore felt so happy that he didn't think whatever the Madam kept a secret could overwhelm his joy.

"Well, the Reaguls are visiting London for just a week. They called me because they wanted to know if you wanted to see Louise again. Isn't that great?"

…

' _Louise…?'_

 **And that is the end of that super-chapter. Also: CANON DIVERGENCE! PoA is finally over and I can truly write whatever the fuck I want. Well, not WHATEVER I want but with a little more creative control. Pettigrew's arrested, Sirius could be free, Snape is just warming up to Theo by just a bit, Louise is back in London and Theodore and Hermione are… I'm going to take a little break because school is starting soon so again, just a little hiatus. Take some time to think about what's going to happen in the summer, the fourth year and beyond because a lot is going to change here. I snap my fingers while pointing and winking at you for I will now say, later.**


	38. Chapter 38: A Muggle and a Wizard

_He stumbled a little on the cold concrete pavement upon appearing from thin air, breathing heavily as he took in his obscure surroundings which were poorly lit from the dimming lampposts along the street. The young man was clad in robes that almost melded him in the darkness around him, save for his sallowish-red skin that stood out. This area was unfamiliar to him; he had never been anywhere prominent in London except for his childhood visits to Diagon Alley. Nothing could help him in this situation, except the fresh piece of paper that he was clutching in his right hand._

 _Severus took a second and final glance at Valerie's Last Will and Testament while he felt the cold night's gusts cutting against his face, making him unable to blink rhythmically. His eyes had been stripped of all his tears that they felt shrivelled up in his sockets. Dry eyes, a constricting throat and a dying heart: Severus didn't want to carry on. But he had to, he must._

 _He hated himself for it that he hadn't spoken to her since he told her. Valerie's whereabouts became vague over the last two weeks from when he told her to flee with her child, away from the Dark Lord, but he lost contact completely three days prior. When he came to visit their place of hiding near his own home in Cokeworth, the empty cottage was more than enough to show that she had been compromised. But by who? By what? The Fidelius Charm was almost perfect, even if it didn't fall into his area of expertise._

' _So why did you run, Valerie? Why did you leave? Tell me you're safe. Tell me that you're OK, because I can't lose another…'_

 _Severus finally decided to move along the street hurriedly, recycling the words written by Valerie that came from the Will with the goal of finding the place of name. She never told him about leaving the boy at an orphanage, yet she mentioned that it was he to become Theodore's guardian, should she — he shook his head and brushed his greasy hair away from his face. "She's not dead," he told himself over and over again. "She's OK. Theodore's OK. If she's dropped him off, then I'll take —"_

 _A decimated battlefield was what he halted at near the end of the third street from the four-way junction. Severus had never seen a sight more destructive and horrible to the eyes. The road looked like it had been partially ripped from the ground and exposed the pipes and wires that led underneath it. Jagged, uneven debris littered the street with some being firmly planted through the windows of the residents nearby, along with the occasional fires that burned the hedges in their front lawns at best. Cars were upturned, windows and doors were destroyed, and the fires didn't seem to yield to the cold wind. A duel, a furiously vicious duel, no doubt. Valerie couldn't have been a part of this. So, why did he feel as if he was lying to himself?_

 _Severus brought his wand out and swished it in the air to snuff out the flames but stuffed it back in his robes when dreary-looking Muggles, who became livid in an instant, started to flood out from their attacked homes. "What the hell has happened to my house?! Delilah, come look at what happened to our house!"_

" _My roses!" shrieked one woman from behind Severus. "They're burning into a crisp and — my car! Where's my car?!"_

" _My car's gone as well! It's those boys from around the corner, I'm telling you! Always nicking people's property when they snort all that stuff! I'll have the Mayor's head when I complain to him! Fucking Lambeth — You! What're you doing over there?! Was it you who did this?!"_

 _Severus garnered several accusations left and right that he had no time to be caught by everyone pointing fingers at him. Whatever would come out of this would be the Ministry's problem, not his. He had to find them, her, him, either of them to know if they were safe._

 _But while his legs carried him swiftly away from the screaming Muggles on the destroyed street, his heart was beginning to fill up with lead, dragging itself down in his body when the worst thoughts came to mind. If it had been Valerie who was duelling with whoever, what happened to the boy? Did she have Theodore under her arm while she fought her attackers off?_

 _He stopped short again when another haunting sign fell before his eyes. A bell had been deeply embedded in a rundown-looking bookstore with the rope attached to it on top being severed almost completely, and two cars from both ends of the street were upside-down and crumpled like they fell from a fatal height. Everything was just throwing him off, but the pool of blood that was being smothered along the road to form a trail was where his attention was fixated. Severus bent over to his knees and observed the blood before he followed the trail._

" _They're OK… they're OK…"_

 _Severus had his eyes pinned to the ground and ignored the stares from a group of teenaged boys smoking near an alleyway as he followed the blood. Who it belonged to, he almost didn't want to find out. This had to be someone magical; this could've been Valerie's assailant. The Dark Lord had sent dozens of his followers after her, but none were successful. Perhaps that is why she ran, because they found her somehow. Severus felt relief for a fleeting moment, for if it was the case, then she'd be long gone with Theodore hidden safely from his father._

 _The thickening and thinning trail winded through the streets of Lambeth, spreading across pavements and patches of grass. Severus wondered how much blood would be needed to be lost from this person until they'd drop dead. He could see no body in sight, not even a silhouette of a corpse that gave up and propped itself against a tree, car, or lamppost. But he did see, in the distance, flashes of blue light that coloured the houses on the sides and a broken choir of weary engines blaring together._

 _The blood carried on forwards and continued to the direction of the blue flashes where Severus could see a small building being surrounded by three police cars and an ambulance on the side. Surely, the person who was crawling all this way here must've bled out to death around here. The thought that the attacker must've died in an attempt on Valerie's life filled Severus with solace that felt real. He almost turned away to return to his home to report back to Dumbledore, but all feelings of consolation vanished when he saw the name of the building on a rusted sign hanging by an archway at its gates._

" _Stuggle's…" Severus muttered, feeling a little lightheaded and dead inside. The three officers that followed a detective in an orangey-red nightgown brought him out of his state of dazing when he realised that they were following the blood trail to its source. And he was standing right above it._

 _Not wanting to be seen by anyone else, Severus luckily managed to avoid being caught in their flashlights as he ducked over to the side into somebody's compact front-yard and watched them leave to the direction he came from. Once they were out of sight with their mumblings about their jobs losing their mediocrity being silenced, he then crouched down into a ball with his knees tucked next to his chest when he started to shrink rapidly. His hair and black robes meshed together to form greasy feathers, and his hooked nose became a beak of the same shape; a large raven stood in the same place and instantly lifted itself in the air above the orphanage._

 _Five more officers were surrounding the entrance of the building with tape almost cornering the entire area. A middle-aged woman with dark skin being stained by blood on her hands and shirt was talking with a policewoman while turning back to the open door to tell someone called Gretchen to stop a baby from waking the rest of the children up with its crying. The raven didn't catch a single word from how high he was in the air and was only observing the ways to get inside. A baby, could've been Theodore, could've been anyone else. But he had to be sure._

 _He suddenly dived down towards the ground and flew around the back to see any openings that he could worm himself through. A window covered with cobwebs that was right next to a grey shed with horrid foundation, had been tilted open just wide enough for him to enter the building without any suspicion coming his way. The raven flapped over to the window and used its beak to jemmy it even further so that there'd be less struggle for him._

 _Finally managing to get past, the raven stood still by the windowsill as it was trying to make out what was inside the room that was void of light, save for the door being ajar that allowed some light to seep through. The raven then hopped down from the windowsill to a small cabinet next to a yellowed radiator and then to the tiled floor. Severus quickly emerged from the ground and eased his control, or lack of, over his lungs to keep himself cool._

' _She's OK. They probably just called the police because a baby had shown up on their doorstep, along with somebody who had died,' he assured himself. He slipped the Will back inside its envelope and sealed it like it was brand new. Bringing out his wand a second time, he silently conjured a ball of white light that filled the entire room as he looked through the half-open door. Nobody, thankfully, was coming near the door at all._

 _Severus thought the door was a little stiff but didn't dwell on that at all. "Where's the body then? Upstairs, or with them?" he said a little too loudly. Lucky that there was nobody in his proximity. He finally moved away and turned around as he said, "Theodore has to be here then. She dropped him here and left afterwards. If I'm correct, then the person who crawled here knew that he was going to be here but died before getting to him. Yes, that must be it. Thank God that you're both —"_

 _There were two beds occupying the room, one empty with a blanket on top that was inside a basket, which resembled expensive wizarding robes that had been torn off neatly. The other bed confused Severus for just one second, but only for one second. He wanted to be confused for so much longer. On the bed was a mound covered by a thin blue sheet, laying hauntingly still as the ball of light started to flicker by dimming quite a little._

 _Severus stretched his arm out to the bed with his hand nearly falling into a violent spasm and used his fingers to lift some of the sheet closest to him but choked when he saw the pale arm fall out to hang stiffly on the side. A black, faded skull with a serpent winding through its sockets and mouth was embedded in the forearm, those fingers instantly recognisable to him as he fell to his knees weakly._

" _No…" he whimpered with tears of utter failure burning his cheeks when he touched the cold, dead hand. "Not you too… Not you too…"_

 _Severus's jaw was quivering when he pulled the sheet off to see her lifeless and unmoving. "Oh God… Valerie…! Valerie!" He buried his head in her shoulder, sobbing so bad that he wished that it was he who died. Why her? Why not him? It was his fault, he told him the prophecy. And because of that, he paid the ultimate cost._

" _I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," choked the broken man as he cried even further over his final friend's dead body. "If I'd known then… I wouldn't have… It's all my fault, and I'm sorry… Valerie, I'm sorry… Lily, I'm sorry…"_

* * *

A wonky bronze quill, an ink bottle that had almost reached its end, and three separate pieces of paper was neatly arranged on Theodore's new desk that sat exactly where the old one used to be. On the day that he returned, Madam Geoffrey finally noticed how the desk became rickety over the years and was not hesitant to throw it away for a new one. Theodore didn't mind the fact that he had something new in a while but felt a little uncomfortable with it being gone as he considered it memorabilia from the things he found in the orphanage. It still was a nice desk: mahogany with a very nice sheen to it. But that wasn't where he met his focus.

Theodore had been unable to pick up his quill for the past hour and a half, for the birds that flew across the cloudless summer sky, and the noises from the other children outside his door was snatching his interest at every given moment when he'd looked down on his desk. Viripin was laying in a patch of sunlight in her extended slumber while Sawer was unusually quiet in his cage. The owl, however, did not look sad in the slightest compared to the previous summer. All three of them were in complete silence, and they enjoyed it like that. After all, there was a lot to carry over from the third year, and that was a task that Theodore just couldn't execute so quickly.

' _I should send him a letter, right? He'd be expecting one. Or maybe not… It's much too early to be sending a letter to him. We only just started to talk, if you call that talking. No, Theo, you have to write something to him, anything at least. Harry's probably writing to Sirius every day now, so it doesn't mean that you can't do the same. Maybe I should call him Severus — no. Absolutely not. So wrong…'_

Theodore leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chest from where Sirius attacked him. As predicted by Madam Pomfrey, the wounds on his head and arm healed up pretty quickly by the second day he returned from King's Cross, but like she also predicted, his chest was a slightly different story. A 'hypertrophic scar' it was, according to the nurse of the orphanage. Not as severe as other people, but very noticeable against his pale skin. It was only her and Madam who would see the scars and nobody else. It was still quite haunting to look at if he stared at it for too long.

"Can't even write a stupid letter, and Louise hasn't called in for a week. I've only got four more days until I go to Ron's house, and she still hasn't come yet," he said to himself. Theodore had been thinking about Louise for quite a while ever since Madam told him the news at King's Cross. According to her, the Reaguls were staying in a pristine hotel suite down in Central London, which was not that far from Stuggle's. He didn't try to pester Madam into asking to call her but did consider waking up at night to use the telephone in her office. Of course, so much could've gone wrong with that, but could you blame him?

"Viripin? Are you awake?"

"… _No."_

"All right, I'll let you sleep even more. It's almost midday, could you wake up a little earlier next time?"

"… _Sure."_

Theodore shook his head and hid all of his writing equipment back into his cupboard. None of it was worth much to anyone anyway. His fourth trip to Diagon Alley was much anticipated, and he wondered if he'd stay long enough at the Weasleys to go with them. It was a trend for him to go there with different people every year after all.

The Parselmouth gave one final nudge to the unresponsive Maibian Adder before giving up when she wouldn't budge any further and left his room, for lunchtime was in just under two minutes. A girl, no older than five, zoomed right past him while she chased her two other friends down the stairs to the dining hall. She took one look at him from behind her shoulder before she resumed her chase. Not caring at all, Theodore waited for all his neighbours on the top floor to spill out of their rooms and trailed as the last one downstairs.

The dining hall was noticeably quieter than the previous year, several unused seats and benches being propped up against the walls as the other children lined up for their food. By the time Theodore reached the serving area, most of what he would consider decent was still leftover; he didn't think twice about choosing them quickly. Being on the same age as somebody going into Year Ten meant, unfortunately, that he would be one of the last ones to be served. But he wasn't irked by this. Just a few more days he'd say to himself repeatedly.

Theodore took his tray and sat on the benches for the older children without looking up at who he was sitting with. Freddie was sat on his right eating through his portion of dessert, and Richard was on his far left ignoring his arrival. As long as he kept it that way, then it was fine by him.

"Richard, I told you not to take my summer homework! Mrs Levon will know if you copied — Hey, Theo!" Elise sat between the two boys with her own tray and smiled to each one. "The lasagne looks a lot better, doesn't it? Madam hired a new cook yesterday."

"Yeah, I can see the difference," Theodore replied almost unconvincingly as he used his fork to tug a string of cheese from his plate. "It's not as thick as cement and doesn't have any bits of hair inside. How did we even survive with eating from the other cook?"

"Apparently, it was Gretchen who got him hired."

"Ah."

Elise started on her lunch but held back to ask Theodore another question. "Theo, how's it like in your school? You don't really talk about it."

"Nothing interesting about it. Just an average boarding school."

"It's just average, but you came back home with bandages all over?"

Theodore heard a snigger coming from Elise's left and leaned forward to get a better look at him. Richard was covering his mouth with a tattered sleeve to hide the fact that he found Theodore nearly dying hilarious. Well, he didn't know the whole story — nobody did — but it didn't make Theodore any less annoyed. "Got something to say, Glaise? Or did you just pig yourself out so much that you choked on your lasagne?"

"Nice one," grinned Freddie before he left the table.

Elise elbowed the wizard in his arm and gave him a look that told him to ignore Richard; Theodore complied. "Anyway, everyone thinks that you're an animal expert because you got an owl and a snake. Did a horse slam into you, or…?"

"Um… a dog. A _really_ big dog," Theodore simplified after finishing his plate. "Not really that great with animals to be honest. Don't be fooled by Viripin and Sawer: they're just —"

"What kind of stupid names are 'Viripin' and 'Sawer'?" Richard sneered from his side.

"— different from other animals," Theodore continued. He side-eyed Richard again and felt a spark of fun running up his spine. "Sawer is just really well trained, but Viripin? She's something else! Elise, did you know that I'm very much of a snake person? It's not that hard to understand them, you know. It just comes to me naturally, like it's second nature. And sometimes, if I really want to, I can make her slither into other people's rooms at nighttime for a surprise. I know that Richard loves surprises, don't you? Almost as much as you love snak—"

Richard struggled to scramble himself away from the benches as his leg became stuck underneath by a screw in the table.

Elise attempted to make him stay put by saying that it was just a joke, but he didn't hear a thing. She watched him running away whilst spilling his unfinished food, then shot an angry glare at the content wizard. "You're being just as immature, Theodore, you know that? Why would you say something like that? Now he's going to be spooked for the next week!"

Theodore rubbed the side of his mouth with his thumb and said, "It was a joke, OK? If he actually thinks that I can talk to snakes, then it'll be his problem for being cautious of me. He laughed about me getting attacked by a dog!"

"All right, but you don't have to — he…" Elise struggled to get out. "OK, I understand, but _you_ have to understand him as well. Not only is he deathly afraid of snakes, but you brought one home from your first year back. And you were gone for a year. There's no telling what you did, or what you'll do during the summer."

"Seems to me like you think I'm plotting to overthrow the orphanage," said Theodore in a nonchalant tone. "As I said, an average school, and Glaise won't have to worry about running into me because I won't be here."

Elise looked immediately interested but became a little distant at the same time. "Really? You're not staying? Where're you going?"

"A friend's house from school." Theodore took his tray and stood up without finishing the mushy pea soup on the side. "Madam said that I could go stay with them for the entire summer up until we go back to school again."

"Oh. Well, I hope you have fun, I guess."

"Thanks. I hope that you'll have fun with Glaise as well."

"Leave me alone, Theo," Elise returned as she rolled her eyes at the wizard. Theodore saw the faintest smile and turned to the bins to empty his plate, then returned to Elise to say goodbye briefly before leaving for his room.

That was mostly his routine, wake up and talk with Viripin, go downstairs to eat and come back up to do the same thing every day: he couldn't wish for the week to go any slower. Every time he'd think about the Weasleys would only drag the week even more. A perfect holiday was waiting for him with them, Harry, Hermione — _Hermione_ …

Louise was on his mind from times to times, but Theodore couldn't stop thinking about Hermione, even if he tried. He'd still feel his cheek, remembering when she kissed him twice and made him forget where he was. He wouldn't feel overly joyous or giddy when he thought about her: he just felt… _in place_. Like he finally got over every bit of self-denial, and he did. Five weeks with her outside school. None of his father trying to come back in more ways than one, or escaped prisoners of Azkaban…

Theodore pushed his bedroom door open with an air of cheerfulness lingering around him and flopped onto his bed quite clumsily. All that was needed for him to be in a good mood was to think about Hermione. And to think that he was so against the idea of liking her. He still didn't fully understand it, but did it matter? The Parselmouth turned on his back and stared up at the ceiling, sighing so loudly that he could be heard from the other occupant in the room.

" _You look happy for somebody that's been complaining that they're bored to death,"_ said Viripin from the bottom corner of the bed. She slid herself over his sheets and rested her head on his stomach, making sure not to touch his sensitive scars.

"I'm still bored. Just thinking about when I'll leave for Ron's soon."

" _Well, I don't blame you. Every summer since I've been here has always been anything other than boring. Can't say that I enjoy being abandoned or attacked by crazy people."_

"Sirius is not crazy, Viripin," said Theodore quickly as he sat up to stroke her properly. "He's just damaged. Yeah, he did attack us, but it wasn't his fault. Not saying that I'm completely over it though. And I'm sorry for leaving you, OK? You're always making me feel bad when you mention that…"

" _I'm sorry. You were my only friend at the time, and I thought that you wouldn't want me at all,"_ she hissed sadly.

Theodore held her closer and kissed her on her about before saying, "Twelve-year-old me was an idiot. You won't have to worry about that anymore. From now on, Theodore Riddle is going to be level-headed and even more mature, you'll see."

Viripin huffed sarcastically and hissed, _"Yeah, I'd like to see that. But I understand how you feel. I can't wait to see Ginny again!"_

"You really seem to like Ginny, don't you?" Theodore said curiously. "Didn't think that the two of you were that close."

" _Ginny's… different from other people. She's sort of like you, in fact. There's more to her than you realise."_

Theodore knew that to be true, and he promised himself that he'd look into that when he'd arrive at the Weasleys. Talking with Ginny about something that neither of them really wanted to look back on was going to be difficult on both sides, but he would cross that bridge when he would meet it.

" _But I'm not the only one waiting to see someone. You reek of happiness."_

"Huh? What do you mean?"

" _Hermione, Theodore. I'm talking about Hermione."_

"Oh! U-umm…" he stammered whilst scratching his elbow. "I mean, of course I can't wait to see her, Ron and Harry. We're going to spend the summer with each other, so I'd obviously be happy about that."

" _And you're even happier that she'll be there as well, right?"_ Viripin asked teasingly.

…

" _Took you long enough. For a while, I thought that you never wanted a girlfriend."_

"Hermione's not my —! She isn't —! At least, not… not…" Theodore stammered again.

Viripin moved her head back to level herself with his eyes and finished his sentence by saying, _"Yet?"_

"You know what, I don't want to talk about this." Theodore scrambled off his bed and pulled out his trunk from his cupboard to take _Moste Potente Potions_ from the inside as he continued, "Nothing is going to happen because it'll be the four of us, plus everyone else. We won't be alone —"

" _And what if you are alone?"_ the Maibian Adder asked with self-joy that she kept him talking on when he didn't want to. _"What then?"_

"Then… then…" Theodore had been alone with Hermione multiple times, but it would be entirely different now that he saw her as more than just a friend. He was never good with girls, so it was safe to say that he had no clue. But it was summer: almost anything can happen. "I'm going to read for a bit. Don't bother me," he muttered with the book wide open on his desk.

" _Wouldn't even think about it."_

Theodore blindingly flicked over through the pages and couldn't retract from the idea of what the summer could hold for him. Sirius's trial was very much around the corner, and they'd soon announce the witnesses being the quartet primarily. It was only a matter of time until the date would be known, for Theodore knew that the public would protest for the injustice that was given to Sirius and the retribution of Pettigrew if they had common sense.

' _They'd know better than to give that scumbag anything less than twelve life sentences, Fudge, Lestrange and whoever the hell Amelia and Dolores are… This is taking forever! When will the Weasleys come? When is Louise going to come? Doesn't she want to see me again…?'_

He looked out of the window, hoping that it wasn't the case. Louise wouldn't just come down to London without seeing him at least once. Three years apart wasn't enough to break seven years of pure friendship. Things did change, Theodore did change, but as far as she knew, he was the same person that she saw leaving through the door nearly three years ago. All he needed was patience. She'll come, he knew she will.

* * *

Something was scratching against the window, but no response was made from inside the small bedroom.

…

There it was again, only a little louder. Still no reaction…

…

The insistent flapping of wings combined with heavy butting against the window finally got to Theodore. He had spent the rest of his afternoon reading or playing with Viripin and went to take a nap in the early evening when his boredom had reached its peak. There he was laying comfortably on his bed, body sprawled out in almost every direction possible with Viripin lazily on top of him, absorbing the heat from him, when his peace had to be disturbed. He thought to himself that Harry must've sent a letter to him about Sirius, or Ron assuring him that they were coming soon to get him, or Hermione just wanting to know —

Well, that got him half-awake. Theodore moved Viripin to the side and stood up from his bed to stretch as much as he could. Rubbing his eyes to get a clearer look at the window, Theodore saw a snowy owl behind the pane and hobbled over to let Hedwig in, only realising that it wasn't her. This owl was a male, judging from the fact that it had a lot fewer dark spots on its feathers than Hedwig did, and it had a satchel on its side with something poking out.

"Oh, you must be the _Prophet_ owl for my subscription. I paid for this like three days ago, and that was one of my last Knuts…" He turned back to under his bed and brought out one of his seven remaining Knuts from last year to give to the owl. He dropped it into a pocket on the pouch and poured out a small pile of seeds on the sill as he took his copy of the _Prophet_ in hand. "Lucky that I got this in time. I would've thought that the morning edition would be — here we go!"

 _THE CASE OF THE CENTURY IS STILL AT WORKS!_

 _The news of Sirius Black's infamous breakout from Azkaban last year had, and still is, been quite a controversial matter within our community. From the Minister for Magic, to the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement and to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, we've been given a chance to really look at ourselves as a whole and ask: are we all incompetent?_

 _A bit too vague of a question to start off with? I understand. Then let's talk about it all. Let's talk about the defences in Azkaban and how our 'trusted' guards failed to keep one man inside, no matter how innocent he may seem to be, and how they failed to capture him at every attempt (no doubt the courtesy of the Minister). Surely, we must see how these creatures of darkness are not suited for our protection from those who don't obey the law. Death Eaters may be an exception, but those regular folk that may have accidentally revealed themselves to Muggles? Retribution is not the same as deterrence, my dear Minister. But that is not any of my business._

 _And we believe Sirius Black to being innocent, no? If so, then shouldn't we look to those who had condemned him to twelve years of hell without giving him a trial to begin with? Demoting one to somewhere else in the Departments of the Ministry is hardly anything that could change a man from doing the same thing again. Yes, we can count on our trusted Amelia Bones to take over the mess that Barty Crouch left behind after his scandalous attitude towards his son, but who's to say lightning won't strike twice?_

 _Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the defeater of the Darkest wizard before You-Know-Who and man who is probably going senile as we speak. Put the blame on the Ministry for allowing Dementors to roam outside school grounds with helpless little children, but do not deny the fact that Dumbledore was lenient about it. Multiple students attacked and injured in what could've been an onslaught nearly as dangerous as the previous year at Hogwarts (we still don't even know anything about it, other than the fact that there is an Heir of Slytherin at the school(?)), and dear old Dumbledore's done the bare minimum to keep it under control._

 _Did it have to come down to four children to put an end to all of this? Must've it been a child brought up from such humble backgrounds to clean up after the old man? Hand on my heart, I give the upmost respect to Albus Dumbledore for everything that he has done for this community, and for the wizarding world as a whole. But is this a sign for the new generation paving way to something even better than Dumbledore? It only took Theodore Riddle, fifteen, to open our eyes to the injustice that had been around us for twelve years by doing what Cornelius Fudge, what Barty Crouch, what Albus Dumbledore couldn't do —_

"And that's where I stop reading," mumbled Theodore, stuffing the newspaper behind his bed tiredly. "Just waffling about absolute nonsense. How can you possibly compare me to _Albus Dumbledore_ , the greatest wizard alive, when you barely know anything about me? And I'm fourteen, for God's sake…"

Theodore licked his chapped lips and felt his mouth becoming sticky with saliva. Thirst hit him straight in the throat, telling him to drink at once, and he was not going to argue with that feeling at all. Theodore took off his warm hoodie and laid it on top of Viripin, causing her to scrunch up into a ball hidden underneath it. He left his room soon enough and trotted down the stairs in a hunt for water — maybe even a snack to fill him up before he'd return to his room.

The hallways were rather empty, except for those his age and above. The privileges of entering 'Year Ten' was that he was not restricted to the curfew of the other children, being allowed to stay up an hour later. Theodore knew with all his heart that Gretchen was fuming on the inside knowing that she became severely crippled in trying to get him into trouble during the night. Very much a privilege.

He passed by the Madam's office without listening to the other voices that were inside and carried onto the dining hall that was still open at the hour. Theodore walked through the doors without looking back. What could possibly happen to him? The benches were against the wall, allowing the Parselmouth to cut through the hall to the kitchens instead of around it. The sounds of metal clanking next to each other and water crashing onto said metal could be heard from the kitchen doors, even some grunting as well. Theodore slipped inside and watched the cook sucking his ring finger whilst cursing repeatedly.

"These fucking knives are smaller than my pinky — oi! What are you doing out of bed? It's nearly —"

"I'm allowed out of bed," Theodore cut in. "I'm going to be in Year Ten after the summer."

"Is that so?" The bald cook used his hairy forearm to wipe his wrinkled sweaty forehead and opened up one of the cabinets to take out a medical box with plasters inside. "I suppose you also want some of the leftover cake, huh?"

"Actually, I just wanted some water, but cake sounds great! Where is it?"

"Please. Manners are seriously lacking within the youth today. It's over there behind the platter on your right. Don't take a massive slice! Every other person that came in here nearly raided the entire place, and I haven't had my lunch yet."

Theodore thanked him quickly and walked over to the platter to uncover the leftover slices of the strawberry dessert. Taking a slice that was rather large compared to what he had at lunch, he wrapped it in tissue paper and left the kitchen soon after with a glass of water in his other hand.

By the time he left the dining hall, the hallways were completely barren; not even Gretchen was there to patrol the corridors for children out of bed. Quiet and peaceful, just how he liked it. Even more so that he had plenty of time before he had to go back to his room.

Theodore was halfway through his cake that had been reduced to icing and crumbs as he passed by the Madam's office without a care of who was on the inside with the matron. That was until he heard the two voices that flicked an unfamiliar switch in his head. The Parselmouth set his glass and tissue on the bottom step and tiptoed slowly to the door without making a single squeak from the floorboards. Pressing his ear against the door, he homed in on the conversation behind the door while he tried to remember where he heard those voices.

"— of course, Cherise. We're more than happy to be coming back to London for the holidays. Mabel says that it's all about work, but I could've honestly stayed back in Sheffield if that was the case."

"Damien!"

"I'm sorry, dear. But we are over the moon to be back here. My brother is hosting a get-together for the family soon, but I think the person who's most excited about this trip is Louise. Isn't she, Mabel?"

"Oh, of course! She hasn't spoken much about London after the first year, but when she heard about us coming back, you should've seen her face! Like an angel, I'm telling you! I'm certain that she'll want to spend as much time as possible with Theodore."

"I would think the same for Theodore as well," said Madam. "He hasn't stopped looking outside his window to see if she'd show up. Been waiting a long time, he was. He misses her so much. Took me a while to realise that, but Theodore really cares for her. It's nice to know that even after being apart, they're still as close as the day they met."

' _So that's Mr and Mrs Reagul, I can tell now easily. But where's Louise? Did she not come?'_ Theodore thought to himself before pressing his ear harder against the door.

"I've been hoping to talk with Theodore properly, in fact. Louise is always telling me how he acts older than his age," Mr Reagul continued. "Is he here by any chance?"

Mrs Reagul scoffed and said distastefully, "Damien, we agreed on business being the priority when we'd get back. We've had enough of you persuading strangers on the street, Louise and I both."

"Mabel, I don't mind listening to what needs to be said. I'm interested as to what a high-brand real estate company from around the country could do with an orphan from London. Please, fire away."

Mr Reagul cleared his throat before he started to speak in a serious, almost businesslike tone. "I've been meaning to speak with Theodore for a few months now. Ever since we came back from our cruise, my reentry to the company had been a bit slippery, so I thought that I should start off slow and steady and work myself on the physical side. Computers are not that easy to operate, you know.

"Anyway, I was going through some files that had been collecting dust for some time now. I wouldn't call it fate but luck that I came across a Last Will and Testament that caught my eye, a document containing information about Theodore's familial background."

"No," gasped Madam through, presumably, her fingers as her voice sound muffled. "Familial background…? But… what do you mean?"

"This is quite a sensitive subject, Cherise. I shouldn't be revealing confidential information like this so easily."

"I'm his carer, Damien! I should have some insight to what possible family this boy may belong to!"

Theodore heard the sound of a chair creaking as Mr Reagul sighed heavily. "Very confidential, but it must be kept from him. Until, I speak to him directly, that is. All right, here it is. In our files, we possess a copy of Theodore's mother's Last Will that included Theodore's name as the recipient of her inheritance. And under our protection, his mother left him a house currently in Elmbridge that has been a family home for many decades, centuries maybe."

"This is… this feels almost overwhelming for some strange reason. I-I met the boy's mother when she left him at the doorstep. She… she struck me as somebody out of the norm, but not a person who owns a family home… Elmbridge, you say?"

"Yes. The house is under the family of the Potters, which was his mother's last name, Valerie Potter. I don't remember her requesting to write a Final Will, but one of my employees at the time informed me that it was definitely her who initiated the Will. Which is odd, considering the fact that she did not mention Theodore's father."

"Well? I mean… do you know anything about his father? You knew about his mother, so you must know something about his father as well."

"We haven't had any records for his father existing at all. From the timeframe of any 'Riddles' being born before Theodore had come up short and led to a dead end. But… now do not take my absolute word for it, but we might've found his family on his father's side. We're not too sure about it, but it's the only possible lead we have."

"And… who is part of this family? The Riddles?"

"Precisely. My father owned a manor down where the Riddles lived in Little Hangleton after the tragedy that fell fifty years ago. Gruesome. Absolutely gruesome. I couldn't even begin to tell you what became of the Riddles. My father had to tell me when I was ready to takeover the business. There were six Riddles from when the manor was still in use, the heads of the family being Thomas Riddle and his wife, Mary. Tom Riddle being their son, his wife Cecilia and their two children… I cannot bear to think on what history had become when _it_ happened…"

…

"And you're sure that this 'family' belongs to Theodore?" asked the Madam in disbelief. "Aren't there any other Riddles across England?"

"Surprisingly, the name Riddle is not as common as you may think. Cross-referencing over three months allowed us to visit almost every Riddle in the country, none of them remotely living anywhere near Little Hangleton for several generations. And the little boy that I rarely saw nearly three years ago had absolutely no semblance to any of the families that we met."

"But how can you be this sure? Could it be possible that his family came from outside the country?"

"Well," Mrs Reagul said after being kept to herself for several minutes, "there was the yearly cleanup of the house, despite the caretaker's insistence that he was capable of doing it himself, and we came across this. We thought that it might change the way you think about this."

Theodore was listening with every word being banked in the back of his mind so that he could go over it once more. No, he had to listen to more of it before he'd think about it. Then —

"Oh, my God…!" Madam choked. "He looks just like him…"

"We thought he did. If this is true, then we're looking at a boy who had been abandoned by a family destroyed many years ago. If this really is Theodore's family, then maybe we — _you_ can give him some sort of closure. I'm sure that he'll want to know everything he can about the family that he was never given."

"Don't you think that this is too much for him? To know that he could've had all of this, but grew up without it?"

"That's why we… we were hoping that we could take Theodore around with us for some time when we're free. Let him get comfortable before we'd tell him. He deserves to know, Cherise. You know in your heart that it's true."

"Of course. Yes, I understand… The two have been away from each other for so long. What do you think they could be possibly talking about upstairs?"

' _She's upstairs?'_

Mrs Reagul gave a small laugh. "If there's one thing I know about Louise is that she will talk with Theodore forever."

' _Louise is upstairs…'_

Theodore pulled away from the office door and turned away to look up the stairs at the darkened hallway on the first floor. Louise was right upstairs, probably inside his room at that very moment…

Madam and the Reaguls' voices faded away as the young wizard grabbed the bannister by impulse and pulled himself up the stairs slowly, feeling his body being dragged backwards by a nonexistent anchor. _She was upstairs…_ The floorboards creaked just a little under his weight as he made it to the top of the stairs, and he looked over to his bedroom door to see it opened by just a little bit. He left it completely closed when he went downstairs. One second, he was at one end of the corridor when he found himself right behind his door breathing like he was almost drowning. _She's right there…_

Theodore's hand acted without his instruction, pushing the door open far enough that he could slip through the gap ever so swiftly. And he saw her. Right there, on his bed, he saw her.

…

"Louise…?" he spoke softly. It was a wonder how she managed to hear him from the door, for she turned her head around to see him half-basked in the sun's setting light.

The first thing that he saw was her eyes. Those bright green eyes that confirmed it was her. Theodore thought for a second that they were both eleven years old looking at each other when it struck him so hard that he nearly gulped in awe for this was not the same Louise from three years ago. She was so…

Louise had her mouth a little wide open from seeing him. It was like seeing a memory that came to life right in front of you but was changed over time so drastically in the best way possible. The first thing that she saw was his eyes. Those bright, nearly glowing hazel eyes. His cheeks were no longer babyish at all; his hair was brushed back a little bit to show his face in full, and he had gotten so much taller. He was so…

Pretty. She was so pretty. Even almost beautiful… No… she was… This almost didn't feel real. He was expecting to see her with her hair all over the place and that cheeky grin he missed so much, not a person who looked almost… angelic. What was he thinking? But she's so…

Louise was trembling on the bed for she never thought that she'd see him again, much less like this. The expression on her face displayed severe anxiety, almost fear at the situation. She felt like a stranger in a place she used to call home, and a stranger to a boy she used to call her best friend. He still was her best friend. So, why did she still feel like she didn't belong?

The girl swallowed painfully as she tapped her hands against her lap, keeping her eyes on the boy and vice-versa. She couldn't move at all. Not when he was just staring her down like this. This wasn't how she pictured their reunion being like at —

" _Ssssss…"_

Louise sprung up from the bed in an instant and squealed when the hissing came out from nowhere behind her. She quickly scurried away, forgetting where she was until she hit something soft and warm in front of her. "D-did I just hear a snake?! Is there a —?!"

"It's all right," Theodore said quietly when she stopped mid-sentence to see his face as close as she could get. "It's all right…"

…

"Theo…" was all that she could say before her arms found themselves around the boy's neck, holding onto him tightly like it would be their last time seeing each other. Theodore held her so close, so close that he didn't think he could let her go at all. She already left without him saying goodbye, but he forgot about that. All the anger, hurt and confusion that he felt from her leaving was gone. All three years of separation, forgotten like they never happened.

A minute passed so quickly, and Louise pulled away from him just slightly so that she could see his face again whilst clinging onto him with her fingertips. Her smile of content soon fell into something resembling worry like none of this was supposed to happen, but that wasn't the case at all. "Theo, I'm so sorry about everything! For — for not telling you about it at the time, for not sending pictures of myself, and for not saying anything a few weeks ago! I-I wanted to surprise you, so —"

"You don't have to apologise for anything, Louise, OK? You don't have to be sorry at all," Theodore returned with a smile of pure bliss.

She took a deep breath and sighed, looking down at his chest before she lifted her head to smile at him again. That pretty, pretty smile. "Your voice sounds so deep. I can barely recognise it… I've missed talking to you face to face so much, Theo, you wouldn't understand."

"You think so? I did some crazy stuff when you left. I missed you so much like _you_ wouldn't understand…" His words trailed away into nothingness. He didn't know what to say anymore. He had been thinking about this moment for so long, but it became lost in his own mind whenever he tried to find the words.

"Are you OK," she asked worryingly. "You don't look so…"

"I'm all right, I promise. Just can't believe that you're here, that's all."

The girl tilted her head slightly to the side and used her fingers to move some of the loose hair on his forehead back, still unable to look away from him. "Can't believe that I'm back here as well. And who would've thought that Theodore Riddle would get even prettier over the years, huh?"

"Oh… I-I — well, I-I don't really —"

" _Theodore, who is that?"_ Viripin hissed, raising her head high to get a closer look at the unfamiliar girl. _"Is that Louise?"_

Louise grabbed onto Theodore even tighter than before, pushing back away from the bed as she dug into his chest a little bit. Theodore felt some of the harsh burning from his scars and winced just a little bit but kept his composure. "Theodore, why the hell do you have a snake inside your room?!"

"Umm… she's a pet?"

" _A pet?"_ spat the offended Maibian Adder. _"I am not a pet! You said it yourself!"_

"It keeps on hissing at me! What, did I sit on it or something?"

"No, she's just… curious," replied the Parselmouth while he gave a sympathetic look over to the serpent. "I almost forgot that you don't really like snakes."

Louise gave out a small muffled scoff from his chest and muttered, "Don't really like? I almost died to one, remember? It was only because you somehow managed to drive it away in the nick of time that I didn't die." She showed her face again and looked over to Viripin with her head still raised. "She isn't going to bite me, is she?"

Theodore reassured her that Viripin was harmless and prised the frightened girl's hold off him gently to walk over and scoop Viripin up to pet her, whispering to her so quietly that Louise couldn't hear him say, "This is Louise, she's not that big on snakes, so you have to behave. This is not a choice for you to make at all."

Louise stared at her friend nuzzling a little with the snake as she brushed her snout against his cheek in an almost affectionate manner. Theodore had always been unafraid around snakes ever since she knew him, but she didn't think he'd go as far as to acquire one. Then again… "Is she… she won't do anything to me if I get close, will she?"

Theodore nodded at her and motioned for her to come closer, patting the space next him from where she sat before. Louise brushed some hair behind her ears, sucked in a lungful of air, then made her way slowly to the boy and snake, still wary of Viripin, who had her eyes fixated on her from the second she started to approach. The girl sat awkwardly on the bed and remained still for a minute, only deciding to lift her hand when she felt a nudge from Theodore, who didn't have a flicker of fear in his eyes at all.

"She won't bite, I promise."

Her hand suddenly found itself mere inches from the serpent's head, and when she brought it down on expecting to feel dry and bone-shivering scales, her fingers tingled from her sleek texture. Viripin moved her head into Louise's hand and nuzzled against it as if she were Hermione or Ginny.

"See? I told you. She likes you."

"Yeah…" Louise lost all sense of worry as if Viripin cured her fear of snakes in an instant, almost thinking that this snake was much too extraordinary to be normal. Almost like Theodore. How he left to an unknown school, the owls he sent with the letters attached, his moving picture…

Theodore oddly enjoyed the silence between them, thinking that it was just right. But it felt almost painful that he couldn't say anything to her about the years that went by with her away. His mother's photo album would remain a secret, his father would remain an absolute secret, nearly everything about him had to be kept away from her. Just because she was a Muggle. And that didn't seem fair. He didn't want to lie to her, to tell her that he did nothing interesting at all when his life had been on the line several times in such a short amount of time. Theodore wanted her to know all of it, everything that he could possibly pour out to her. Maybe… maybe he could make her feel if he just tried hard enough… just maybe…

He caught her gaze quickly and held her in place. This gift that he had by seeing beyond people's eyes like Dumbledore, like Sev— like his godfather, like his own father, it could work on Muggles? If he could push himself to reach further, then he could…

"Theo? You're staring at me again. Theo, are you OK?"

…

Theodore didn't know if it was easier for him to see into the mind of Muggles, or if Louise was capable of feeling such raw emotion that almost made him stagger from how much washed over him. Happiness, lots and lots of happiness was present. The sadness of inevitable parting in the future, that was so easy to read, and — and there it was, clear as day. Through her perfectly normal smile masked an unusual amount of attachment and affection towards him that if Theodore didn't know any better, he'd think that she was in —

…

"Oh…"

 **And he's back! Took a while but I'm back people! It was nice to write a slowish chapter now that everything has calmed down from the last one. I left you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger so here is the rest of that. Theo and Louise reunited once more, how sweeter can it get?**

 **Like I said, I'm going to have more freedom with writing what I want so this year and the following will be noticeably different from canon, starting with Theo's family. There's just so much that needs to be written that there's no time for waffling. Hope you liked this chapter, happy to be back and later.**


	39. Chapter 39: Children of Stuggle's

It took all night for Theodore to assimilate everything that happened on the previous day; it was almost sleepless, his night, and even during the morning he was more reserved than usual. It was like it never happened. Nothing felt like it changed; everything looked the same, but it wasn't. Was he happy? Of course, he was over the moon for Louise's return. But… he was confused. Not just about her but about him, and somehow, he truly wondered what was this gift that allowed him to perceive what any person could be feeling from just a glance. How he saw — no, _felt_ the way Louise…

He was flicking through his family's photo album to see each one of them again. His mother, uncle, grandfather and grandmother, possible cousins three times removed, maybe even great-great-great-and-so-on grandparents. Almost every single Potter from his family, grinning happily with one another without realising that they were down by two boys: one didn't even carry the family name.

The pages landed on the back cover as Theodore turned it back over on his lap to start from the beginning, only slower and sunken much deeper into his thoughts about the day before. And he thought about _all_ of it.

' _Of course, there had to be other Riddles. It's a Muggle name after all. But since when was a "common" name like Riddle scarce in England? How do they know that they're my family? They showed Madam something… a photo, it had to be one. She was so shocked… "He looks just like him," who, my dad? His father? So, I'm not the first carbon copy of a father in this "family," huh? Then again, "he" was named after his dad. Tom for his dad, Marvolo for his grandfather… Marvolo…'_

He gazed down on the image of the Potters consisting of Valerie, James, Euphemia and Fleamont, all together behind a castle that looked too lob-sided to have been a functioning building for centuries. James was noticeably shorter than Valerie by a foot, her age looking to be about fourteen years old at least. Their parents were quite old yet held smiles that belonged to people a third of their age. Such a happy family, a family that didn't exist anymore… If only Theodore could see what they felt inside the picture…

' _Louise… Since when? You never looked at me like that before, unless I never saw… Maybe I looked in too deep. Yeah, that's what it was. She was just happy to see me and whatever I did just overshot. Louise doesn't — doesn't love me. I'm just reading into it too much. It'd be pretty obvious… yeah…'_

The photo album was once again on its final page as Theodore's disjointed thoughts became too repetitive that he managed to worm himself out to see that he was still inside his room. Madam Geoffrey made an announcement to everybody, right after the Reaguls left, that the money raised from the previous summer was going to be used for redecoration of the orphanage and that it would start with the living quarters. Theodore's bed was still much smaller than what he was used to; his bed at Hogwarts felt like a faint memory during the summer. He was hoping for a new one, maybe even wishing for one similar to the ones at school. But then, how would it possibly fit inside?

Three knocks on the door snatched his attention and was followed by the Madam's voice speaking behind it. "Theodore? Are you getting ready?"

"Ready? Ready for what?" Theodore replied, unsure to what the matron was implying.

"Theodore, I've told everybody right after breakfast. You shouldn't have left so quickly. Aren't you leaving for outside? You're fourteen going on fifteen, so you're of age."

He suddenly remembered how most of the older kids spent as much time as they could outside when he was much younger. "OK, I'm going. How long do we have to be outside?" he asked while stashing the album inside his trunk in the cupboard.

"Thirty minutes and not a second more," said Madam, "and you're going to have a partner with you as well."

Theodore pouted a little. "Really? A partner? I'm not going to run off again…"

"Everybody will have a partner, Theodore, not just you. In all seriousness, I should have you with three different people. Or maybe you should just stay behind —"

"No, no! You won't have to worry, Madam. I'm not going to do anything sketchy, I promise."

"Well, at this rate, you're not going to be doing anything if we carry on talking. Get a move on!"

The Parselmouth grabbed the nearest pair of shoes near him and stuffed his feet inside, but quickly blurted out a question midway his final lace-loop, asking, "Madam, is Louise coming around soon? You did tell them that I'm not going to be staying long, right?"

"I told them that you're leaving in three days time, but I don't know if they'll be coming around today. They had a family thing somewhere else. I honestly doubt they'll make it in time. But don't worry, you'll see Louise very soon. Now, stop chatting away and hurry up before I make you stay behind!"

Theodore obeyed, not wishing to stay inside his room a second further. Viripin was once again asleep on the corner of his bed, and Sawer's cage was empty with feathers and his droppings lying on the base, for the owl was delivering a letter — a decision that was strenuously difficult and risky for him to do — to Snape, wherever he lived. Best to clear his chest and his thoughts than to keep them bottled up, waiting for that explosive moment.

He stood up soon after without his wand, sensing no danger-feeling in his stomach that would hold him back otherwise. Theodore then left his room and walked downstairs to join all the other children of the higher tier, searching for Elise in the sweeping queue.

' _Let's just hope we don't run into another escapee this time. The Ministry has already got enough shit on their backs, and this is before Skeeter's article. Anyway, where's Elise? You can't be pitying Glaise that much, can you? Doesn't matter. As long as I don't get him, Watson, or even worse —'_

 _Ten minutes later…_

Of course, it had to be worse. Much worse. What could've been more irksome to the very bone than being stuck with Glaise or Watson, two of the many people that Theodore resented during his entire time at Stuggle's? Well, for Theodore, he hit the target right in the centre for he had gotten 'worse', exactly what he had anticipated.

After a heated discussion with Madam Geoffrey, which obviously ended in his defeat, Theodore was grudgingly the last of the older children to leave for the day with his partner that was none other than Simeon Ferning himself, quiet and introverted, a definite inverse of what he used to be before Theodore —

Theodore gave one last look at the Madam to make her feel some sympathy towards him, but it only resulted in her shooing him away when the same girl that was playing with her friends tugged at her dress. Sulking once again, Theodore closed the door firmly behind him a bit harder than what the Madam would've liked and slowly joined the older boy.

Elise waved him off before she crossed the road with Richard and disappeared to the direction of where the local park was and left Theodore wondering where she — and he, subsequently — would go. It was only after foolishly twirling around in one spot did he think to himself that he should follow the same path from when he ran away, just because it was semi-familiar to him. Without a word, Theodore stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked along the littered pavements with a silent Simeon trailing behind him.

An odd feeling of regret would wash over the Parselmouth every second he'd glance behind his shoulder to get a better look at Simeon, who didn't lift his head from the ground to look back. He hadn't thought about Simeon in months nor did he truly think back to all the times he had mercilessly bullied Theodore, only to be reduced to haunting screams by Theodore's doing. Theodore vividly remembered the summer before going to Hogwarts for the first time, how he forced so much anger and pain that he completely changed Simeon in just a few seconds. He cringed just a little. Ten years old, and he was possibly scarring people for life. Maybe Tom was right about —

' _No. No, he wasn't.'_

The pair took a left turn around their street and passed a gang of boys that stared at the two intently, glaring mostly at Simeon who was bearing a golden watch on his left wrist. But they knew better than to attack the children of Stuggle's, especially the rugged-looking ones. They always seemed to be the least stable, at least, that's what the rumours said down the road.

Theodore ignored them and carried on forward onto the Main Street up ahead where people flooded the pavements with some bellowing at each other from across the road; smoking until their eyes turned yellow, or middle-aged men catcalling young women that passed by, who were clearly disgusted. Yes, that was Lambeth for you. Theodore could see why Stuggle's disallowed the younger children from leaving: innocence had to be preserved before it'd be destroyed later on, he guessed.

The boys walked through the tight crowds on the road, keeping a specific distance between the both of them to prevent the situation from being any more painful. The blaring noises of buses and cars was a little overwhelming for Theodore, and the constant butting of people's shoulders into his was enough to annoy him greatly. But, to his surprise that he finally said something, Simeon suggested that they should take a right that led to Vauxhall Market, a place that Theodore only heard of. Squeezing themselves again through the crowd, the boys finally managed to relieve themselves from having their shoulders being bruised by their uncaring fellow citizens.

It was Simeon who was now leading the way as he weaved through the various stalls that sold items from all across the world; a young Jamaican woman offered him a bead necklace that he nervously refused by turning out his empty pockets. Trinkets, cracked Oriental vases, lamps and lanterns with missing candles, and all other objects that came in copious amounts had grabbed the attention of multiple visitors that negotiated for lower prices. It wasn't fun at all; neither was it boring.

Theodore and Simeon settled on a stall selling purely gold and silver items and stared at each one as if they were drowning in money. The merchant caught sight of Simeon's watch and offered a trade for his most prized possession which Simeon looked a little displeased at by its size.

As the two were talking prices with one another, Theodore's curiosity was running a little wild with the stalls nearby. The one next to the merchant was littered with objects that looked somewhat 'too close to magical' for it to belong to any sort of Muggle. Three broken bits of wood that resembled a broken wand, a purple pointy hat with stars all around it, and a book titled _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_. Theodore looked up at the thin, emotionless man, thinking that he must've been related to a Squib and was about to approach him when he suddenly saw a grubby small hand coming from nowhere snatching a handful of moonlike pearls from the stall before it vanished.

"What the hell…?" he muttered to himself, taking a closer look. Inaudible muttering that sounded like happiness was heard from underneath the stall, stopping abruptly when Theodore decided to take a look below. Nothing there except a box with several locks all over and —

"Hey! What are you doing down there? Tryna steal my stuff are you, you little street-rat!" the stall-owner growled at the intruding boy.

Theodore instantly backed away and defensively said, "I wasn't trying to steal, there's someone already —!" A small pair of bandy legs were hobbling away in the corner of his eye with the same muttering from before. Theodore ignored the man's repeated questions and slipped past the stall and through a small gap between two vans without thinking twice.

He turned sharply to the right into an alleyway that reminded him of Knockturn Alley, seeing the blackened walls on the sides absorbing all the light from the sunny summer's day. Down on the far end was a person that was hunched over, talking to themselves without giving a hint that they knew Theodore's presence. Well, time to let his presence be known.

Theodore speedily walked over to the hidden person and sprinted only when they turned their head in fear that they were outed for their crime. Owing to all the running and escapades from the past three years, Theodore caught the thief by the legs with his own outstretched right before they could run off, all under five seconds. He had to say, he didn't think that he could run that fast and thought about patting himself on the back before the person tried to scramble away again. Theodore grabbed the thief by their collar and pushed them against the wall before gagging in disgust.

"Oi! Geddoff me! Geddoff me, you flippin' crazy Muggle!" struggled the small man as he tried to claw at Theodore's face.

Theodore pulled him closer and pushed him back against the wall hard to stop him from trying to gouge his eyes out before saying, "For starters, I'm not a Muggle. I'm a wizard, which I'm guessing is the same for you. If not, then I've made a terrible mistake."

"'Course Imma flippin' wizard! What else would I be?" The man pulled away his hood to reveal dirty, ginger hair that came down to his ears which was very much of a straggly texture. "Why the 'ell did you attack me for? I wasn't doin' anythin'!"

"You mean you just didn't steal from that man's stall nearly five — for fuck sake's, why do you smell so bad?" Theodore retched after taking a lungful of air through his nose, smelling the disgusting odour from the wizard that was a mixture of potent alcohol, tobacco and two weeks without a single bath. But he didn't let him go. He could probably Disapparate for all he knew.

The thief's expression changed from annoyance to a fearful smile as his bloodshot eyes quivered so much that tears were about to form. "O-oh! Yo-you saw that! W-well, you see, kid, I like to pride meself in the collection of precious ar'efacts! Th-that dear old bloke was a Squib, maybe even a Muggle! W-what's he gonna use a bit of Moondew pellets for, eh?"

"It's still his. Stealing is a crime, wizarding world or Muggle, it's the same all around."

"Come on, now," whimpered the man, looking side to side before continuing. "Why you gotta do old Mundungus Fletcher like that? I'm already three weeks outta Azkaban for somethin' that weren't serious. I can't go back in there again… come on, kid…"

"Just give the pellets back, and we'll call it a day."

"'Fraid I can't do that," said Fletcher proudly — Theodore pretended to reach for his wand — "b-but allow me to indulge you into somethin' worth your while! Somethin' to take your mind off these troubles?" he grinned with yellow-stained teeth whilst patting his chest under his tattered clothes.

Theodore looked down to where his stubby fingers smacked his chest and looked back up with furrowed eyebrows. "I don't drink or smoke."

"Merlin's arsecrack, I'm not that shady! I'd never give a little boy some of me whiskey! Muggles are quite handy with that sorta stuff anyway. Nah, I'm talkin' 'bout i'ems. _Valuable_ i'ems. Stuff that are worth a few Galleons, if you catch me drift."

Theodore scoffed, thinking that Moondew pellets was hardly worth anything. He could easily get a bagful when he'd get back to school. But… "Really? What tier are we talking about? Occamy egg shells, or goblin-made stuff, because I heard they're quite — wait, what the hell am I doing? Give the pellets back, or I'll — call Aurors on you or something!"

Mundungus didn't call his bluff and started to dig through his clothes, searching furiously for something. "Wait! 'Ow about this? 'Ad me a _sweet_ , sweet-looking locket just last week! Managed to find it in one of the old homes for them pureblood famil— oh, fuck me… I promise you, it was big and shiny, surely priceless —"

"OK, I've had enough. We're going to find — Ministry people, since you can't simply give something back to a Muggle," said Theodore firmly as he yanked Mundungus to the side, hoping that he'd give in instead of forcing him to do anything he'd regret.

"'Ow you gonna find them, though? You can't Disapparate, you're justa kid!"

"I've done it before, and I can do it aga—"

"Theodore? Why d'you have a guy by the collar?"

A meek voice that came from the other end of the alleyway forced the wizards to whip their heads over to see the silhouette of a burly young man coming into full detail, revealing a confused Simeon staring at the two.

"'S he a wizard too," whispered Mundungus in Theodore's ear, to which was responded by a shake of a head and the sudden release of his collar, sending him down to the ground and smacking his backside quite painfully on the concrete ground.

"Simeon! What — _shut up!_ — What are you doing here," Theodore stammered as Simeon came closer.

"Um… Madam said that we have to stick together and that we can't let each other out of sight. I… I was looking for you for a while, so…"

Theodore nodded his head attentively while he ignored Mundungus's grunts and cursing towards him. "Oh, right. Forgot about that… I'll come in just a second, I just have to finish talking to my… _friend_ over here. Ain't that right, _Dung_?" He gave him a small swift kick, and Mundungus perked up with a fake smile.

"Cool. Cool… But I think we have to go soon. It's going to take a while for us to get back to Stuggle's…" Simeon reckoned, looking back to the crowded market behind him.

"Sure. In fact, I was just finishing up with _Dung_." Theodore helped Mundungus up to his feet — a very harsh grab at his arm, along with a quick vicious glare — and patted him on the shoulders, grinning like he just seen an old friend from many years ago. "Don't get yourself into too much trouble. I know how you're like."

Mundungus grinned and stuck out a hand which Theodore squeezed rather tightly. "You're a scary little kid, you know that? I was seriously going to give you that locket, I swear on me mum's sweet old life. Traits like that I wish I 'ad. I'd be glad to do business with you in the near future, if you like."

"Honestly doubt it," Theodore returned flatly.

"Think 'bout it. What's your name again? Didn't quite catch it last time."

"I'm not telling you."

Mundungus shrugged and wished the Parselmouth farewell before turning on his heels and whistling joyfully to himself, reaching into his clothes to presumably take out a cigar and a bottle of whiskey.

As he disappeared around the other end of the dingy alleyway, Theodore heard the sound of a car engine nearly exploding and clenched his fist, knowing that he let him walk free. Then again, him stopping a small-time conman would only add to the pandemonium of his newfound fame on the other side, whatever squabbling was going on around there anyway.

"Theodore? Are you coming?" Simeon called out.

Theodore turned around and nodded at the older boy, following him silently like they did on the way to the market. This had been the most interesting thing that has happened this summer thus far, excluding Louise's return. Now that was in a category of its own.

They both slipped back into the market, and the stall-owner who had been robbed by Mundungus was tearing down his items in a crazed rage, pointing fingers at several people and finally accusing Theodore of the thievery when he appeared from behind him. Theodore thought of running but didn't follow through when a kind woman defended him by saying that she saw a small man lurking around with an odd gleam in his eye when he saw his stall. Theodore didn't get a chance to thank her as the two adults fell into a full-blown argument the moment he started to push through the crowds with Simeon to leave Vauxhall Market finally.

The streets were as busy as half an hour ago, and Theodore had to endure another round of his shoulders being bashed against others several times. What he would give to freeze every single person around him so that he could walk freely on his own. They were soon approaching the road that led towards Stuggle's and silently took a right turn past an old pub when Theodore saw from the corner of his eye that Simeon walked faster to get beside him.

"How many years do you have left?" Simeon asked airily, which had a layer of nervousness beneath it.

"Huh?"

"Years left. You know, before you leave Stuggle's."

"Um… four, I guess. Unless something happens, like I get adopted or something." Theodore thought that was highly unlikely. He didn't know why Simeon would ask a question like that but didn't bother to try and find out.

The silence between them remained for thirty more seconds before Simeon broke it again with the same light tone as before. "Don't really have that much time left. I remember when I had four years…"

Theodore blinked. "Pardon?"

Simeon looked back to the shorter boy and smiled nervously. "Oh, right! I, um, I was just thinking back a little bit, you know?"

"And… why's that?" Stuggle's was coming into vision, but it felt like miles away with the conversation being at hand.

"It's… my last day today. Yeah, it's finally time! Finally… I guess I should've taken school more seriously, huh," said Simeon with a choked laugh that sounded like he was hiding a lot of embarrassment, disappointment and pain.

"Wait," said Theodore, nearly shocked when coming to a realisation, "you're eighteen already?"

Simeon nodded. "Just turned eighteen the day you came back. Didn't really have a celebration like before. Sister Gretchen didn't seem like she cared that much either…"

…

"I'm going to a remedial college somewhere up north, like _really_ north. They've been trying to figure out why I didn't do well in school, and I guess they don't want me going to waste." Simeon gave out another choked laugh as they passed the gang of boys who were holding something silver and shiny in their hands. "It's almost funny. Everyone who I know is going to university or starting a company somewhere. Me, I just got to do everything over again…"

…

"But… surely you must have a friend nearby, right?" Theodore felt guilt stabbing him repeatedly when Simeon shook his head with the same false smile. "But Gretchen? You're like her… _favourite_. Isn't she sad to see you go?"

"I — I don't think so. She just shrugged when I told her that I was leaving."

"Oh," was all that Theodore could say. Who was this person? What the hell did Theodore do to make this person emerge from the horrid, loathsome thing that used to be Simeon Ferning? Was it the same thing when his father tortured Sirius so much that he turned him insane? Did Theodore 'kill' the real Simeon Ferning?

The front door of Stuggle's was wide open as the other pairs of children returned chatting away about how much fun they had together. Theodore and Simeon didn't talk for the remaining journey and kept their eyes on the road all the way until they reached the orphanage. Theodore didn't dare look back up to him, fearing that he'd accidentally slip into Simeon's mind and drown in inescapable guilt. He still couldn't believe this was Simeon.

Theodore walked inside before Simeon and tried to make a run for his room when Simeon called his name out from the door as he closed it firmly. "Theodore? I — I wanted to thank you for not making a big deal out of this. I know that you hate me and all, so I get it if you were upset with going with me today."

"I don't — don't worry about it… It's fine," Theodore replied from the bottom step; he was itching to leave immediately.

"I guess it's good a time as any for this... I'm sorry for everything that I did. To you and to Louise. You don't have to forgive me, that's fine! I-It's fine… I don't know what happened to me on that day. It felt like my brain was just on complete fire… I hate myself for being that kind of person. If I could, I'd take it all back, but I can't. It's fair, I guess. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. That's all."

All that Theodore could hear after that was his heart beating in his chest. It became that quiet. He stared over at his former bully, a boy who had made his life such a living hell that if there were no rules against Muggles, Theodore would've surely done something so heinous to him in the past. He was so confused; he almost didn't know what to say. "Um… good luck wherever you're going."

Simeon gave him a sad smile and sighed heavily, looking around the place that he would soon leave, the place he called home.

"All right, Simeon, I've got your luggage in my office. The taxi should be here any minute now. Hello, Theodore! Here to see Simeon off?" Madam asked curiously as she came out of her office with a mobile phone in her hand.

"Well —" Simeon looked away, embarrassed "— I was just here. We were just talking, that's all."

"That's nice, but he's on a very tight — oh, the taxi's here! Quickly, come take your things, Simeon!" Madam shrilled, opening her door wide to allow the older boy to slip in and drag one of his suitcases along the wooden floorboards.

Madam took the smaller duffel bag and carried it over her shoulder to the black car that pulled up in front of the building. The taxi driver left his seat and aided Simeon to help stuff his suitcase in the boot, while his bag was thrown in the backseat. Theodore unknowingly found himself at the doorway, watching the Madam stress over Simeon with his hair being neat and his face being freshly shaven. She fussed over him one last time and hugged him tightly before releasing.

Simeon opened the door and took some time to enter the taxi; he lifted his head to the Parselmouth at the doorway and tried to muster a smile, but all that was shown was a slight curl of the lip before his face descended into sadness once more. The door was closed, and Simeon stared blankly forwards at the driver's headrest, not wanting to look at his former home before he'd disappear from it forever. And that's what he did.

Theodore's eyes followed the taxi up the road, all the way to the end and around the corner until it became the last time that he would ever see Simeon Ferning again. If he were eleven years old, he'd be over the moon, wishing that along the way he'd get lost forever without anybody to help him, but now he only began to realise something: Simeon never had anybody. He had no parents to speak of, no real friends that were by his side, just a loner.

And for the first time, Theodore pitied him. Pitied that he had nobody, knowing that the same could've happened to him as well. If he never had Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Viripin, Madam, the Padalins, hell, probably above all, if he never had Louise, then maybe he would've been in Slytherin just like his father, friendless, hateful and alone. It scared him to think that they were more similar every time he'd think about him.

"Come on, Theodore," said the Madam finally after staring into the distance for a while, "we've got fish and chips today with ice cream. Let's go before the lot's finished."

"All right." Theodore followed the Madam into the building and looked over to where the taxi vanished, almost expecting it to come back. Alas, nothing moved except a black cat that streaked past a couple. He grabbed the door handle and was just inches from closing it firmly when the sounds of a loud car stopped him from doing so.

Theodore opened the door again to see a car of grandeur proportions stopping right in front of the orphanage, glinting in the sunlight from its matte beige paint.

The backdoor opened up, and Louise's bright, pretty face came into view as she stepped out of the car. The girl was wearing a white floral dress with green roses that complemented her eyes, and a small red bow that fitted perfectly in her hair that was let loose. Mr Reagul rolled his window down and nodded at the boy with a smile but was not of Theodore's focus as Louise skipped over to him with a wide grin.

"Fancy seeing you here, Theo," she remarked before wrapping her arms around his neck. Theodore felt her brushing her cheek against his and felt a little awkward whilst returning the hug.

' _She's not in love with me, she's not in love with me…'_

Louise pulled away but held both of his hands as she looked up at him, eyes so piercing. "Are you not going on outings any more? I'd have thought that that guy who's your teacher would've taken you to buy more weird sweets or something."

"It wouldn't hurt to see him again. This summer's been boring so far. I mean, until you arrived."

"Nice save there, Riddle," Louise teased, still holding his hands like it was an everyday thing. "But don't you worry. We're going to get all the fun we can, trust me. The party was much longer than I expected, so we couldn't come earlier. Still had fun with some of my new cousins, though. Like I'm part of the family."

"Maybe it's because you _are_ part of the family," Theodore added sarcastically. A quick glance at her eyes and nothing changed from yesterday. She still…

Louise rolled her eyes and smiled again. "Stupid me, I forgot. It's been three years, yet some things still feel a little weird. Oh well. I hope you haven't been missing me for all this time; I've only been gone for a day."

Theodore raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Please, if I can wait for three years, then I can wait for a day. You underestimate my patience."

"Great, because you'll have to wait just a little longer. Mr Reagul said I can't stay for long, and I heard that you're leaving in three days. Is that true?"

Theodore just nodded at her.

Louise lifted his hands up and brought them just beneath her chin as she closed the gap between them without taking her eyes off of him. "Then I promise to make up three years into three — two actually — days of some good, old Theo and Lou quality time together. How does that sound?"

"Amazing! Just amazing," Theodore beamed. "Great way to kickstart a summer."

The light dusting a faint freckles on her nose became a deep red as she blushed a little. "Great! That's really great, Theo. You know, I'm really hoping that we'll have a good time, even if it won't be for that long. And who knows, maybe I'll come next year, and it'll be for longer. Or maybe you can come over to Sheffield."

' _A summer in Sheffield with Louise…?'_

"Louise, darling," Mr Reagul called out from the car, "we have to get going. You'll see Theodore tomorrow, remember? We'll have the whole day together, including the next. Let's go."

"Coming!" She turned back to the oddly calm Parselmouth and hugged him again before letting go, using one of her thumbs to graze his cheek so softly that he almost didn't feel it. "It's been ages since we went to London, hasn't it? I hope you won't mind."

He gave her one last smile and said softly, "Of course not. I'll be waiting. See you later, Louise."

Louise returned the farewell and walked back to the car slower than when she came towards Theodore; her nose didn't change colour when she paused at the door to wave at him before entering the car. Mr Reagul also said his goodbyes and instructed the driver on the other side for them to return to their place of stay.

The car pulled away from the pavement, and Theodore could see Louise through the semi-tinted windows talking to somebody on her left that could've been a cousin or family friend. She turned around to face him again, and he felt the same rush of emotions pushing against him, forcing the truth that he wanted to resist so bad onto him. What was there left to think? He just waved at the car, putting on a perfect, false smile that hid his confusion towards Louise's sudden, but blatant and deep attachment to him.

' _She does…'_

* * *

On the next morning, Theodore found himself being unable to sleep properly once more, owing to his realisation of Louise's affection towards him that certainly grew through their time apart from one another. He never expected her to feel this way; he thought that they were just as close as a boy and girl could possibly get, platonically of course. Sure, looking back now to a time where he wasn't fully aware of the attention he got from girls, he could remember some moments of Louise spacing out whilst keeping her eyes stuck on him. But it wasn't different from anybody else that had their eyes on him. At least, not entirely different.

Down in the living room area which was completely devoid of children and adults alike, Theodore was seated on the far end of the new maroon sofa, enjoying the lack of noise that was soon to be tarnished in under a few hours time. Theodore had taken up the dawn remaining in solitude, flicking through the _Yellow Pages_ in a crude search for houses that were under the Reaguls' company name, but the only thing that it led to were dead ends. He'd turn the thick book back over like the answers he was searching for would suddenly appear from beneath the faded advertisements and car deals, but to no end.

After fifteen flick-throughs that almost resulted in him getting a small blister on his thumb, Theodore disappointingly stuffed the _Yellow Pages_ back into the shelf from where he found it and leaned against the wall with his back pressing on the creaking wood of the bookshelf. Waking up this early was an attempt to forget about Louise until she'd come around by trying to delve into whatever was remaining of both his families.

More specifically, he was somewhat more interested in the house from Little Hangleton that belonged to the Riddles rather than the one in Elmbridge from his mother. It was safe to say that he was not desperate to know everything about them, from their names to their faces, and he had no real intention of ever visiting Little Hangleton for that matter as well. The only thing that could've struck him as intrigued by his possible family was the 'tragedy' that Mr Reagul spoke of from when they arrived.

Theodore had no newspapers to follow by, not that they would still be in good condition to this day. But if his wild, uncontrollable curiosity could let him know anything, it would be what happened to the Riddles. Did they all just die like that? Was Tom Riddle really just the son of two Muggles and had fabricated his entire identity for his own ego? Possibly the largest stretch of thinking that he had ever done, but that's what uncertainty did to you: it had you asking the impossible.

' _Whatever, I already got a house, and I'm certain that nobody died in there. I hope they didn't anyway… Maybe Mr Reagul's just saving it for me, probably thinks that I could be an abandoned rich kid which, honestly, is sort of —'_

The sound of the doorbell rung through the lower levels of the orphanage and continued chiming so loudly that Theodore quickly became irritated by it. Another addition from the bake sale. Theodore's annoyance finally forced him away from the bookshelf to open the door for the person arriving at that hour and trudged towards the doorway and to his left down the corridor with his hand outstretched when something red and small zipped right past his leg to the front door.

The Madam's office door swung open right before the small blur reached the door, and a hand snatched it like a dandelion in the air, lifting it up with another hand as the Madam stepped outside to the hallway with a little girl in her arms. "Poppy, this is the last time that I'm telling you: you're not allowed to open the door for strangers!"

Theodore quickly recognised the little girl as the one who was chasing her friends down the hall and also remembered something else about her. Something that he found out but was too angry to care about.

Poppy was a tiny little girl of Asian descent, with a small ponytail tied by a pink butterfly clip and a large scarlet jumper with a muddy-brown cow on its centre. "But it could be my daddy coming back for me," she returned with an adorable smile so innocent that Theodore could barely resist.

"Oh… well, Poppy, I'm sure that wherever your dad may be, he'll… he'll — Theodore! Nice to see you up and early!" Madam exclaimed when she saw the young wizard watching them from the other end.

"I could barely sleep," Theodore admitted.

"Ah, got the nerves for today? The Reaguls are supposedly taking you around —"

"Isn't somebody at the door," Theodore interposed while he pointed at the door.

The Madam trotted over to Theodore and placed Poppy right next to him before she ran back over to the door and opened it wide for Mr Reagul to appear in one of his more casual clothing choices.

"Good morning, Cherise? How are you? Sorry to be of a bother this early in the morning, I was just hoping that I could see Theodore for a while," said Mr Reagul as he shook hands with the Madam. "It was a bit foolish of me to come at this time, but — well, speak of the devil! An early bird as well, aren't you?"

Theodore quickly glanced down to Poppy, who was scratching her elbow as she stared back at him with a look of interest. He turned back to Mr Reagul and said, "Just couldn't wait. I really think of myself as an outdoor kind of person." He ignored the Madam's raised eyebrow and walked over to the man to shake his hand.

"Firm handshake you got there. I'm glad that you're excited about today. Louise suggested many places that she wished of going to, and I've only been to London a few times. I'm guessing that both of you will be the experts around the area."

"Poppy, hurry off to the kitchens," Madam told the silent little girl, "I'll be there to give you an early breakfast, since you're awake now."

"OK!" she beamed before racing off to the dining hall, only stopping for a moment to grin at the Parselmouth before pushing through the doors.

"The two of you can talk in my office — no, Damien, it's all right. Thursdays always go off with a slow morning anyway."

Mr Reagul thanked the matron and hung his coat on the pegs adjacent to the door and allowed Theodore to go inside the office first. He then closed the door behind him and offered the boy the seat in front of the desk which Theodore refused politely. "Then I hope you won't mind us standing up. I won't be here for that long until the afternoon." Theodore waved it off, and Mr Reagul continued. "So. I hope that school's going well for you. Louise told me that you're off somewhere up north?"

' _You'll never stop talking about me, huh?'_ he smiled a little to himself before speaking out loud. "Yeah, a boarding school. It's pretty far, and I'm doing good. Joint-top of my year."

"Excellent! I'm happy to hear that. Your favourite subject?"

"Chemistry," said Theodore instinctively.

Mr Reagul nodded his head with an approving lift of his chin while he fiddled with his wedding ring. "Good to hear. I know that you and Louise have been away from each other for so long, so this must be a great feeling, huh? Seems like she really misses you."

"Yeah! Ye-yeah, she does," stammered the boy as he twisted his fingers around. Theodore could do without the smalltalk, and Mr Reagul seemed to be thinking the exact same thing.

"OK, Theodore. I don't usually discuss these matters with people your age. It's rare of me to do so. You're the third-youngest person that I had the pleasure of talking to regarding about our business."

"I don't really follow, Mr Reagul," said Theodore 'innocently'.

"And that's natural. To be quite frank, you seem like a mature young man, and I have no doubts that you'll take to what I have to discuss with you here like a mature young man."

Theodore merely nodded.

"Good. Now, where I and my wife work deals in house, land and property ownerships from around the country, but I'm sure that you're aware of that. We have kept records regarding inheritances from families for many, many decades, and I was lucky to stumble across some with… _your_ name on it."

Theodore didn't react and carried on standing in the same spot with his hands behind his back.

Mr Reagul didn't comment on the boy's silence and probably thought that it was his way of processing shocking information that the room became silent for a minute before he carried on speaking. "Your name, out of the hundred thousands, came to my attention the second I saw it. Louise had told me enough about you for me to remember your name, and I didn't think it was fair that you would grow up without knowing what your family left for you."

…

"Theodore, your mother left you a house, along with an inheritance that we were unable to recover that was all covered in her will —"

"I know," spoke the boy calmly with a relaxed expression.

Mr Reagul's face contorted into blatant confusion as he nearly lost his balance on his heels. "Excuse me?"

"I know about it, my mother's Last Will. Her name was Valerie Avilasa Potter, she left me a house in Elmbridge, she said that she wanted to be buried in —"

"Wait, wait, wait," Mr Reagul interjected, waving his hands with his face still stuck in confusion, but holding a twinge of awe. "How on Earth could you have known about this? I-I mean… the only way you could've known is if you had the original copy yourself!"

"It's upstairs if you want to look. I'll get it right now —"

"No, no, it's all right! I think — I think that you proved yourself of knowing about it. Boy, I wasn't expecting you to know at all… But how did you come across it? Did your mother leave it here with you, or…?"

Theodore thought for a while on what to say, trying to be as discreet as possible before speaking up again. "My, umm… my godfather? Severus Snape? He had it. My mum and he were very good friends before she, umm... I — I met him on the way to school."

"Wow… talk about a coincidence…"

"But I don't know much about it, though. I mean, he didn't really say anything about the will, and I knew that the inheritance couldn't be found. I've heard about Godric's Hollow, but that's as far as I know."

"Of course," said Mr Reagul, straightening himself professionally. "We've done our best to try and found out everything about the Potters, but that was all that we were restricted to. I hope you're not disappointed."

Theodore put on a naïve, childlike grin and said, "Of course not! How could I! It's great that my mum thought about me before she... Makes me feel like I belong."

A sympathetic smile grew on the man's face, and he tilted his head slightly. "If you like, just before you leave, we can take you up to Elmbridge to see the house. It is yours after all. That way, we can see if you'll like it."

"Sounds great."

"Another thing that I wanted to ask you about, and you don't have to answer if you don't know: your mother didn't mention your father."

The Parselmouth's face darkened just a little that Mr Reagul nearly shivered for some odd reason. "What about my father?" muttered the boy.

"Nothing! Just curious. It's very rare for only one parent to be mentioned in a Last Will. Just thought that you had some idea. But it's nothing."

Lies. Theodore could see it right through his eyes.

Mr Reagul shifted away from his state of amazement at the teen and told Theodore that there was nothing more to discuss, since Theodore knew most of what he was going to tell him. What Theodore found a little strange was that not only did he act as if he wasn't so much interested in his father's family than his mother's, but he did not mention the Riddles at all: not Thomas, not Mary, not Tom, not Cecilia and their children. All because of the one thing that he did not want to tell him.

Theodore had an idea of trying to convince him of revealing his family's past but knew that he would not have any time to talk it out of him when Louise would be around. It didn't bother him for a second, though. As awkward as he felt being around her, Theodore didn't want to waste a second with the precious time that he had, not knowing if it'd be another three years until they'd meet again.

The two left the office and shook hands before Mr Reagul left courteously with a reminder of the outing in the afternoon. The front door closed right in front of him, leaving him oddly half-filled like he needed more than what he was given. Theodore shook it off, thinking to himself that he had an afternoon of fun to look forward to without worrying about any attempts on his life (hopefully).

Theodore returned to his room and laid flat on his bed staring up to the ceiling. If she hadn't changed, Louise would've still been in bed, snoring away with bundles of her own hair stuck inside her mouth. Theodore grinned at the image in his head that he had seen at least a thousand times.

' _Maybe it won't be so bad. She's still my best friend. At least that won't change.'_

* * *

Theodore almost drifted off into the afternoon that if it wasn't for Viripin — who still refused to wake up in the morning — poking his eyelids constantly, the Reaguls would've probably left without him. That, however, seemed highly unlikely. He was positive that Louise would've marched right inside and tugged at his feet to wake him up like the old days.

The Maibian Adder fell asleep soon after she was fed and watered and gave Theodore some relief that he wouldn't have to carry her around London. Sawer's cage was still empty from his last trip. This didn't make Theodore worried about the owl, but about what Snape thought of him sending a letter so early. He'd have to put it out of his mind until Sawer would come back; no use thinking about it now.

Taking a simple t-shirt to change into for the day, Theodore grabbed his wand — just in case he ran into Mundungus again — and the pocket watch and stuffed it into a pocket on his jeans and his wand hidden in the waistband before leaving out the door with the window wide open if Sawer decided to return.

"Theodore! The Reaguls are here!" Madam called from downstairs. Theodore hopped on to the bottom step, giving her a bit of a fright. "Dear lord! I know you're excited, but don't go pouncing all over the place like that! You're not as small as you were a few years ago, young man."

He grinned cheekily and said, "You think? I'm almost as tall as you now. I bet by the end of summer I'd be a tower compared to you."

"And I don't doubt that for a second. Now, off you go. Make sure that you have as much fun as possible; don't get into trouble, do _not_ wander off anywhere," she fretted while brushing his shoulders and modelling his hair.

"Madam, they're waiting! I won't walk off if it's not boring. I was joking," he said quickly when he caught a fearsome glare. The Madam kissed the Parselmouth on the forehead and left him to leave through the front door and out. Theodore quickly closed the door behind him and strutted over to the same car that was parked out front. He clutched the handlebar of the backdoor and opened it to feel an alluring waft of apples, pines and vanilla filling his nose before he slid right inside.

"Sleep well?" Louise asked on his right, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"Hello to you too. And I might've dosed off a little, so what?" he returned with an equal amount of sarcasm.

"OK, OK, I'll back off. For a moment I thought you didn't want to come."

"Nonsense! Hello, Mr and Mrs Reagul."

The two adults greeted him back amicably and told him the rough overview of how the day would go. Most of the places of interest came from Louise's suggestions, but Theodore could get behind each one. As the car started, Theodore gave a quick glance over to Louise to see her hair in a French braid and an outfit that was reminiscent of her old ones, plain and simple. Made him feel a little less out of place.

The car pulled away from Stuggle's and led down the road and out to the Main Street where traffic was at its most moderate rate. Theodore had the tip of his nose pressed against the window, trying to see if he could catch any wizards or witches waiting for the Knight Bus to come around the corner to whisk them away. If only he could tell Louise about it…

"Hey, isn't that Jenny Finkle?" said Louise when she leaned over to Theodore's window, albeit being rather close to him.

Theodore ignored this and looked out the window briefly to recognise his old classmate from his primary school with her family. "Oh yeah. Wasn't she the one who gave everyone nits?"

"Yeah, except for you. I mean, I only had it for a day before they disappeared after you went poking in my hair."

"Well, I knew better than to stick too close to her," said the wizard a little condescendingly.

"Oh well. Lucky me, and lucky you. We're a pair of perfect-haired kids, aren't we?"

Louise sat back in her seat when Jenny was left in the distance and changed the subject about Viripin and Sawer. Theodore explained how he found Viripin on school premises and that Sawer was a gift from an innkeeper during his little _trip_ to London.

"All we've got are peacocks and doves, though I'm completely fine with that. I mean, Viripin's nice and all, but…"

"You still have a crippling fear of snakes, yeah."

"Oh, shut up," she laughed as she slapped his arm softly. "I bet you're still scared of heights, you big baby!"

"I'm working on it," Theodore clucked jokingly. "You'd be surprised by what I've done. Stuff that'll have you awake for _days_!"

"Then I'll be ready when you'll tell me, Riddle," Louise challenged, a glimmer streaking along her eyes for a split second.

' _Keep it under control, Theo. Just don't think about it.'_

Theodore and the Reaguls soon reached Central London after the traffic had subsided to allow a smooth journey to a reasonably quiet place to park. Theodore was the first to exit the car, tiptoeing to watch the murky Thames flowing slowly under the London Bridge in the distance with several boats of different sizes floating underneath. It still amazed him how after being a part of the wizarding world for some time, the Muggle aspects still kept him as interested as any other person his age.

"All right! We've got two hours to enjoy the day, so let's make the most of it. Where to first, kids?"

The first thing that came out of both their mouths was "Piccadilly Circus," a place that they had been dying to go to since they were just five years old.

The four then set off and caught a bus to travel to the famed area with Theodore and Louise awing at the high buildings that they passed. The streets of Central London was much more colourful than Theodore thought it would be: he'd almost think that it was surrounded by wizards and witches.

The Circus was met with great satisfaction from the two teens as the real reason for their obsession of visiting the place was standing a few feet away from the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain. A lonely-looking ice cream stand was occupied by an old man with thick silvery eyebrows and a tattered red cap on his head. They only heard stories from the other children at school about the greatest ice cream ever sold from the old man in Piccadilly Circus, and from there they had to get a taste. It was only fate that they managed to come together and tackle the rare opportunity, and nothing more.

Theodore took his cone and Louise took hers, staring at each other before they took several licks until the flavours became embedded in their tongues.

…

"You know, I recall this being described as much more 'heavenly' and 'otherworldly'. I could've found better ice cream at home," complained Theodore after his eleventh lick.

Louise nodded, looking unimpressed and disappointed by her strawberry cone. "What I want to know is how we carried on thinking that this was going to be the end of all ice creams. I knew that Jason was full of bullshit."

"Huh. Never heard you swear before."

"When you're in high school, it sort of becomes a habit," Louise replied with a shrug. "Don't tell my parents, though. They have a _strict_ policy on no swearing. Says it's not very ladylike to do so."

"Yeah, same here. The swearing thing, I mean. Didn't even know I could do it until people were dropping them all over the place. Is your school any fun?"

Louise nodded her head between a lick of her cone. "You should meet this kid called Daniel Davidson! The funniest, and weirdest guy that I've ever met! Sometimes, I wonder if he's actually a real person with the stupid stuff that he gets up to —"

In the back of his pocket came a shrill chime that shocked both Theodore, Louise and a few passing tourists that stood a little too close to them.

"Aww… I dropped my ice cream," pouted the girl down at the broken off cone. "Theo, what was that noise? Was it you?"

Theodore took out the pocket watch and clicked it when he realised that he must've activated it somehow. "It's just this thing."

"Oh. You still have it." Louise looked oddly happy despite her ice cream on the ground. "I — I didn't think that you'd keep it on you for that long."

"Are kidding me? I'd never lose this. It's helped me out in so many ways. I even got your necklace at home in my room. I told you I wouldn't forget you," he added as he elbowed her slightly.

And there it was. They came flooding back into her eyes for him to see again. And it was a little clearer without trying to see how she felt. Louise's nose grew pink as she smiled at him fondly, as if the world stopped right there. She suddenly caught onto her gazing and bumbled to her parents to ask for another ice cream cone, not looking at the boy when she returned to sit next to him. Theodore played it off like a pro, pointing at the posters and statues around the area as Louise murmured with her freckles still being highlighted on her nose.

They then left the Circus for the London Eye where Theodore waited below for the Reaguls to make a rotation before finding someplace else to visit. Louise returned to her old self and teased him a little as they tried to look for a place to eat, for everybody's stomachs had been groaning in synch since they got off the London Eye.

Theodore controlled himself at a small shop selling French and Spanish food — Louise's favourite — and took his time to eat off his plate. Didn't mean that he restricted himself to _just_ one plate.

They all soon toured around what was left to visit of London, from the outskirts of Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square. The time soon came for their outing to come to an end as they made it back to the car and set off for Stuggle's to drop Theodore off.

The journey home was a little quiet between Theodore and Louise, save for her questions on where he would be going in a few days time. The Weasleys suddenly crossed his mind at what they would be doing at that moment and if Hermione had arrived there… An unexplainable twinge of his insides made him feel uncomfortable. He ignored it.

"Can I stay with Theo for a bit?" Louise asked Mr and Mrs Reagul when Theodore left the car. "The hotel is not that far away."

"Actually, we're going to talk to Madam Geoffrey about something that we were planning for tomorrow, so it might take a little while. Go on, we'll follow up soon, but don't get too comfortable, Louise."

She nodded and thanked them both before she exited the car and ran to Theodore's side with her hands behind her back. "They're going to be talking with the Madam for a bit, so it looks like I'm sticking around for a little longer."

Theodore knocked on the door and said, "Cool. Trying to squeeze in those extra minutes, huh?"

"Of course."

The Madam opened the door for them and had Poppy hanging around her neck with her head turned away from the two teens. "How did it go, you two? Well? Poppy, say hello to Louise. She used to be in your room before you. Go on."

' _Oh yeah. How did I forget that?'_

Poppy faced the older girl and widened her eyes at the sight of her. "Wow… you're pretty…"

"Aww, thank you," Louise replied a little shyly. "You're so cute!"

Poppy giggled and dug her head into the matron's collarbone, embarrassed. The two teens excused themselves and walked upstairs as Louise gushed over Poppy's rounded cheeks and her giggle.

Theodore felt the air in his room drop by just a little bit, despite the sun still being bright in the later parts of the day. Viripin was now curled up under his bedsheets with her tail partially sticking out, but Sawer still hadn't returned. A tinge of embarrassment sparked and died within, and he walked over to the window to close it again.

Louise had been aimlessly wandering around the room looking for something interesting to fiddle with while she spent a few awkward minutes with Theodore. His wardrobe was half-open with some of his clothes and small packages of snake and bird food being in full vision, and she also brought her attention to the cupboard on the wardrobe's left, remembering how Theodore hid all sorts of things in there. Maybe if she took a look inside, then she could —

"Don't!"

Louise jumped back and swivelled around. Theodore appeared quickly by her side and placed a firm palm on the door like it was almost impossible to keep shut. "Erm, I-I didn't think that —"

"No, don't worry. It's just that there's this loose pipe that always swings downwards to bash you in the head if you open the door the wrong way," he explained his coverup. He pointed at his forehead where a faded mark of one of his wounds from Sirius used to be and said, "See? I was lucky that it didn't get my eye."

"Seems like you should get it checked out. Are you OK?" Theodore shrugged, but nodded quickly when her face fell in a near instant. Louise then backed away from the cupboard and sat down carefully on his bed, minding Viripin's tail. "I really miss this place. Makes me feel so nostalgic."

Theodore moved Viripin's tail to the side gently and plopped himself next to her before he said, "You're not missing much. Just fish and chips for dinner and back up here when you'd get bored again. It's kind of a routine for me here. I'm guessing Sheffield's more fun than this place, huh?"

"Well… if _you_ were there, then I'd give it ten stars out of ten. But it's fun, even out of school. I've got lots of friends, and I even went out wi— I knew a boy. Yeah…"

…

"I found out about my mum," Theodore said, breaking the silence. "She went to the same school as me. Her name was Valerie."

"Valerie Riddle?"

"Potter. Last name _Potter_. My mum and dad never married…"

"Oh. Wait, didn't you say something about having some pictures of her before? Or am I just losing my mind?"

Theodore put his fingers to his chin and shrugged. "I think so. I wrote so many letters to you that I almost lost track of them. Do you still keep them?"

"Yeah…" Louise was looking down on her lap, tapping her thighs whilst hitting her ankles together. She wanted to ask him something serious; he knew that instantly. She then stood up to walk towards the door and closed it firmly without breaking the sudden tension in the room.

' _What… is happening right now?'_

"Theo… I'm going to ask you something. Something that has been on my mind for the past two years…"

'… _no…'_

She walked back over and sat back in her seat, but the space between them was almost as thin as a sheet of paper. "And I'm going to need you to be truthful with me. One hundred percent truthful. I'm not going to lie to you, you're not going to lie to me. All right?"

' _She's going to confess…'_

"Theo?"

"Yes. I-I understand." Her eyes were up so close that Theodore didn't know what to think of the possibilities of her next actions. But he kept his face calm and passive. Under complete control.

"Good. That's good. Now that we've got that out of the way, Theo —?"

"Louise, wait —"

"— why is it doing this?" Louise procured an image from her back pocket and had it in between her fingers right in front of his face. It was slightly crumpled with the edges being torn a little or stained, but it was recognisable to the Parselmouth.

It was him at the young age of twelve, the time when he stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for the summer: he recognised the backdrop being the courtyard behind the pub itself. There he was fixing his hair awkwardly while attempting to smile which came off a little awkward as well. That's what he saw, but it was wrong. This didn't happen, it wasn't supposed to happen at all.

A vague memory came to mind when Mr Tom assured him that the charms around the photo would wear off in a few hours, seeing as the camera was old, but that didn't matter now. She had a magical object and he just gave it to her. He broke that one rule…

"Um… what do you mean?" It was the only way, lying. What else could he do?

"The picture, Theo. Why's it moving?"

Theodore peered at the image and pulled back like he had seen nothing out of the ordinary. "What's moving? I don't see anything there, Louise, it's just a normal photo."

She just sat there, face neutral and lips frozen without twitching a single bit. "It's moving, Theodore. The picture inside, the one that _you_ sent, is moving. It's right there."

"Louise, I seriously don't see anything. Are you sure that it's a… moving picture?" Theodore questioned.

"How — how are you not seeing this," she said with a little grit in her voice as she got up on her feet. "The picture is moving, it's — it's right there and —"

"Louise, I'm being honest with you. That's what you wanted, right? Because I literally see just me standing still in a photo and nothing else." Theodore saw the dangerous shift of her usual affection towards him being nearly completely masked by bubbling annoyance, frustration and anger. This was not going to go well at all.

"Theodore, are you lying to me?" Louise asked softly, almost reminding him of how Snape hid his anger through softness.

"No," he replied simply.

She inhaled, then exhaled shortly. "Yes, you are. I can tell when you're lying, Theodore, I always have. I want you to tell me the truth —"

"And I am. You're holding a photo of me that I sent two years ago. It's a still, normal picture just like every other one in the world," lied Theodore again, wincing on the inside when she started to scowl unlike her usual self, glaring at him dangerously as her ears turned a little red.

…

"I've had this picture for two years… I've looked at this picture for two years straight every night, Theodore. You think I'd make something like this up, for what? Why would I possibly lie to you about something that sounds so insane?"

Theodore shrugged. A wrong move.

"Don't just shrug at me, say something! Why do you think that I would make this up? Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy, Theodore?" she shot at the boy with her face slowly growing to a deeper colour of red.

' _Drop it, please, Louise…'_

Theodore leaned over to Viripin and propped her near the radiator and muttered from the corner, "I'm not looking at you like that. Maybe you just looked at it for too long that you think it's moving or something. I don't know, it's not that big of a deal —"

"'Not that big of a deal?'" Louise exasperated. Now he done it. The slight crack in her voice said it all. "What do you mean it's 'not that big of a deal?' I think it's a big deal! Hell, you only sent me one photo of you, Theodore! I think it's a big deal when I missed you for so long that I only had one photo and letters to remember you by because you meant that much to me! How — what do you mean it's not a big deal?!"

Theodore looked over his shoulder to see Louise burning with anger and hurt towards him that she was struggling to keep her misty eyes from releasing tears. But they didn't fall at all. Just floating right above her eyelids. What did he do?

Louise used her sleeve to dry away the buildup of tears on her eyes, huffing in anger but sniffing in sadness. She walk up to the desk and allowed Theodore's moving photo to flutter onto the desk carelessly. Theodore felt the stab of guilt when the picture scrapped its edges on the surface before laying flat.

"I'm not crazy…" Louise muttered. "It was moving…"

…

"It… it wasn't moving, Louise…"

She scoffed scathingly at the wizard and turned her back on him. "There you go lying again. Do you know what's funny, Theo? Is that despite us being away from each other for so long, we've known each other the longest. You're the only person who I really know in this world, at least, I think I do. I just find it funny how, despite all of that, you still lie to the only person that can look past your face, even if you don't think so. I thought you'd never forget that, but… guess I was wrong…"

"Wait, Louise, wait — I can't tell —" he pleaded as she walked towards the door. Theodore stood up quickly and followed after her, feeling that he destroyed the biggest part of him. "Louise, wait! Come back, I have to — wait!"

Louise trotted down the stairs still sniffing with the Parselmouth chasing after her. She ignored his desperate attempts for him to explain and landed on the ground floor to be met with her parents and Madam Geoffrey.

"Louise, darling," comforted Madam, holding her hands as Mr and Mrs Reagul crowded around her with pale looks on their faces, "what's wrong? Why were you crying, sweetheart?"

Louise perked up and sniffed again, saying, "Me? I wasn't — well, I was. Theo was just showing me something that he kept so that he wouldn't forget me. I… I didn't think that he'd have it after all this time, but he did, so I… sorry…"

"Don't be, sweetheart," said Mrs Reagul as the Madam pulled away for the two to come closer. "It's all right to cry. You're very lucky to have a friend like Theodore."

"Yeah," she mumbled with a smile. She looked over at the silent boy on the stairs and said, "Very lucky…"

"Theodore, we cannot begin to thank you for being our company today. We know that we couldn't do much, since you are leaving so soon. I hope that you enjoyed it today, though."

Theodore tried to reach for Louise to see if there was anything left; it didn't matter if she loved him or not, he wanted to see something, but it felt disconnected. It was like she felt nothing towards him, like he didn't mean anything to her any more. He felt his heart sinking as its strings snapped on the way down… He lost his best friend…

"I had a lot of fun, Mr Reagul, thank you. And to you too, Mrs Reagul, thank you as well."

"Of course, Theodore. Any time. Don't forget about tomorrow, OK? We're going to need you up at the crack of dawn so that we can get you back here before you leave. Let's hope that this will give us some answers, eh? Well, until tomorrow. Goodbye, Theodore," waved Mr Reagul.

"See you tomorrow, Theodore," said Mrs Reagul in a similar fashion to her husband.

Louise popped out a quiet "Bye," and followed her parents out the front door, closing it behind her without so much as looking back at the guilty-ridden boy that just watched by the stairs.

"Don't look so sad, Theodore," the Madam assured him, squeezing his hand lightly when she saw the distant expression on his face, "I know it'll be the last day that you'll see her tomorrow, but you'll always have next year, and the year after that, and after that. As much as I don't want it to happen, you'll be free from here one day, and you could visit Louise any time you like. Just… have a little bit more patience, all right?"

She brushed his cheek with her knuckles and disappeared in the living room as Theodore stood still before he sunk slowly down until he sat on the bottom step, staring blankly at the office door where he met Louise for the very first time, where he poked fun at her, and surprisingly she did the same back without hurting him like the other kids. How she asked to play with him on the swings after Tristan scared him, which ended up being the first thing he thought of when he was in the darkness for so long. How did all of that suddenly feel like a memory, a dream, that all happened in his head and nowhere else? How…?

 **I think this might be the last part of the slow bits in summers in this story, mainly because it's going to get pretty different from here (I think anyway). I've got Theo's trip to the Potters' house on my mind, him going to the Weasleys, SIRIUS'S TRIAL, don't forget that. It's going to be a pretty interesting summer by the looks of it. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, look out for the next one and I'll see you later.**

 **P.S: Is Theo overthinking about Louise, orrrrrr…?**


	40. Chapter 40: My First Home

_Theo,_

 _I got news about Sirius's trial just today: it's going to be on the twenty-third of August, and I wrote this the second I found out when Sirius sent the letter. He said it'll get public probably in a day or so, but he also said that we shouldn't have expected anything else._

 _Professor (can't really call him that now, can't we?) Lupin apparently left pretty quickly the week after we came back. I guess it was for the best. I don't know if he'll be a witness as well._

 _And I forgot that you're going to Ron's in a few days. I'm not even kidding, Theo, I think I'm losing it over here. Dudley's on a diet, which means that everyone's on a diet. I barely get any food as it is. I wouldn't even mind if they dropped me off at Stuggle's: they probably would have._

 _Anyway, this letter's getting too long. I want to ask about the house, but it can wait. Say hi to Ron and Hermione and hopefully, I'll be there soon. Let's just hope that Pettigrew gets what he deserves, yeah?_

 _Harry._

 _P.S: Hermione, for some reason, asked what was your favourite_ _colour_ _. Don't know why she didn't just ask you instead._

Hedwig cooed loudly from the opened window for food, unable to watch Theodore's face from his bed as he read Harry's letter in silence. Theodore only read it three times to take what he needed to know: August twenty-third, Lupin was gone, and Harry wouldn't mind living at Stuggle's. He kept sombre at that thought and didn't feel his lip lifting by not even a millimetre. Nothing at this point could make him feel even a spark of joy for what just happened less than three hours ago.

Theodore took the letter to where he had the others stacked in a neat pile next to his trunk and folded it on top of there, then took a handful of seeds for Hedwig to eat from. He dropped it rather uncaringly in that he earned a stare from the snowy owl that looked a little disdainful before it vanished as she pecked at the pile. Theodore didn't take notice of his carelessness when he walked back over to his bed. He held himself still in front of his desk, looking across the area that he left untouched when Louise left.

Twelve years old, stupid enough to run away from home, stupid enough to send a moving picture to a Muggle, so naïve that he had no clue about the year ahead of him. He felt so stupid for lying to her straight in the face. And she was right: she knew that he was lying. She didn't even need any magic for that. She just read him so simply from a glance. Nobody could've done that to him that quickly, not Harry, not Hermione, not even Dumbledore. Just like that, and she knew.

And for a moment, somehow able to cling onto rational thinking in his wallowing of guilt, Theodore thought back to how it was she who wanted _him_ to remember her always, yet he didn't. The time they spent away from each other must've made Louise try harder to keep him in her mind from when she last saw him. _She_ gave him the necklace, _she_ wanted the photos; _she_ kept every letter as he did. He didn't want to think that he was ignoring her pouring her soul out to him because he was too focused on himself. But if he had known, what could he have done?

Theodore groaned irritably and pulled at his hair from overthinking too much — it always made him feel stupider than what he really was. He'd always put himself through so much trouble that it was a more-than-necessary guilt trip, one of the many problems that he had with himself.

' _Tomorrow's going to be just great. A whole day with her… As if she'll talk to you.'_

Hedwig started to squeak — oddly enough — from her place at the windowsill before she flapped down to the desk clumsily, looking particularly bothered from being forced out of the way from the returning owl.

"Sawer!" Theodore exclaimed, pushing Louise slightly to the side in his mind to see the grey owl. "Took you long enough! Why did he keep you over there for so long?"

Sawer hooted and bent his body to point at his leg which had a plain white envelope attached by a flimsy string.

Theodore's stomach lurched painfully. _'He wrote back? I didn't think that he'd write back…'_

Sawer pecked at the string irritably and hunched himself over at Hedwig's pile of seeds when he was freed, earning a squawk and a minor scuffle from Hedwig herself. Theodore ignored the owls, staring at the blank envelope that felt so heavy on his fingers. What could he have written back to him? Nothing bad, Theodore hoped. Last year was shoved right behind them; there was no need to bring up any unhealed, salted wounds.

"I guess it took you just as long to write one back," he muttered, feeling a little cowardly. Hedwig flapped onto his shoulder and nibbled at his ear gently when he told her that he had no letter to send back yet. The snowy owl left soon after — she 'screamed' at Sawer, who didn't seem disturbed at all. "I should open this later. For some reason, it doesn't feel right to do it now…"

" _Boy, she was not… too happy with him."_ Viripin was curled up comfortably on the corner of Theodore's bed in silence. Her scales were of the colour of Theodore's sheets, but her eyes were indistinguishable in her camouflage.

The Parselmouth laid himself next to her and picked her up onto his stomach, petting her along her broad head whilst saying, "What did she say?"

" _Something along the lines of 'I always knew that you were such an idiot, now I know that you're a greedy one'. Roughly that, anyway."_

"He doesn't look insulted at all, though."

" _Yeah, I've noticed that. Sawer is an… odd owl. Criticism just bounces right off him. Makes me wonder what's going on in that brain of his… Anyway, you look like you have a problem."_

"That obvious?" he groaned.

" _Well, you were attempting to pull out your hair a few moments ago, so yes. Very obvious. Talk to me."_

Theodore sighed. "It's abou—"

" _Louise, yes, I know. Before you go asking, I was here the whole time when you were lying to her straight in the face."_

"But I had to! How was I supposed to explain the picture without telling her that magic's real, that I've been a wizard all this time! It's because of these stupid rules: I would've told her from the get-go if I was allowed to, but I can't. And now she's mad at me because… because she saw right through me, yet I was making her look like she was crazy. Great going, Theo, you're an absolute charmer…"

…

"Why do I always make things worse, Viripin, especially when it's this sort of stuff?" Theodore asked, staring at the bleak ceiling.

" _What, with girls?"_

"No, with Nargles. Yes, girls! What else could it be?" he replied sorely.

" _Watch the attitude. And what on Earth is a Nargle?"_ Viripin asked with confusion by the term.

"It's a thing that was inside this scrap magazine I found from — whatever, look, the point is that stuff always goes to… goes to shit whenever there's a girl involved! I always do something stupid to make them angry or sad with me! I mean, Hermione didn't talk to me for nearly a week, and that was only last year. The year before that, she avoided me at Christmas because of the whole 'Chamber' thing and even before that, she was mad because I didn't say anything about sneaking Norbert out of the castle. And that's just her! Louise, she — how could she have known that I was lying to her? I've lied to so many people in their faces, but they never suspected a thing! And she just picked me apart! I never lied to her before I knew I was a wizard, so how could she possibly tell? This is just — I just don't understand why girls are… are…"

" _Attracted to you? Always wanting to be around you despite you being a clueless dunderhead that is indifferent to their obvious feelings towards you?"_ Viripin finished cheekily.

Theodore was not impressed. "I was going to say 'hard to understand'…" he gritted through his teeth, but his face shifted back into one of unhappiness as he thought about Louise almost crying yet not being able to. Probably because she didn't want him to think that she had grown soft. She only cried during sentimental moments, and those were mostly shared with him only. He never saw her cry out of anger before…

" _Well, I'm glad that you're not just pushing it away like you always did before,"_ the Maibian Adder hissed soothingly. _"But certainly, you must know what needs to be done here, right? Just… apologise to her as you did with Hermione. It'll be easy, all you'll have to do tomorrow is —"  
_

"Louise is not Hermione, Viripin. It's different with her. She… she won't take an apology without an explanation. If I apologise to her, then she'll want me to tell her everything about the photo, and I can't. I just can't. And it doesn't help that it's my last day here. She won't talk to me on the way to Elmbridge, no way…"

" _Theodore… you're her best friend. You should know how she feels, especially right now when she's… looking at you. If she wants to know about the picture, then… you have two choices. Tell her… or leave her in the dark. But either way…"_

Viripin slumped onto his shoulder blades tiredly, reduced to muttering and weak flickers of her tongue as Theodore sat up, worried. "Viripin? Viripin, what's the problem? You're not hurt, are you?"

" _No, no, nothing like that, Theodore! Nothing… to worry about. No, I've been getting really tired recently for a number of reasons, the first is because of my recent 'phase'."_

Theodore looked at her with confusion across his face. "What 'phase'? Are you about to shed your skin again?"

" _You sheltered, innocent child. Theodore, I'm talking about my fertile phases. You know, the ones where I'm… you know…"_

"Oh! R-right, I knew that! Knew that perfectly… Has it been this way since we came back?" Theodore felt her lifting her head slightly to indicate that she was nodding in confirmation. "You could've told me. Instead, I was getting at you for being lazy. Didn't know that you were… you're not actually…?"

Viripin gave a sharp snort and hissed, _"Don't worry, Theodore. You won't have baby Viripins slithering along your bedroom floor. This'll all pass very soon, that is, until the next four years when… it'll come full cycle…"_

"Are you able to transform for tomorrow, though? I don't want people to be tipped off when they see you on the outside," said Theodore, thinking how the Muggle public would react to a pet snake being uncaged and on his shoulders.

" _I prefer… the bag… Get me in the bag, it'll be fine…"_

…

"Have you ever met another Maibian Adder, like family members or something?" Theodore thought to himself that he was slightly crass for never asking this question before. They have only known each other for at least two years and a half.

" _Had a mother… had seventeen other siblings… all eaten by seagulls. My mother vanished instead of fighting them off… she was an odd Adder… I would never abandon any of my children…"_

Theodore also forgot that she too was from a tragic home: left behind by a mother when she was just a child. Speaking Parseltongue was probably the greatest thing that he inherited from his father; he didn't think he could feel so much more for an animal than a different person.

Sawer flapped over to his cage and tugged at the metal wiring for the boy that was lost in thought to let him inside. Theodore laid Viripin over and covered her where he sat for warmth and opened the cage. The seeds were half-finished, but Sawer seemed satisfied that he managed to clear Hedwig off his food.

Theodore swiped the seeds off out the window and rubbed his palms together to clean off the remnants as the unevenly levelled floorboard in the very corner of his room kept his eyes focused on it without him blinking once. The floorboard didn't look broken from a distance; you'd have to get to your knees to see what was wrong with it. Underneath it, perfectly hidden within several folds of old newspapers, was his father's wand.

So chillingly haunting, Theodore knew that he wouldn't think straight for a second had he kept it in his trunk with all of his other school belongings. The first five minutes of his return used entirely to hide it from everyone else, including himself. He didn't know why he hadn't broken it the second he got back. It was strange, sick even, that he was harbouring a wand with such a dark history that spilt so much blood. Surely, keeping the wand was just as bad as keeping his father's Horcrux. If he couldn't bring himself to break it, then he could give it to someone else to do it for him.

"I'll just give this to Dumbledore when I get back. Or maybe I'll show it to Ollivander instead. He already knows who I am, he'll be happy to get a wand back in return. A dangerous —" he stretched his arms and yawned "— dark… dark wand. Viripin?"

Viripin's hisses were quiet and barely detectable.

The sun had disappeared behind the houses in front of Theodore's window, leaving rays of orange light shooting upwards like they were flicks from a paintbrush. Theodore heard two men screaming at each other in their own cars outside as he changed into his pyjamas, thinking about the next day ahead before not thinking about anything at all. He lifted the sleeping serpent and moved her next to him when he slipped under his covers, too tired to notice that he had never slept earlier on a summer's day, let alone any other from the day he knew that he was a wizard.

* * *

The night had passed by so smoothly that Theodore didn't think that he was awake until he heard the banging on his door by none other than Gretchen herself. Today, the older children were going to start off their weekly 'contribution to the environment', which meant cleaning up the neighbourhood after lazy dog-owners and rabid drug addicts in simpler terms. But not for Theodore. He'd have the entire day looking around his mother's house that would surely have something magical about it, something that he was desperately missing, instead of picking up dog droppings from the ground, topped off by leaving for the Weasleys. The perfect afternoon, minus Louise being angry at him.

After a quick breakfast, Theodore rushed back to his room to start on his packing as he figured that there wouldn't be enough time for him to do so when he'd get back. He hauled his trunk out from the cupboard and flicked it wide open to see his books, equipment and uniform — it took him several tries to use the washing machine correctly at the dead of the night for his robes — all in a disorderly fashion, so he started at the Muggle clothing that he'd bring along with him.

All the clothes that still fitted him were folded nicely in neat piles so arranging his books was the next thing. Theodore had discarded most of his old books, such as every single copy with Lockhart's face on the front cover, leaving him some room for the ones he'd get from Flourish and Blotts. The only book that remained in his cupboard was _Secrets of the Darkest Art_ ; Theodore still didn't want to look inside of it. Yet, just like the wand, he couldn't seem to let it go either. Speaking of the wand…

Theodore crawled over to the floorboard and used his fingernails to dig underneath the small jut of the wood and managed to pull it back just enough so that it wouldn't snap in two. Not that Theodore was strong enough to do that. He used his other hand to quickly grab the clumped mass of newspaper that was shaped like a baguette before letting go of the floorboard that snapped back down loudly.

"What the hell was that," Gretchen snarled from outside his door.

"Nothing."

…

Theodore shook his head, not even bothering to say something under his breath as he peeled the newspaper layers away until the wand revealed itself underneath, like a snake's skeleton shedding its skin all through the flesh and down to the bone. Theodore then quickly stuffed it in a small compartment that was meant for his underwear and zipped it up.

He threw just an extra pile of clothes on top before he heard knocking on the door. His heart skipped a beat when he thought that the Reaguls had finally arrived and that Louise was going to come inside, happy and joyful like nothing happened. But he was wrong, quite far from it. Instead of seeing curly hair bouncing on the way in, Theodore lowered his head to see Poppy slipping through the doorway before closing the door behind her, grinning widely with a tooth missing.

"Madam Geoffrey told me to tell you that the Re— the Recalls — that your friend is here!"

"Thanks, Poppy," he returned as he checked to see if he managed to make the photo album fit comfortably under his potions book. Theodore suddenly looked back over his shoulder when he realised that the sound of his door closing wasn't heard, for Poppy was still inside of the room watching the painting above the doorway as if it were moving. "You can go now, Poppy, I heard what you said."

"Is Louise your girlfriend?" asked the little girl, ignoring him whilst keeping her eyes on the image.

Theodore didn't feel himself being flustered like usual and calmly responded with, "No, Louise isn't my girlfriend."

"How comes?"

"Well, she's my best friend, so…"

"But you can have a girlfriend who's also your best friend, right?" Poppy pestered.

"She's not my girlfriend, Poppy," Theodore said, now annoyed. "I'm sure that you can have a girlfriend and best friend in one, but she's not, OK?"

"Don't you think she's pretty?" Poppy asked, sitting next to his bed with her knees tucked near her chest.

"She — yeah. But just because someone's pretty, doesn't mean that you should go out with them. It's called being shallow."

Poppy looked over at his trunk but turned away at the sight of the half-opened cupboard door. "I think she's really pretty. She's got really nice eyes, but I only have boring brown ones. You have pretty eyes as well. I wish I had them," she spoke airily.

"Thanks."

"She looked really, _really_ sad when she left. I saw her crying when she left your room, although, I don't think that she was crying. Why was she crying?"

Theodore said nothing and zipped up the trunk after finally arranging everything before he slid it next to the door. He then walked over to Sawer's cage and checked to see if he was as happy as usual before he took Snape's letter inside his pocket very carefully. He didn't question the sudden sense of care for it.

"Will you come back here next summer?"

"I live here, Poppy."

"Is that a yes?" Theodore nodded his head and brushed flecks of breadcrumbs off his shirt. Poppy gave him another smile and beamed, "Yay! You're a nice person. I like you."

"We've barely spoken to each other," Theodore replied, finding her a little endearing that he smiled just a bit.

"Yeah, but I'm in the same room as Louise, so that means you have to be my friend."

"That — that doesn't mean that — sure. But I won't be here for long next summer either."

"Because you'll be with Louise?"

Theodore shrugged and opened the door to let her out. "Come on. You don't want to stay in here unless you like big, scary snakes."

Poppy trotted over to the door and grinned. "I like snakes. I think they're cool."

Theodore watched the small girl skipping down the stairs with her hand held tightly to the bannister before he turned back into his room. Everything had been packed away, everything had been hidden, including the — Theodore became frozen at the thought of the Madam finding the Dark book in his cupboard. She'd think that he actually went off to join a Satanic cult from a single glance inside. It was an amazement that she never saw it before.

He hastily took the book out and jammed it inside his trunk, then took his wand from his pillow and scooped Viripin, who was still sleeping, up around his shoulders instead. He didn't want her being cramped up inside a bag, and she never complained when she was around his shoulders. The Parselmouth poured a large pile of seeds for Sawer in his cage and reassured him that he would be back soon before he left his room and went downstairs.

"— so it's all right if you leave him over at — ah, Theodore!" Madam took notice of him coming down the stairs at a slow pace. "Have you finished packing? Got everything you need for school?"

"Yeah, I'm done. Hello, Mr Reagul."

"Good morning," said Mr Reagul cheerfully with a hand stuck out that Theodore shook. "Good to see you looking well for today. You wouldn't happen to have the document on you, by any chance?"

"Oh, I think I left it inside my trunk. I'll go get it if you like —"

Mr Reagul stuck out his palm and waved it aside. "Don't worry about it. Was just curious, that's all. And, Cherise, were you going to tell Theodore something?"

Madam perked up from her sudden daydreaming and held Theodore's hand with a smile that was a little sad. "Theodore, the Weasleys called me this morning through the phone — quite loud, I could hear them clearly — and said that they were coming to pick you up."

"I knew that," said Theodore, a little confused. "I didn't think that you'd drive me all the way to Devon."

"But you see, the thing is that Mr Reagul thinks that it'll take some time for you all to reach Elmbridge and that by the time you get back, you'll be too tired. I didn't want you to fall asleep coming back, so I called the Weasleys again to ask them to pick you up straight from Elmbridge to save time."

Theodore looked over at Mr Reagul's distant face and back to Madam's as he realised what this meant in a near instant. "So… I won't be seeing you until next year then… This is goodbye?"

Madam flung her arms around the boy's shoulders, not caring about Viripin's presence and sniffled just a little in his ear. "Oh, don't you go saying it's goodbye! You'll still be here next year, and the next, and the next until you'll have to leave… for real… You never left so early before, Theodore…"

"But you said it yourself: I'm coming back next year and all the next ones. It's already going quick."

"For _you_ , not for me," said the matron quite tearfully as she moved his hair around for it to look neater. "Now, remember what I told you: don't go looking for trouble, all right? Don't go wandering off where you're not supposed to, and don't give Mr and Mrs Reagul any trouble. They don't know how restless you can get sometimes. I see you itching to jump out of the window at lunchtimes."

Theodore laughed and hugged her one last time before he excused himself to bring his luggage down. He caught Elise halfway up the stairs and was accompanied by her to help take his things from the room, Sawer included. First was Theodore's trunk that took a lot of effort on their part before Madam took Elise's place on the bottom half. Theodore then took Sawer inside his cage and looked around the room that he wouldn't see in a year before he closed the door behind him.

"Thanks, Elise. Please don't let anyone in my room, especially Glaise and Watson. The last time I saw them at breakfast, they seemed to be plotting against me," he said to the girl at the doorway.

"If anyone's plotting against anything in this place, Theo, it's you. I'll promise to keep your room in pristine condition. I've only been doing it for the past two years."

"You have?"

Elise waved her hand aside and continued, "You can thank me later. Well, see you next year. Have fun with your… animal-training." She gave him a quick hug to avoid Viripin and lightly punched at his shoulder before backing away as he pulled the trunk with Sawer in his other hand out the door and towards the expensive-looking car out front.

Mr Reagul was still at the front door speaking with the Madam about something before he came back to the car to help Theodore lift his belongings in the boot. Theodore wanted to have Sawer with him in the back and insisted that he didn't like being cramped up in tight spaces, but this was just so that he could distract himself with Louise next to him. Viripin was still sleeping, so Sawer was the next best thing.

Theodore gave a final wave at the Madam, Elise and Poppy, who was worming through their legs to wave back at him, and slid inside the car with Sawer's cage held tightly against his chest. This was going to be a long and very awkward journey.

As the car started up and pulled away from the orphanage, Theodore faced his home and his window, never noticing how small it looked from the outside. It only shrunk the further away he was from it, further and further until Stuggle's had disappeared from his line of sight for another year.

Theodore then settled in on the plush car seat but turned his attention to his right to see an obscure image of Louise, who hadn't noticed him coming inside the car at all. The girl was balancing her head against her hand whilst leaning on the window, staring blankly forward without her eyes moving to the left. Her hair was in her usual ponytail with small strands coming down next to her ears, and she had a nice dress on with a thin jacket on top. A massive contrast to Theodore's slightly shabby trousers and hoodie, along with his grubby shoes.

He turned back over to Sawer and tapped continuously at the cage absentmindedly, wishing that Viripin would wake up so that he could at least try to speak with her. Murmuring from his right forced him to look back at Louise, albeit a little more than from the corner of his eye. Louise's face went from a blank expression to one of annoyance, furrowing her eyebrows at the sound of his flicking against the cage. He immediately stopped and looked out of the window to see several trees and parks.

…

"So, Theodore," said Mrs Reagul cheerfully, who noticed that it was unusually quiet in the back, "where are you going after?"

"I'm going to a school friend's house. His family's big, so their house is probably big as well. It's all the way down in Devon, so it's a pretty long journey."

"Seems so. Are these good friends?"

"Uh… yeah," Theodore answered, thinking back to every perilous situation. "They're good people."

Silence was imminent again. They passed by several flats that were covered by graffiti, and many people were carrying shopping bags from the shops that were lined up along the road. Theodore caught onto a woman screaming at a man from outside a beauty shop as she held a chair threateningly above her head. Everybody around her seemed too scared to come closer, and if Theodore wasn't magical he'd act the exact same way.

They soon left the main part of Lambeth and drove into its outskirts, soon arriving at the woodlands with trees that towered over them by so much, the sun seemed to not exist. As the car began to pick up speed steadily, Theodore's boredom was flying all over the place in his mind: it was a wonder how he kept still. Elmbridge was not that far away from his home, but it was still far enough that his interests would be left unfed. Small talk was the Reagul's way to go, but maybe he could try it out as well…

…

"What happened in Little Hangleton?" Theodore blurted out without a single thought. The car suddenly juddered and swerved just a little to the right, forcing everyone to hold onto anything they could. Theodore's heart rate spiked up as well as his fear. What did he say?

Mrs Reagul was holding her chest and the car handle tightly. Her pale face told Theodore that she was also scared, but also extremely anxious? "Damien, are you all right?! Goodness, don't let go of the wheel! Louise, Theodore, children, are you OK?!"

"Yes," said the two teens in unison. Louise was also pale and was breathing heavily through her mouth. Theodore felt himself calming down after a few seconds but didn't account for the tight feeling on his wrist until he saw Louise's hand holding onto it. She pulled away quickly enough and folded her arms, turning her head away to hide her face completely.

"All right, I'm sorry, everyone! I didn't… mean to lose control, but it's all right now. Theodore, I'm not going to answer that question," said Mr Reagul firmly after the car had realigned itself in the road after the chorus of beeping from the other drivers.

"But I already know that —" protested the Parselmouth.

"I'm not going to answer that question," repeated Mr Reagul in the same tone.

Theodore slumped back in the chair and stared at Sawer, who was shivering in his cage. The boy told him to relax and to take it easy as he opened the cage to stroke him behind his skull. He quickly caught Louise's face looking at him before she turned around yet again, then closed the cage when the owl had calmed down.

' _That was stupid. I'll just ask him when we're at the house. Then he can tell me whatever happened so that I can be over and done with the Riddles. Nothing can compare to what happened in the wizarding world for sure — hello. What's this?'_

Theodore reached inside his pocket, for he felt something quite sharp poking at his side after the little swivel of the car. He suddenly remembered about Snape's letter and brought it out in front of him to see that it had a large crease going diagonally across it. Theodore used his thumb to smooth it out while at the same time thinking about the letter that he first sent to his godfather. It was brief, very brief for any letter that he had written so far. He only expected a short one back from Snape as well. But he'd never know unless he'd open it.

…

He peeled it open from its corner slowly and took the plain parchment sheet from inside without wasting any time. Theodore folded it open and saw that his assumption of his godfather's reply being brief was correct as six words made up the entire letter.

 _It's all right. You keep them._

Theodore thought that less was much more here. And he was getting worried over a short letter. What was he expecting, a Howler in return? Theodore felt a sense of relief upon scanning the words over and over again in that he became so engrossed by it; he didn't realise that Louise was leaning towards him slightly with her eyes facing down on the letter. Louise stopped her peering when he turned to face her and stared outside the window once again to watch the passing trees. He pocketed the letter and didn't turn away from his right. He had to at least say something, it was far too quiet for his — and her — liking.

"Louise…?" whispered Theodore from the other side. Louise immediately turned her head to look straight at him, expression unbothered and remote. Theodore swallowed before saying simply, in the quietest voice possible, "I'm sorry."

She didn't respond, nor did she react. Her face remained the same as she carried on looking at him as if he were a stranger in the car. Suddenly, her face softened from looking annoyed at him, but a smile didn't appear. All that Theodore could see was sadness; all that Theodore could hear from her was a sigh that felt too heavy in his heart. Louise brushed back a lock of hair behind her ear and leaned back in her seat facing forward, her emotions disconnected from him. He still couldn't see what she was feeling.

' _I'm a wizard, Louise. The picture was magic, I can do magic and I'm a wizard.'_

They soon left the woodlands behind as the blazing sun reappeared above their heads, shining through each window. Although they had already passed the trees, green fields spread out from either side of the wide road, leading far across the horizon where small villages and towns could be seen from a distance. Several blocks of boxy houses were passed by every five minutes or so to be replaced by the fields and vice-versa. The way the hills sloped up and down reminded Theodore of his journey to Hogwarts, although the hills where usually mountains in his case.

Town after town they passed as everything looked repetitive to the wizard. Similar houses, similar churches, everything made it seem as if they were driving in circles without stopping at all. Theodore's stomach reminded him that he only had breakfast to eat for the day, and he held it in thinking about what the Weasleys were up to with their surely massive dinners. Just thinking about them made his mouth water.

"All right! We're finally here, everyone! Hope none of you fell asleep back there," Mr Reagul announced as they stopped in front of two hedges that had their branches intertwining across a fenced, rusted door beneath them. "Everybody stretch, get those bones popping! I know that you must have cramps everywhere, I know I have!"

Theodore took Sawer out of his cage and allowed him to stretch his wings as he soared above their heads underneath the trees that were hanging like shade from high up, but they didn't obscure the sun that much. Theodore could still feel the warmth from it. Viripin was still sleeping but tightened her body around Theodore's neck when she became exposed by a sun ray. He still wished that she'd wake up right about now.

"Theodore, over here!" Mr Reagul was standing by the fenced door with a bunch of keys in his hand, ready to insert it through the keyhole that didn't seem to exist. "Louise, come over as well, dear! I know it's been a long journey."

"I can barely feel my left foot," muttered the girl as she shook it around.

Theodore took a step back to see anywhere along the road if another house was anywhere in sight: he might catch sight of the Padalins' old home. Alas, he couldn't see a thing beyond the hedges and walked over to the Reaguls as they were gathered by the fenced door.

Mr Reagul was using his finger to guide his way through the vines to search for the keyhole as he spoke to Theodore at the same time. "You see, there's something — very odd about this — door. I've only been here — once, and we had to cut through the hedges — Didn't work; they were too thick. So are these — things. Could only find the keyhole twice before losing it…"

He carried on struggling while Mrs Reagul used her fingers to prise the thick branches away to help her husband. Sawer was squawking up above and vanished over the hedges, grabbing both teens' attention when they instantly looked up at him. Mr Reagul's final grunt of pain and the clattering of keys on the ground, stole Theodore away from his owl as he came over to pick them up for him.

"Can I help?" he asked thoughtfully. He didn't want to waste more time staying outside as the day would drag on.

"It's fine, Theodore," muttered the man whilst sucking on his finger, "I've got this. It took me a very long time, but I almost got in before. I know how to —"

"Maybe you just didn't find the right place," Theodore interjected as he moved his hand in between the vines in search for the hidden keyhole. The vines felt like paper against his effort, and the keyhole was found in five seconds flat. Theodore asked for the keys and used his other hand to fit the correct one inside, twisting the rusted lock until it popped, along with the door.

Mr and Mrs Reagul widened their eyes at the boy in silence, Louise included, not even noticing how the vines slithered back inside the hedge like sentient tendrils.

"Guess it just needed the magic touch, huh?" Theodore suggested with a charming smile. He handed the keys back to Mr Reagul and said, "After you?"

"Th-thank you, Theodore," stammered Mr Reagul before he led the way inside. Mrs Reagul followed him quickly as she looked for the vines briefly, and Louise rubbed her elbow when she passed him.

After Theodore closed the fenced door behind him — he saw the vines grow back in their place — he then took in the sight that he had been waiting for, and he could honestly say that he was not underwhelmed at all. It was different from what he was expecting but still vastly greater than what he had envisioned.

The house was big, much bigger than any other house he had ever seen, but not so much that it resembled a mansion of any sorts. No, Theodore thought of it as homely, or rather, it probably used to look homely. The colour that was most prominent was of a deep maroon shade, covering the front and sides of the house in uneven patches. The maroon seemed to be painted onto a layering of shingles which were weather-beaten to death from the looks of it. Splinters ranging from imperceivable to exposing mossy wood was found on almost every square foot of the house, including the purely black roof that had dips and holes all over.

The layers of wood had been battling against age for so long that the foundation of bricks could be easily seen from standing so far away. It looked so run down, but its faults were endearing to the Parselmouth: he didn't care at all. Theodore looked up at all the windows to see most of them grimy and opaque, some even cracked and broken, but each one had been boarded up quite lazily. Some of the boards looked like they had been rotting for hundreds of years, and some fell to the ground in a forgotten pile right in front of the main door that was arched.

Over across the sides of the house were two grand oak trees that shielded the house from the sun, keeping it in the shade, even against the sudden powerful gusts in the air. The flanking trees swished loudly together while they both had little crevasses that Theodore could notice led to an area that looked like a garden. Whatever was behind there had to look better than the front yard, thought Theodore to himself. Dry grass that came up to his shins, severely patched with large spots of cracked soil being scattered across. The shrubbery that sat directly in front of the house were all dead, not a single one gave any indication that it wanted to carry on. Two small pools of pebbles were divided by a weed-ridden pathway that led to the front door: it looked like the only thing that could've stayed the same from many years ago, but Theodore would never know that, of course.

"Yeah," said Mr Reagul loudly to break Theodore's immersion of his house, "this is it. Obviously, you know how hard it was for us to get inside here, so you understand that we couldn't keep it in shape."

Theodore nodded at him as he leaned over to see a sliver of the garden through the gap. "So you never been inside?"

"Me? Oh no, I haven't been inside at all! This is as far as I ever went, me… Well, onward, perhaps?"

Everyone followed Mr Reagul along the pathway and up the little number of steps towards the door and gathered onto the spacious porch. The white tiling beneath their feet highlighted every dead insect and leaf that it could possibly show. Theodore didn't think much of it, but Louise skipped around them and bumped into Theodore before she apologised quickly and kept to herself again.

Mr Reagul found the key to the door and held back for a second before he attempted to open it. A proud look on his face became evident when he didn't require a fourteen-year-old boy's help with opening a simple door as he swung it forward; it emitted a deafening creak as a result.

Theodore was the second-to-last one inside before Mr Reagul. He expected to be inside complete darkness because of each window being covered up, but, to his surprise, it was oddly bright enough that he could make out nearly everything in his sight. The foyer was easily bigger than his room back at Stuggle's. The red carpet with swirls resembling fire and water had a layer of dust coating it with some specks of something thicker and darker on top. A small glass chandelier was hanging above their heads with an unlit candle centred inside it. Theodore quickly tore away from it knowing that if he looked at it for too long then Louise would look too.

' _Floating chandelier. Got it. This is a magical house, all right. Oh shit, what about any portraits hanging in the hallways?! They're going to see them!'_

Louise was checking the large drawer with the broken mirror laying above it, while Mr and Mrs Reagul were discussing over a document that looked similar to Theodore's mother's will. None of them looked interested in the chandelier at all, which was good for Theodore. Now, all he had to worry about were the portraits that could be hanging around somewhere…

Theodore moved away from the foyer soon after looking around the area and walked through a doorless frame, seeing the very spacious living room on his left and the wide dining hall on his right being divided by stairs that had dulled velvet being plastered onto it. Most was peeling off but still clung onto the wooden steps for dear life. Theodore took a quick look at the living room where the chairs had been moved to the edges of the room while a shiny square shape on the ground suggested that a carpet had been recently moved from that spot.

' _That's weird.'_

The living room led further back to where Theodore couldn't see, but he was definite that no portrait was inside there: they would've started to talk right about now. The dining room also led on further than he could see with a table carrying on down and several black-velvety chairs with golden rims being on either side. Both rooms had shelves full of ornaments of odd proportions that you'd only find in Dumbledore's office, so naturally, they drew the boy in from their outlandish appearances.

Theodore slowly entered the living room first when he caught sight of a ball that was supposed to be spinning on a finger, except that it was. He quickly looked away from it and opened up the cabinets from the ground and above to see them bare and naked with only cobwebs and spiders as their contents. A sudden clunk from behind him came out of nowhere, so he looked behind his shoulder to see Louise picking up a book from the shelves hastily before sliding it back into place.

Theodore removed himself from the cabinets and wandered past the worn out chairs from where his family must've sat in. He should've been jumping from each one of them like a madman if life were ever normal for him. He should've been held tightly in his mother's arms as they sat near the fireplace if they managed to hide from his father. If only… The fireplace was a collection of soot and ashes that were covering a rusty grill. Theodore didn't notice a chimney on top of the roof. He crouched down and stared inside of it closer to maybe see where it led to. It was quite stupid of him to put his head near something so filthy, but since when has he ever —?

"Whoa!" he exclaimed so suddenly that Louise yelled and knocked herself into an armchair. Viripin tightened herself even more around Theodore's neck as he frantically crawled away from the fireplace upon witnessing it coming alive from a mere touch of a finger. A deep violet flame burst from the ashes like it were automatic, then suddenly changed into an emerald green shade before it snuffed out completely.

"What's wrong?! Did you cut yourself on anything?!" questioned Mrs Reagul when she appeared at the doorway of the living room.

"No, I — I just saw this mole-thing in the fireplace. It looked sort of rabid, so…" Theodore made up on the spot as he got to his feet quickly. He knew exactly what happened or had an idea. It was certainly magic, but there was the question: did he make the fire, or was it just the fireplace? He didn't want Fudge coming to Stuggle's again for another lecture.

Mr Reagul grabbed an iron poker on the side and prodded it in the ashes, then pulled it out when nothing moved underneath. "I guess it must have burrowed downwards or something. We'll have an exterminator deal with the infestation. For the time being, the both of you are to stay out of this room. We don't know what other pests are lurking around here."

"Then I'll go upstairs," suggested Theodore quickly before making his way up the solid staircase.

"I'll go too," Louise added as she skipped past her parents to follow the Parselmouth upstairs.

The hallway upstairs was long, and the velvet flooring carried on down both ends that carried on to Theodore's left and right. Taking the opportunity to look for his mother's room, Theodore took a large stride to his right the second Louise made it to the top step to start his search.

The walls had a coat of dust that was uneven in some places like someone had smudged their hands across it. This was especially weird when a cleaner surface would reappear before every passing door, although Theodore had a thought that portraits had been hung in their place before being taken down. But by who, the Ministry? People who wanted to tear down the Potter name because of his mother's reputation?

The Parselmouth stopped at a door which was opened halfway with colours gold and scarlet being the first to hit his eyes. Pushing through the creaking door, Theodore found himself in the middle of a large room that was littered with so many wizarding objects that Theodore instantly recognised whose room this belonged to.

His uncle's memorabilia from Hogwarts could be found from several corners of the room, ranging from cracked Sneakscopes in a pile, a broomstick mounted on the wall with a jagged crack running in the middle, several Gryffindor hats and scarves hanging from the wardrobe, and a large stack of parchments on the desk near the bed in one corner. Theodore turned the pile over and couldn't help but grin a little when he saw several counterfeit-looking scribblings that looked like the Marauder's Map today. Each one of them had words that were scrambled all together like somebody stuttering, unable to get the words together. The only thing that seemed to remain perfect on each one were the prints of a hoof, two paw prints with one being very small, and a mark in the shape of a bird's claw.

"You guys must've been so happy together. Now…"

On the pile's immediate right was a bleak Golden Snitch lying still on the desk's surface with its feathery wings not fluttering as it should've. Theodore gave it a tap, but the dead Snitch was unresponsive to his touch.

' _I bet Harry will like this as a birthday present. It still sucks that I can't buy him something instead of going through his dad's old stuff,'_ he thought to himself as he pocketed the Snitch.

"Are you even allowed to take that?"

Theodore jumped a little. Louise's face went back to being emotionless and unbothered when she entered the room. It didn't change when she clearly saw him getting spooked by her sudden entrance. "Relax, I'm not a _mole-thing_ ," she remarked sarcastically.

The Parselmouth said nothing and held Viripin's head to see if she had been disturbed before he looked around the room again. The mirror that was stood up on the wall gave him a clear view of Louise shooting glances at him as if she wanted him to say something back to her. But he didn't. Why would he?

"What's Gryffindor?" Louise had said this so quietly that Theodore didn't know if she was asking him, or if she was thinking out loud. Oh well. He went with the former.

"It's a House at Hogwarts. I'm in it."

She looked over at him and gave the smallest nod before she turned back to where James's old uniform used to be.

Theodore took everything that he could from his uncle's old room and quietly slipped out to find his mother's, and also hoped that Louise would follow him as well. Knowing Harry's dad, he probably would've had multiple pranking items that would make most wizards faint-hearted. He had to get her out of there without making it too suspicious.

Theodore walked into the bedroom opposite James's and twisted the handle before he pushed through. The door was silent this time, and the feeling that washed over him was much different from when he walked into his uncle's room.

It was almost surreal to think that he was standing where Valerie Potter, his own mother, stood at his age, probably preparing for her next year at Hogwarts while her little brother just finished his first. She would've had friends over, she probably would've gotten mad at James when he'd bring his lot over to annoy her. And here. Here is where she slept. A four poster bed that was identical to the beds at Hogwarts, only more suited for somebody of class like Valerie.

Her room was much neater than James's, whose room was in a rather good shape, despite not being touched for more than a decade, but was very empty. All that stood inside was her bed, her bedside table with a wilted flower on top and empty picture frames, and an empty rocking chair that was near the boarded window. It made some sense to him since she might've been the last one inside this place in a long time. Just some sense.

Theodore wondered if she had him here in the house. Is she did, then what happened here? He wanted to think that it was just him and her, a mother and her baby boy living together, but the truth was plain in his mind: his father had to be here as well if that was the case. And what did he think of him back then? Theodore didn't fully know what his father thought of him now. A potential servant, most likely.

He brushed the dust off from the duvet with golden embodiments going along the seams and sat down to hear Sawer hooting joyfully outside the window. He was home, yet he wasn't. This should've been his home where he should've been growing up, he and Harry. Him and his mother, Harry and his parents all living under one roof like a proper family. And what would he need his father for? He'd have Sev—

A loud pop stopped him short in his thinking that he jumped up from the bed and nearly tripped over on the uneven floorboard. Theodore luckily found his balance quickly and looked underneath the bed to check if he had broken any springs under the mattress, but choked a squeal when he saw something humanoid scurrying towards him from the other end. Not looking where he was going, he suddenly smacked his head against the bedside table, knocking the frames onto the ground whilst rubbing his head.

"Shit!" he hissed when he felt a stinging pain on the back of his skull. He quickly gathered the frames as he ignored the loud pangs in his ears and was about to tidy it up when the humanoid creature crawled out of the bed to reveal itself to the wizard. "A house-elf, here? What the hell…?"

The house-elf, which looked sort of female, was wearing a purple pillowcase that fell to its feet like a dress that was dragged through manure and sewage water and was brandishing a toilet brush as if it were a club. Theodore almost thought that it was threatening him, and he thought correctly.

"Twiggy told them already," squeaked the house-elf as she advanced at the boy menacingly with the brush. "Twiggy told them to leave my mistress's house, Twiggy told them that there's no Mistress's gold, but they didn't listen. So Twiggy threatened them, scared them off with pigtails and cow tongues!"

"Hey, be —!" Theodore pleaded as he looked over at the door to make sure that Louise wouldn't come inside at the wrong time.

"No other wizard or Muggle can command Twiggy except for the Mistress and her family! No one! Twiggy only serves her mistress, and that won't change! Intruders can't have the family gold! Twiggy will melt your bones until they seep from your skin, and Twiggy will —!"

"Shut up!"

She froze and dropped her brush. Suddenly, the house-elf picked it back up and started to bash its head with it violently over and over again without showing any signs of stopping.

Theodore grabbed the brush and threw it across the room before shaking the elf for her to get a grip on herself. "What the hell are you doing?! Why are you beating yourself up with a brush?! And — and why the hell are you crying?"

The elf's bulbous blue eyes were red as tears flowed down her grey wrinkled cheeks and blotted her grubby pillowcase that could've made it cleaner from the looks of it. "T-Twiggy do-doesn't follow anybody's orders, except the Mistress and her fa-fa-family," she snivelled as her pointed nose turned a little red.

"Mistress? Who's your mistress?" Theodore asked, still glancing over at the door just in case.

The house-elf didn't answer his question and instead lifted a small, clawed hand to his face and brushed a grubby finger along his cheek, more tears flowing downwards. "Tw-Twiggy only ever once s-saw eyes as be-beautiful as the Mistress's on a boy… Mistress Valerie's own little boy…"

"Mistress… Valerie…?" Theodore said in disbelief.

"Master Theodore… you came home…!" she said with a toothy smile that made it seem as if mother and son had reunited once more.

"Master Theodore? I —!" The door started to swing open. "Go away, now!"

The elf vanished with a loud crack just as Theodore stretched his leg behind him to knock over the picture frames again to make it seem as if he dropped them on the ground.

Louise walked into the room and looked over at the boy who was collecting the broken frames from the ground whilst brushing away fragments of glass to the corner. "What happened in here? I heard a loud bang and somebody crying."

"I'm not crying," he replied quietly as he showed his perfectly fine face.

"So… you're not hurt? You're OK then?"

Theodore nodded and stacked the frames on the bedside table before he rubbed his hands against his shirt. A house-elf belonging to the Potters? A house-elf that belonged to _him_? What were the odds of that being possible? And how was Viripin sleeping through all this? Theodore tickled underneath her chin but got nothing in return. She must've been really tired from her… 'phase'.

Louise took a step closer in the room and observed it the way Theodore did, peering at all the corners to take in every single detail, even if there weren't any in the plain bedroom. The wilted flower was final place that she looked before she spoke up in the silence. "That room that we were in just before. Who was that for?"

"My uncle. He was my mum's younger brother, James."

She took a few more steps around the bed, grazing her fingertips softly over it before she asked, "And this room… is your mother's?"

"Yeah. I think it is, anyway… You know, I have this odd feeling that I've been here before. Like I've seen that chair and that window, but I just can't remember properly…"

Theodore watched Louise looking down on the bed like she could see something he couldn't, then she turned away and brushed the dust from the rickety rocking chair before she sat down on it. It was brave of her to assume that it wouldn't just collapse unexpectedly. Louise was facing the boarded window that had gaps in between to let sunlight through. Maybe she was trying to find something that he couldn't see. A clue as to why he was abandoned by two families that were more than capable of raising him, how he could've had a much better life here than inside Stuggle's, trapped waiting for anyone to —

A hand appeared right next to her face holding something in between the fingers. She instantly recognised the photo of Theodore from the condition that it was in and tutted loudly. "I don't want it back, Theodore. I'm just going to go even crazier after looking at it. Maybe I was wrong, maybe it was never moving in the first place, and I —"

"Look closer," said the Parselmouth softly.

Louise hesitated for a moment but took the image in her hand and stared at the back of it, not knowing what to expect. She half-accepted that she was going mad, so to hell with it. Louise flipped the photo over, ready to see a twelve-year-old Theodore smiling in a still image like he always said to her.

…

"It's moving… Theo, it's — it's moving… Theo, can't you see it here, it's moving!"

"I know."

The girl looked down at the moving image and back to Theodore with an unsatisfied look on her face. Was he mocking her, trying to get on her good side by agreeing with her? No, he wasn't like that. If Theo ever wanted to right his wrongs and wanted to be on someone's good side, he'd do it for real. He'd never suck up to anyone.

"Theo, why is this happening? How — What is this? Yo-you're moving in this picture when that shouldn't happen, and I…" she stammered, unable to get all the words out.

"Louise, I'm sorry for lying to you, OK? I'm sorry for making you feel stupid because you're not stupid. You… you know me better than I thought. You were right when you said that I forgot that."

"Please… please just tell me what's going on because I've been looking at this for two years, Theo. Two years. I just want to know, please…" Louise pleaded as she stood up in front of him, eyes desperate for him to give her the truth.

' _Go on, tell her. Tell her that you're a wizard.'_

…

"Louise, I'm not… normal, OK? I'm more than that," he tried to explain.

"I don't understand…"

"OK, OK! I'm not normal because my family's not normal. Nobody who I know is normal, not my parents, not my other friends at school or the school itself, not Viripin, not Sawer, not even that old man you saw on that day. We are not… _normal_."

Louise stared at him doubtfully, soon falling back to where she was before.

Theodore saw this immediately and dropped the image on the bed then took her hands in his own. She seized up for just a split second before she calmed down again, but her nose became red again like before. "Louise, I'm not normal. Things have been happening to me, and they have been happening to other people because of me! Because of me… And there's a reason for that. A reason… that I can't tell you —"

"Theo, enough is —!"

"— yet. I can't tell you now, but I swear on my life, I swear on _my_ life that I will tell you what it is. I promise, Louise, just… please. Please be patient for me…"

Louise looked down on their hands and tapped her thumb against the back of his hand, head forever full of doubt. "You've been acting really weird in the past days. It's like you're the same when really… you're an entirely different person."

"Sorry," he apologised quietly. "I wanted it to be like before, but those days are gone. I didn't think that three years was going to change us so much. I mean, look at you…"

"Look at yourself," she said back, managing her first small smile since yesterday. The smile withered away when she drew both her hands back with one little finger sticking out in front of her. The look of seriousness on her face was never seen before by him, it was unreal. "Promise that you'll tell me? You won't lie to me at all?"

Theodore locked his pinky finger with hers and nodded his head firmly, somehow finally being able to see everything that she was feeling at the moment, but… something was wrong. It was wrong, it was different. There was no more love. There was the joy that she always had when she saw him, the strong attachment that he also felt towards her as well, but there was no love, none of her love that she felt towards him. Did he just make her fall out of love with him for a secret he couldn't reveal…?

Mr and Mrs Reagul called the two teens down after they had gotten a call from the Madam that the Weasleys had arrived in Elmbridge to pick Theodore up. Louise's face fell but picked right up again after being told that they still had to drive him over to a rendezvous for them to meet up. Theodore gave a final sweep of the house that he'd soon take, not worrying too much that he didn't see much of it before he followed the Reaguls outside with a much happier Louise linking their arms together to the fenced door.

After helping Mr Reagul open the obviously charmed door, Theodore called Sawer down from the tree and allowed him inside his cage before they entered the car. Viripin was stirring and was hissing nonsense, but Theodore petted her and told her to go back to sleep, an offer that she didn't refuse at all.

"I think I'll stay longer next year," stated Theodore as the car drove away from the Potter House. "That way, we'll have more than three days together."

"A week, at least. Three days isn't enough. Hey, maybe next year I'll see you grow your beard even more. It really does suit you. I wouldn't even be surprised if you had a tattoo as well."

"Please, Madam Geoffrey would kill me if I came back home with a tattoo."

Louise snickered at the thought and stroked Viripin's head before asking the question, "But you'll write to me still, right? You won't forget?"

Theodore smiled at her and nudged her arm as he replied, "I'll send you one the second I get there. I'll send you so many letters that you'll get sick of me."

"Never," she grinned, and she leaned her head against his shoulder with Viripin's head laying flat on top of her hair, nuzzling into the softness that smelled of apples and bliss.

The car finally stopped at the driveway of a church which had a gardener tending to the crisply-cut bushes out front as his wheelbarrow spilt a mound of dirt on its side. Mr Reagul helped to take the trunk out of the boot while Louise had Viripin around her shoulders, who had woken up after a very long period of sleeping.

" _It was hard for me to get rid of all those hormones. I could barely —"_ The Maibian Adder caught a flash from his eye to tell her to stop talking which she did.

Mr Reagul shook the Parselmouth's hand tightly, wishing him good luck for school and that he wished to see him the next summer. Theodore secretly wondered if he was going to tell him about the Riddles the next summer as well. He'd be fifteen by then, a good age to start learning about adult things or whatever happened in Little Hangleton. Mrs Reagul gave him a light hug and thanked him for being such a pleasure before she disappeared in the car, which only left Louise.

"I'm gonna miss you, you know," Theodore admitted as he balanced Sawer's cage on his trunk. "Don't think I could survive another year."

Louise snorted and crossed her arms. "You'll be fine. You have a whole boarding school that has _shenanigans_ that you all get up to. You will tell me, right?"

Theodore wagged his pinky finger before he embraced the girl like he did three days ago. Louise hugged him tightly and wept a little, not wanting to ever let go again. But she had to. After a minute had passed, Louise tiptoed and kissed his cheek, turning his face red as she said goodbye for the last time. And oddly enough, Theodore didn't want to let go either. He was that close with telling her that he was a wizard; he would've done it on the day he found out if he weren't told. It'll be another whole year before he'd see her again…

The Reaguls said their farewells and waved him off before they drove in the opposite direction back for London again. Through the tinted windows, Louise's eyes flashed the same emotions without that love before they became disconnected by the distance that Theodore couldn't measure when the car vanished into the woodlands. And there he was, alone. Well, not completely alone.

" _So, what did I miss? Is it big? Will we live there soon?"_ Viripin asked curiously.

"It was pretty big, although there's a lot of cleanup that's needed in there. But I don't think that I should mention this to anyone. If they find out that I own the house, they'll connect it to my mum, and then they'll found out about my dad as well…"

…

" _We're still going to live there, right?"_

"Yes, Viripin, we're going to live there. Me, you, Sawer, maybe Harry and —"

"Uhh, Theodore Riddle?"

Theodore got his wand out instantly as Viripin hissed in the direction of the stranger. The man was not alarmed by the wand or snake and did nothing to provoke either to attack him. The man was thin and tall, wore clothes that were thick and nearly punkish. Theodore recognised the boots being of dragon hide, and his wrist bracelet having pearls similar to Moondew pellets. But it was the face that made Theodore lower his wand just as quickly as he grabbed it as it was so distinctive. He looked like an older, much more worn-looking version of Ron that had decided to grow his hair out in a ponytail with a fang for an earring.

The man smiled and walked up to the Parselmouth with a hand outstretched, glad to see that the boy recognised his face or his hair to be more specific. "Thanks for not cursing me, Theo. Ron told me that you're quite unpredictable with a wand."

Theodore shook his hand as he tried to remember what brother this had to be. "Umm… I thought that Mr Weasley was going to pick me up..."

"He was, but Dad's got Ministry stuff to sort out, so he sent us to come instead."

"Us?"

"You'll see. By the way, my name's Bill. The _original_ Weasley kid," introduced Bill with the same smile on his face.

Theodore looked at him up and down, unable to connect him with the sarcastic Ron, the trickster Fred and George, the pompous Percy or the coming-out-of-her-shell Ginny and just simply said, "Cool," for no other word could describe Bill Weasley as such.

 **Had to punish my brain to force a realistic image of a house that would belong to the Potters. Not massive, but big enough for a family to live inside comfortably. And that was only just the front of the house, we haven't even seen what's behind it! So now we've got Bill finally in the picture, we're saying a temporary goodbye to Louise (yikes, that's gonna stick to Theo), we've got a house-elf, magic house, and FINALLY to the Weasleys. I think it's safe to say that the magic is back and so is the story. Can't wait for this year. Later**


	41. Chapter 41: Burrowed and Bodiless

"So, _Bill_ ," said Theodore, dragging his trunk and Sawer's cage as he followed Bill down the deserted road after politely refusing his request to carry his things, "Ron told me that you're a Curse-Breaker in Egypt. How's that like?"

"Yeah, breaking hexes, jinxes and curses are for me. Working for Gringotts means good pay and going abroad while risking my life for a few coins and goblets," Bill replied as he reached into his coat to take out his wand. He led the Parselmouth along a diverging street that had overhanging oak trees creeping alongside them, darkening their path. "Why, you interested?"

"Not really, no," Theodore said truthfully. "I guess going abroad is cool and all but breaking curses that could make my hand shrivel up is definitely a turnoff. Curse-Breaker is, unfortunately, not on my list of future career paths."

Bill chuckled as he stopped at the end of the street which was blocked off by thick hedges with an unusual number of puffy mushrooms at their roots. "Ah, that's unfortunate. With the way the _Prophet_ is making you out to be, I'd have thought you lived for danger."

"Not everything in the _Prophet_ is true…"

"And I believe you the entire way. Rita Skeeter's a dodgy woman, she. I've met her several times concerning what I'd bring back from different countries. Always told her that they were just old Muggle artefacts to throw her off. We're here."

Theodore balanced his trunk on the lopsided pavement when he stopped, waiting silently as he watched Bill pointing his wand at the space between him and the hedges whilst muttering under his breath.

The area where he pointed at suddenly began to ripple in the air like a fire had been lit, swirling and bubbling quicker and quicker until the distortion gained colour, reflecting off the weakened light that pierced through the leaves above them.

The first thing that Theodore could see was its shape: a small car that looked almost recognisable to the Parselmouth if it weren't for its reconditioning. Theodore was certain that it was the same Ford Anglia that came to their rescue when Ron drove it into Pettigrew, but it was hard to tell from the looks of it. Where there had been severe rusting along with the flaking old paint was a smooth coating of a deep red colour. The moss had been completely cleared away from the mirror and wheels, and the flashlights were functioning perfectly. It was as if it had been bought just a few minutes ago, absolutely pristine condition.

"Cornelius Fudge managed to let Dad keep the car after what Ron did back at school. You should've seen the look on his —" The car horn blared with an earsplitting sound that made Theodore and Bill jump backwards in shock. "Oi, Fred! What the hell are you doing?! Get in the back with Ginny, you loon!"

"It's OK, Sawer, calm down. Viripin, you're squeezing my neck…" comforted Theodore to his animal companions, for they were also frightened by the noise. Viripin loosened her hold around his neck but had winded herself around him so much that it didn't make a difference.

Bill waved him over with a disgruntled face and marched to the car on the driver's side with his wand twirling around his fingers. Sawer became restful after a minute of Theodore calming him down, and he settled in his cage but still shuddered as if the sound would reappear from all corners.

The moving figures inside became clearer the closer he came towards the car; he saw the vivid long red hair that belonged to the youngest Weasley in the back flailing as Ginny shoved herself next to the window, looking particularly annoyed until she caught sight of Theodore walking past. Ginny gave him a grin and a wave which he returned — she looked in much better spirits than he had ever seen her before. Theodore quickly wondered if she had gotten over her Chamber of Secrets 'experience'.

' _Bill, Fred, and Ginny? Just three people out of a massive family? This is easily the oddest combination of Weasleys I've ever seen. Odd, but great, for some reason.'_

"Just throw your things in the boot and go sit at the front, Theo," said Bill with a flick of his wand as the boot door swung open. "It's charmed to be bigger than it looks, but you obviously knew that. You can leave your owl and snake in the back with Fred and Ginny as well."

Theodore hauled his trunk with his palms burning from its weight and rolled it into the seemingly tiny compartment but managed to make it fit snugly on its side before he closed the door and entered the newly-improved car in the passenger's seat.

"Well, I'll be damned! If it isn't Theodore Riddle, Death Eater hunter and soon-to-be Auror, sitting right in front of me! Ginny, catch me if I faint."

"Leave me alone, Fred," muttered Ginny from behind Theodore's seat. "Longtime, no see, Theo! How've you been?"

Theodore was busy looking around the car, taking in the flowery smell that had been added from the last time he was inside that Ginny had to pinch him on his shoulder to get his attention. "Ow! I've been good, Ginny, thanks. And let's not start, Fred, please?"

Fred leaned back in his chair and took Sawer's cage in his lap as he remarked, "I can't help it if the _Prophet_ is writing about you almost every day. People have been dying to see what you look like since your name pops up every so often. Rumour has it that you got stalkers and admirers, even without your photo in the paper."

"Well, that's not new now, is it?"

"Cocky much?" Ginny jested with a raised eyebrow behind him.

"Accurate, more like it. You've seen the way I get _letters_ on my birthday and the way girls… look at me and stuff," he muttered with a little bit of embarrassment.

"Wow. I didn't think that you ever noticed them wanting your attention," said Ginny as she brought herself closer to stroke Viripin on the head. "I mean, Hermione said that you lacked basic awareness of the girls around you before, but…"

Theodore frowned and opened his mouth to say something in return but was cut off by Bill who turned the ignition as he told Ginny to sit back. "Get your seatbelts on, kids. Fred, keep tight to that cage. You sure you don't want Ginny to hold your snake, Theo?"

"Please? I've missed her so much!" pleaded the girl with her arms outstretched. Ginny smiled even wider when Viripin slithered off Theodore's shoulders and onto her lap where she was petted adoringly by her.

The car revved up and slowly drove along the road, and Bill was steering the wheel whilst simultaneously fiddling with the dashboard that had several buttons along it, namely the big silver one on top that said _Invisibility Booster_ beneath it. "Can't believe Dad made me learn how to fly this thing under three days…"

Theodore instantly clutched the handlebar on his door and held the strap of his seatbelt tightly. "Fly…?" he said weakly. "We-we're going to f-fly? In this thing?"

Bill looked confused. "Didn't you fly in this when you couldn't get through the barrier two years ago?"

Theodore shook his head rapidly.

"Well, what about when you left with the car to the castle?"

Theodore shook his head rapidly again. He didn't want to fly all the way to Devon; he didn't think that it was an option at all. But then, he knew that the car could fly as well, so it was foolish of him to assume that they'd be driving all the way down there by a measly-sized car. "Can't we just Apparate instead?" Theodore asked, desperate for an alternative.

"Theo, we can't all Apparate. You guys are underaged, and I'm not risking the Ministry getting on my back. Look, I know a few charms that'll help you along the way: you'll feel sleepier than —"

"No, n-no thanks. I'll — I'll try not to get sick or something…"

"Are you sure, Theo?" Fred asked, now dropping his pestering to be serious. "It'll help, seriously. Plus, there's only a number of times that you can be sick before your stomach empties out…"

Theodore refused the offer and sat back in his seat, holding tighter to the handlebar and seatbelt with his eyes completely closed. Viripin reappeared at his shoulders and nuzzled at his temple to keep him calm while the car began to pick up speed along the road until with a jolt, everything felt light and airy.

" _Breathe, Theodore, breathe,"_ hissed the Maibian Adder soothingly in his ear. _"I'll be here, OK? Everything is going to be fine, just breathe…"_

The wringing of his stomach, the painful clamping feeling in his throat made him feel as if his body was rejecting his will to live. The car swerved a little to the right, sending a searing cramp in his stomach that he could barely hold onto. Viripin carried on nuzzling against him, and the three Weasleys' voices faded a little as the car climbed higher in the air.

"I'm OK," Theodore managed to force out for everyone to hear. He felt a hand rubbing on his shoulder along with a voice that told him to hang on, but it didn't last for that long, for Theodore felt himself being dragged down further and further in uncomfortableness, eyes swirling underneath his eyelids, stopping when it became too much for him as it all faded away slowly.

* * *

"Theo… Theodore, wake up…"

"Fucking hell, I knew that he'd pass out five minutes in. And you wouldn't believe me, would you, Ginny?"

"Watch it, Fred. Just because Mum's not around, doesn't mean you can let your mouth go loose. Hold on, let me get my wand and… _Rennervate._ "

Theodore's eyes flung wide open as he gasped loudly in shock and complete confusion. They flickered in every direction frantically, only to pile on more confusion from what he was seeing: or what he couldn't.

Bill had completely vanished on his right; so did the dashboard in front of him; the rear-view mirror didn't reflect Fred or Ginny at the back nor was it present, and Theodore's feet was gone, along with his entire body. All that he could see were wheat fields sprayed with the pinkish-orange light from the setting sun below him like he was completely bodiless without form.

"Uhh, what's happening?!" the Parselmouth panicked whilst waving his non-existent hands in front of his face. "Where are my hands, why can't I see my hands?!"

"Calm down, Theo, we're just about to land soon, all right?" said Bill's voice on his right. "Look! The Burrow is right over there, we made it!"

"Viripin, where are you?! What's happening?!"

" _I'm around your neck, Theodore, can't you tell? Bill pressed that silver button the second you fell unconscious. It made the entire car turn invisible,"_ hissed the serpent from seemingly nowhere. _"Look, just calm down. We're going down now."_

The Ford Anglia quickly dipped through the spaced area of trees that preceded the bare fields of grass, lowering closer to the ground with slight judders on its descent: Bill muttered how could Muggles work with planes and cars. Soon after, the car touched the ground tougher than Theodore would've liked and rolled along a wide dirt path that carried onwards to a small derelict garage not too far from the bizarrely constructed house that barely caught his eye for obvious reasons.

As the image of his body, Viripin's, and Bill's face reappeared upon the car switching off, Theodore scrambled out onto the ground and breathed heavily, sucking in so much air that he had an odd sensation of drowning somehow.

Viripin butted her head against his forehead and said, _"All right, up you get. I really need to work on your fear of heights. You jumped off a tower, Theodore. A tower!"_

"Yeah, well… desperate times called for desperate… measures," Theodore breathed as he shakily got back onto his knees.

" _You could've just snuck past everyone in the castle — you're so prone to danger, I'm genuinely scared about what could happen next year."_

"Not… the point…"

Ginny's car door swung open as she jumped out of the Ford and knelt down next to the Parselmouth to check if he was all right. After most of the stirring had faded away — Theodore still carried on drawing short breaths — Theodore slowly got on his feet with Ginny's help and brushed off the dust that he collected on his jeans. Fred patted him on the back and offered to carry Sawer inside, and Bill gave his concern for the last time then walked over to the boot to retrieve Theodore's trunk.

Fred slung one arm around Theodore to swerve him in the right direction and said, "Come on, superstar. Your eyes are swirling so much in their sockets that _I'm_ getting dizzy from looking at them."

"Don't worry, Theo. Mum said that she'd have dinner ready when we would come back!" Ginny piped in. She took in a large sniff of air and sighed airily. "Ahh, that smells _good_!"

Theodore rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, for he couldn't tell if they were going towards the garage or through the wheat fields surrounding the area where they landed. He didn't question either of them and continued to follow Fred's lead until the sight before him forced him out of his height-induced daze.

The Parselmouth lifted his head from ground to top, gazing at the abstract building that couldn't have stood anywhere in the Muggle world, no matter the effort given. Theodore thought of it as a painting, more of a sculpture of small cottages or houses all meshed together to create the wonderfully weird house with the several misplaced chimneys: Theodore truly did think it was wonderful.

"Yep, this is it," said Bill from behind with Theodore's trunk levitating above his head, "the Weasley Residence in its entirety. Theodore, may we present to you _The Burrow_!"

"Wow… I've never seen a house like this before…"

"It's… probably not what you're used to," Ginny added a little timidly. "Ron mentioned that you had a house from your mum."

Theodore gave her a half-lazy grin and replied, "I lived in an orphanage for my entire life. I _wish_ I was used to this! Wow…"

Ginny beamed at him and skipped onwards to the front door which had wheels, boots, kettles and cauldrons stacked over each other while chickens clucked somewhere on the left near the large apple tree in the far end.

Unable to hide his sudden tiredness, Theodore yawned when he was the second-to-last one to step onto the porch, not even acknowledging the sign that read THE BURROW swinging just inches away from his forehead. He followed Fred inside the cramped hallway with mountains of furniture on both sides, the hallway itself just a little lighter than the darkening sky outside. Theodore even wondered how his trunk was going to fit... well, anywhere.

The front hallway didn't go on for very long: it was quite short on the contrary. Theodore found himself standing in a circular area that would seem to be junctions leading to the stairs that zigzagged repeatedly as they ascended, the living room that looked even more cluttered than the front hallway, and the room where the smell of stomach-rumbling food came from. Surely had to be the kitchens.

But as Ginny zipped into the kitchen, Fred up the stairs taking Sawer with him, and Bill setting the trunk next to the boy before quickly going out the front door again, Theodore noticed that it was very quiet. Very, _very_ quiet.

' _Am I supposed to believe that nobody is here? There are five kids — six if counting Bill — here and Mrs Weasley. Hermione should be here as well, so where is everyone?'_

"…dear? Could you please get the tool that looks like a potato-peeler and spade in the living room?" said Mrs Weasley's voice from the kitchen.

A very familiar voice replied with, "Sure, Mrs Weasley!" enticing Theodore to instantly turn towards the entrance of the kitchen to see a mass of bushy brown hair bouncing behind a quick figure who didn't stop for a second to notice the perplexed boy standing in plain sight.

"Umm… hello to you too, Hermione?"

Hermione froze at the living room doorway and spun slowly on her heels to face him. Theodore didn't think that someone could change so much in just two weeks; albeit, there was nothing drastic about Hermione at all. Her hair was still as bushy as before, and her eyebrows were still thick, but Theodore remembered her being just a tad bit taller with cheeks that were slightly more rounded, lips that weren't as shiny as before, and now that he noticed all of a sudden, she definitely didn't have —

"Theo!" Hermione nearly leapt from the doorway and threw her arms around Theodore's torso, digging her head into his chest as she squeezed him tightly. Theodore shakily wrapped his arms around the Muggle-born, suddenly feeling a spike of heat inside him from the very small space between them as she pulled herself closer, pressing firmly against him. "Mr Weasley said that you were going to be here by this afternoon!"

"I — I was with a friend going somewhere special," he said suppressing a rising, unusual urge to gulp, "but I should've known that we would've been flying over here. Otherwise, we wouldn't make it here until morning."

Hermione pulled her head away just a little, still keeping herself close to him as she drove her fingers through her hair to see him more clearly. "Oh, rough ride, huh? You didn't get sick or anything?"

Theodore shook his head just slightly, smiling nervously. "Almost did but… lucky me, I guess."

"Yeah. Lucky you…" Her words trailed off and were forgotten by the both of them as for a moment that felt so much longer than it probably did, their eyes didn't break from each other at all. Theodore could've sworn that Hermione was inching closer to his face by just the slightest margin, although he blamed it on him staring for too long. Not that he minded at all. But he was certain that she was getting closer and closer…

"Hermione, did you say Theo's name? Is he back?"

Hermione jumped away and twisted her arms behind her back, blushing profusely when she heard Ron's voice coming from the kitchen growing louder until he came into vision, still tall and lanky as ever. "He is here! Hermione, why didn't you say anything?"

Hermione had her back turned to him and absentmindedly fiddled with a spring in the shape of a star and shrugged whilst saying, "You just didn't hear me, Ron. I clearly said that he was here."

"Sure you did. What's up, Theo?" greeted Ron as he put an arm around his shoulder. "Finally made it here after, what, two summers?"

"Couldn't hold it off for that much longer, could I? So, this is the famous Weasley house, huh? I've only been here for five minutes and I want to see everything." Theodore covered his mouth for a yawn and stretched; his stomach rumbled at the same time. "Right after I get something in my stomach and into bed."

"Well, you just came in time. Mum was in the kitchen cooking so much stuff with Hermione and Ginny before she left, just because you were coming over."

Theodore looked over at Hermione and felt a little bit embarrassed. Cooking a massive meal just for him? Surely, that was too much, right? He wouldn't normally complain about being served dishes after dishes, but he didn't think that anything he did was worth an extravaganza of a dinner. "Right, that's cool, I guess. Hey, have you guys heard from Harry recently? I only managed to get two letters from him and that's it. Didn't he talk to you two?"

Hermione and Ron gave each other distant glances before they vanished from their faces as Ron led him to the stairs with Hermione tagging behind them. "Yeah, Harry did talk to us. Apparently, he's having a bit of a rough time with the Muggles. Kept on going about their strict diet plan that we had to send him food by owl."

"He didn't tell me that he was being nearly starved," muttered Theodore. "Why didn't he say something? I mean, he told me about their diet, but he wasn't really crying for help."

"You know how Harry is. He doesn't ask people for help, even with some of the little things. He was happy about the cakes and stuff, though. Dad's going to probably grab him from the Dursleys soon so he won't have to stay there for too long, hopefully. All right, here we are!"

Theodore and Hermione followed Ron into the first room on the left on the fifth floor to have their eyes flooded with orange at nearly every corner. Theodore thought that it had to be Ron's favourite colour, and that could've been true, but the reason for it laid in the posters that were peeling off the wallpaper. The orange emblem holding two golden cannons crossing over each other told him that it was the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favourite Quidditch team.

"Your room's pretty big for just one person, Ron," awed Theodore. He looked over at the corner where Ron's collection of books of all different sizes and colours were stacked, the top having been recent edits of the _Prophet_. Sprawled out along the ground of the large room that was at least twice as big as Theodore's, were four green sleeping bags that resembled the ones Dumbledore conjured during Sirius's 'frolicking' back at Hogwarts.

Ron sat over at his bed and rearranged his covers in a quick attempt to make a good impression as he replied, "Mum, Dad and Charlie spaced the room out with a charm. Since he and Bill are staying in Fred and George's room, and Percy gets to keep his for some reason, the rest of us have to bunk in my room: me, you, Fred, George and Harry when he comes."

"I know this Charm. This is the…" Hermione mused for a while before she snapped her fingers when it came to her. "The Extension Charm, isn't it? They make things bigger on the inside, but it looks the same on the outside."

Ron nodded. He explained to them how five boys in one room weren't practical at all, so it came down to charming the place. Theodore looked over the room some more, marking his sleeping bag as the one closest to the small window which gave a clear view of the overgrown garden with shabby gnomes waddling around.

"— so basically, we won't have to —"

"Ron! Did you take my socks again? How many times have I told you not to use my socks for scooping up —"

"I didn't take your stupid socks, Percy," Ron shouted from the doorway. "Go ask Fred or George, they're always nicking your stuff!"

"Don't make me come to your room and tell you off there! I'll do it, you know!"

"Did you not just listen to me?! I didn't take your — see what I have to deal with?" Ron moaned at the other two. "Percy thinks that now he's made it into the Ministry, he's the head of the family. Newsflash, he's got two cooler older brothers, and Dad already made it. He's making it bigger than it is."

Hermione lifted her chin a little and said, "Well, I think it's great for Percy to join the Ministry. He was Head Boy last year, and he aced his NEWTs as well. You've got big shoes to fill."

"Don't you think I already know that, Hermione," he shot back with an annoyed look. "Bill already got Head Boy, Charlie was popular as hell, Fred and George are going the same way, but —"

"Ron! Where are my socks?!"

"I don't have your flipping socks, you obsessive prat!" Ron bellowed back.

"Any more shouting and there'll be no dinner for either of you, am I clear?!"

…

"Yes, Mum," said the two brothers together moodily.

"Good. Now, everyone come downstairs, dinner's ready, children!" Mrs Weasley sang as if nothing happened.

Ron stuck his hands in his pockets and slunk out of the door, not phased at all by Fred and George nearly crashing into him in the wonky corridor. Theodore allowed Viripin to curl up in his sleeping bag and opened Sawer's cage on top of an empty, low shelf for him to keep her company. Hermione was halfway through the door waiting and took to the stairs first with an almost un-Hermionish bounce to her step as her hair jumped along with her. Theodore had never seen her so… 'giddy' before and honestly, he thought it was sort of…

The three teens entered the kitchen that was an amalgamation of a dining room, living and kitchen all in one. It was noticeably smaller than Ron's room with a wide wooden table in its centre surrounded by chairs that were all mismatched.

Bill was sitting at one corner of the table talking to an unfamiliar redhead that was sure to be Charlie, Fred and George were sitting on opposite sides chucking multi-coloured rubber balls at each other with Ginny avoiding any missed catches. The only person who was not present at the table was Mr Weasley himself: Theodore deduced that he was probably on his way home from work.

Mrs Weasley opened her arms out wide at the sight of the Parselmouth and hurried over to squeeze him in a hug which lasted for quite a while, at least to Theodore it did. "How are you, dear? Bill said you came inside, but I didn't see you anywhere!"

Theodore pulled away gently and told her that Ron was just showing him where he would be sleeping.

"I see that you're stepping up as a host, Ron. Much better than the year you took the car to take Harry from his family two years ago," Mrs Weasley mentioned passive-aggressively to her youngest son. Ron's ears went pink, and he muttered something about not being the only one who left as he sat next to Ginny and George.

Theodore then found a seat opposite to Hermione, who sat next to Fred and the empty seat which was saved for Mrs Weasley, and next to Percy — he was unsuccessful with grabbing a plate to his room — and Charlie, who stuck his hand out the second Theodore touched his plum chair.

"Hey there. Charlie Weasley, the second one," he introduced himself as Theodore shook his calloused, strong hand.

"You don't have to mention our surname, Charlie, he knows who we are," said Fred with an eyebrow raised.

"I've got to be formal, right? _You_ must be Theodore Riddle, huh? Heard a lot about you, starting from your first year, of course."

Theodore thought back to Norbert and how it would be their first string of roaming the castle at nighttime. "So, I take it that you've read the _Prophet_ as well?"

Charlie rolled up his sleeves to reveal several old burns on his skin when the food floated along the table in reach of everyone. He took a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and smiled as he said, "Couldn't help myself, could I? I've got friends sending me owls from across the world telling me that some kids managed to capture a Death Eater who'd been in hiding for twelve years! Then I see Ron's name in the paper and it all went wild!"

"Well, don't believe everything that they say," assured the Parselmouth as he dumped sausages and gravy onto his plate, "most of it's exaggerated. I could barely walk through most of it. Ron was the one who ran him over with a car."

"And that was awesome, Ron."

"Thanks, Charlie," said Ron, ears red again.

"Are you guys looking to become Aurors then? There hasn't been a new recruit since Tonks joined, and I'm pretty sure that Amelia Bones would put you guys on a junior-program."

Ron perked up with eyes wider than Luna's, Hermione wiggled her eyebrows in thought and Theodore just blinked. "I wouldn't really mind becoming an Auror, it's just that… there isn't that much to do now these days, right? Most of the Dark wizards and witches are either locked up or… _dead_."

"Can't say that another wave of Dark wizards won't come again," Charlie played off expertly before chewing on a chicken bone that made him resemble Ron in a way. "But I get what you mean. Tonks is always telling me how boring it gets over at the DMLE. She is having a good time, though. Mad-Eye's training her from what I heard.

Fred, George and Ron clattered their cutlery on their plates and dropped their jaws. "Mad-Eye Moody is training Tonks?!"

"Umm, who's Tonks?"

"An old schoolfriend of mine. You should meet her sometime, although you won't want to get too close. She's a bit of a walking disaster," chuckled Charlie, shaking his head as if he were reliving old bit precious memories. Charlie then looked over Theodore's head to his younger brother and asked the silent Percy, "How's it down in the Ministry, Percy? Barty off sick again?"

Percy cleared his throat and straightened himself. "Mr Crouch is just under a lot of stress at the moment. He's been under a lot of fire from the public due to Sirius Black's upcoming trial. Several people have filed complaints to — at the very best — demote him from his position."

"Would only expect so," chirped in Mrs Weasley. "After what he did to his own son… Of course, he was a Death Eater, after all. I do feel bad about what he had to go through after he died, along with his wife. Anyway, about school! Kids, did you know that Dumbledore is adding two more prefect positions this year to each house? The four of you have a higher chance of getting them when this year's over."

She shot an uncomfortable look at the twins which did its job. Fred and George looked away and poked at their steak.

"Fat chance," said Ron under his breath. "I already know that Theo and Hermione will get chosen, and they'll probably only have two boys and two girls, the other boy being Harry."

"There are only six boys in our year, Ron. You can make it if you show Professor Dumbledore that you're responsible enough to take the role."

Ron looked like he wanted to snort at Hermione's addition but stopped when Mrs Weasley commended her for it. "Nicely put, Hermione. It's all about confidence, Ron. Look at your big brothers. They made it as Prefects because they knew what they wanted."

Ron sunk even lower in his seat and sulked as dinner went on. The mood, however, did manage to pick up when Charlie told stories about how he was chasing stray dragons in Albania for months, almost running into several Muggles along the way. Theodore enjoyed every single twist in each story as much as he enjoyed every bit of his plate that filled him up like a school meal. And every so often, between a bite of his tart and ice cream or a sip of his goblet, he'd catch the slightest smile from Hermione, who — Theodore had to admit that it was true — was doing quite a poor job at hiding it. Not to say that he minded: he didn't mind one bit.

The plates were emptied, and eyelids began to droop when the night had fully washed into the kitchen, telling everybody to go to their beds. Theodore was itching to go to his after today; he had visited two wizarding houses, one with his best friend that had a house-elf living inside, flew all the way across England in an invisible enchanted car and had one of the greatest meals of the summer so far. Safe to say that he _needed_ his bed at that moment.

"Mum sure knows how to — how to make one hell of a meal," George yawned from the top of the stairs. "Wasn't cool of her to take a jab at us, though. How's it our fault that we weren't chosen? I could be Head Boy without becoming a prefect! That'll show Percy!"

"I'm right here, George."

"I know."

Theodore rubbed his stiff chest and felt the raised scars underneath his shirt, thinking for just a second if Hermione felt them when she — she would've known about them anyway. Theodore turned his head around when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve and halted just before the steps on the first floor to be levelled with Hermione as the last of the kids.

"What's wrong?" asked Theodore, rubbing his sore eyes. He only realised how close she was when she started to talk, albeit rather softly.

"Theo, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away."

"Well, it's two things, actually. The first thing was about Sirius's trial. I haven't really heard anything from you. It's not bothering you, is it?"

"Not as much as Rita Skeeter," the Parselmouth said, disgruntled at the thought of her. "I've gone and used the last of my Knuts on a subscription, only to see my name in the headlines every single time. What a waste."

Hermione gave him a kind smile and rubbed his arm. "It's not an entire waste. You still get to keep up with what's going on outside Stuggle's. I even got a subscription just before the year ended, plus, it won't be that bad when we get back to school. I'm sure it'll die down by then."

"Yeah, well, here's hoping. Anyway, what's the second one? Is it about my favourite colour that you asked Harry about? Green's sort of up there if you were wondering."

"I… that'll matter later, like very soon. Umm…" She took one step up and pressed her palm against his chest just barely where his scars were. "Are they OK? You said that these ones wouldn't…"

Theodore patted her hand and gave half a smile. "They're not pretty, I'll give you that. Although, I'm not the only one who came out with scars. Did you show your parents?"

…

"Wow," Theodore muttered, shaking his head as he trotted up the stairs. "First the Basilisk, now the Time-Turner. _I_ can lie to my carers because I have to, but those are your parents. You have to tell them something."

Hermione followed him up hurriedly and quickly said, "Well, I can't! And I don't think I should! How do you think my dad's going to react if I tell him that I got skewered by a giant snake; nearly strangled and burned by a time-travelling necklace, or almost killed by a follower of You-Know-Who? There's a reason why I don't say _everything_ about you to them."

"You still talk to them about me?" Theodore asked with a small smile as they reached the fifth floor next to Ron's room.

"They're always asking about you; it's not like I bring you up all the time, you know."

"Aww, just when I thought you'd never stop thinking about me."

"I-I… I — I didn't mean —! You're —!" she stammered. Her face had gone so pink that it was too obvious for Theodore to ignore. Hermione remained still just before the last step and tapped nervously at the bannister watching Theodore suddenly stop in front of Ron's bedroom door to face her.

"Umm… see you in the morning, Hermione…"

"Goodnight, Theo," she smiled back, running her fingers through her hair again, face completely pink from his inescapable grin.

Her hair bobbed up and down when she left for presumably Ginny's room, goading the Parselmouth to look through the gaps of the handrail to see her disappear downstairs. "'Just when I thought you'd never stop thinking about me?' Why on Earth would you say that…?"

"Got lost on the stairs, did you?" Fred was already in his sleeping bag while George had Sawer on his forearm with something suspiciously similar to a letter hidden in between his fingers. "Or… a certain someone stopped you on the way up, eh? Theodore, you dog! Barely been here for five minutes and he can barely —"

"What are you doing with Sawer, George," said Theodore tiredly. The day had dragged out for so long that his conversation with Poppy felt like days ago, or that Louise had been gone for another three years… Louise… He facepalmed. He'd forgotten to start a letter for her when he promised that he'd write the second he got there. "I'll do it first thing in the morning. That's the latest she'll expect it…"

"The kid's gone mad. I think the Ford Anglia really messed him up — Theo, what're you doing?"

"Sleeping… going to sleep…" he slurred upon hitting the plush sleeping bag, not caring that his clothes were still on. Viripin was hidden inside and luckily made it out quickly, slithering over to Sawer's empty cage as she hissed irritably to herself.

"But we were going to play some Exploding Snap," said Ron. "We even made special editions with Lockhart's face on them."

Theodore moaned and wriggled around, trying to find the perfect position. "Want to go sleep… I had a long day… going to Elmbridge with Louise… have to go sleep… have to go…" Green and purple fires grew together and mixed in the haze of Theodore's mind, dancing everywhere as if fire-whips were being slashed in the air like feeble tinsel. He saw an obscurer version of his mother's house with vivid green eyes staring straight through the cracked windows until he couldn't remember any more of it, not the house-elf that sobbed upon meeting him or… or…

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Theodore woke up finally in a setting that was unusual to him. Instead of waking up to the smell of rainwater seeping in through the windows, bacon and eggs, toast, beans and all sorts of breakfast foods revived him as if he miraculously returned from a coma. He had almost forgotten that he didn't change from his normal clothes and stared at himself for quite a while with his left eye open until the connection was made. A long day it was for sure.

Theodore took one last sniff and ruffled his hair away from his eyes, briefly pondering on whether his hair had grown too long. He hadn't had his hair cut in several months — it wasn't on his list of priorities, not that he had any so far. His trunk was propped up against the wall next to Ron's poster of a Galvin Gudgeon but was too far for his liking. Oh well, it wasn't like he wasn't allowed to feel lazy anyway.

"Mmph… Theo…? That you?" said Ron's indistinct voice from under his sheets.

"Hmm. Where's Fred and George?"

Ron threw his duvet off him and screeched whilst stretching, "Probably already downstairs. Can already smell Mum cooking breakfast. Hey, get dressed so that we can do something later, you fell asleep in your clothes."

"Thanks, I didn't notice," remarked the Parselmouth sarcastically. Theodore then left his sleeping bag and grabbed Viripin and Sawer's food from his trunk, his mouth barely able to resist the temptation to drool from the smell getting stronger.

"All right, don't get pissy. It's only the morning. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the ghoul in the attic. For some reason, it was quiet yesterday. Weird. Also, the bathroom's on the third floor, but you'll have to go after me."

Theodore scrunched up his face in confusion. "Before you? What do you — wait, Ron, no!" Ron was out of the room in a flash with his clothes clumsily held in his hand before he disappeared down the stairs in an orange blur. "So much for being a good host… Viripin, here's your food. Tell Sawer to take these seeds, the old ones aren't good for him anymore."

Theodore did find some solace, however, in seeing Ron waiting desperately outside the bathroom for Ginny to come out after what could've been thirty minutes at least. After she had left — Ginny's face was rather stoic, but Theodore could see that she was troubled — Ron finished quickly and so did Theodore as well.

Mr Weasley greeted him courteously when they bumped into each other in the intersection and asked him a barrage of questions about his journey until his wife called them both inside the kitchen. Theodore met eyes with Hermione who left for the garden with Ginny after a brief flare in the cheeks and scoffed his plate down with Ron, Fred and George before they left for the garden as well.

"All right, kids!" announced Fred as he led everybody around back to the stone outhouse, "seeing as how we've got another misfit with us here —"

"I'm not a misfit," interrupted Theodore from the back.

"Blatant lie. Anyway, until the 'main man' himself comes by God knows when, we've got even numbers for Quidditch. Yes, Ginny, you can play too. But you're using Charlie's old broom."

"Fine by me."

"Hermione, I know that you're not really into this, so —"

"You hit the nail on the head, Ron," said Hermione. She had a book on Arithmancy tucked under her armpit which looked thicker than any other book she had possessed before in the past, "because I'm going to read up on —"

Ron groaned in displeasure. "How bored must you be to read during summer, Hermione? It's not even the end of July! Theo, you're —"

"No." Theodore stopped and stared over at a gang of gnomes flipping them off with ugly grins on their faces, and he almost laughed. "Aren't gnomes a bit too stupid to know what that means?"

"Not after what these two taught them," pointed Ron at his older brothers. "Mum almost caught them teaching several swear words to them last year. They know a great deal more than me, that's for sure."

Fred, George and Ginny rummaged through the broom shed and grabbed a beaten red ball and four splintered brooms with dust and cobwebs collecting on the fine, uneven twigs on the ends. Ron embarrassingly took the smallest one from Fred after eyeing Ginny taking the last somewhat held-together broom.

The group of six then turned back to the large garden and carried on through the back where a lofty tree with several roots digging through the soil in its vicinity was providing a quality amount of shade underneath it. As the Weasleys squabbled over teams and who would play whatever position, Hermione walked away from the group and sat under the tree leaning her back against the wall with her book open on her lap.

Theodore's first instinct was to walk right over and sit next to her, a thought that came so quickly he didn't know where it came from. But just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to George who asked, "Since you're not going to fly with us, could you at least be the ref? Ron really wants to play, so…"

"Hey! I heard that!"

"I've barely seen enough matches to know every rule." He looked around the corner of his eye to briefly glance at Hermione being completely invested in her reading before he continued, "And besides, doesn't the referee have to be flying with everyone else? If so, then —"

"No, no, don't worry about that," George assured suspiciously as he held Theodore's shoulder to guide him away to the open area of the uneven grass. "You can be on the ground looking up at us and see if we're giving or getting fouls and stuff. There's only four us, anyway, and Ron isn't _that_ terrible on the broom for him to be a danger."

"I'm right here!"

"I know."

Theodore shrugged, thinking that it was probably the least hazardous position in the game. He had a fairly basic knowledge of Quidditch after seeing Harry's games and could tell that they were going to play with a Quaffle as well. The other two tall trees would probably serve as goalposts with Ginny and George marking a spot on one end, and Ron and Fred on the other. Since Fred already gave the signal for the game to begin, and the Quaffle was coming straight into Theodore's direction, this meant —

Theodore tripped backwards and narrowly dodged the nose of George's broom when he attempted a complicated dive that could probably only be performed from using a Firebolt. "What the hell, George?! You nearly pushed my fucking nose back inside my skull!"

"Ahh, sorry man. Was trying to do Victor Krum's special move, the Wronski Feint. My bad."

Fred scoffed at his twin mid-air and dropped down a bit to punch him in the arm. "You're absolutely slacking, man! Josef Wronski, not Krum! You should get points taken off just for that…"

"Try that, and I'll send you crashing into the hole where the gnomes take shits bigger than their heads."

Theodore, feeling angry and content that he was being ignored by everyone, stood up stiffly and brushed himself off muttering under his breath. If it hadn't been for the slight draft behind his left calf to reveal a hole in his jeans, he wouldn't have seen Hermione half-hidden behind her book attempting to hold in a smile after witnessing the commotion.

His moment of anger was being slowly smothered until George returned back onto the ground to tap his shoulder once more. "I'm not being the referee anymore unless we do something else," the Parselmouth said sternly to the relaxed older teen.

"Theo, all we do outside is play Quidditch. Hell, even without brooms, we do nothing out here, except for gnome-chucking. Want to try it —"

Theodore waved it aside. It was bad enough that he couldn't make it past ten feet off the ground on a broom, but now he was in danger standing still as well? The answer was so obvious that George didn't even question it; he just left him to be when Ginny called for his help when Ron and Fred began to dominate the points.

Taking in and expelling out his many moments of annoyance towards the subject, Theodore sighed thinking himself of a coward that at the age of fourteen, a wizard like himself was absolutely feeble against something as mundane as heights.

"You can jump off a tower but can barely mount a broom," Theodore grumbled as he kicked up stones from the ground. "Pathetic."

Just outside the back door came voices from Mr Weasley, Bill and Charlie all discussing something rather secretive, judging from how they straightened themselves from Theodore's gaze. It had to be regarding the trial he thought to himself. Mr Weasley worked in the Ministry, so it had to be it, obviously. Theodore didn't know the full details, however; being kept away at Stuggle's would have you in the dark mostly. From the way the _Prophet_ was sizing it up, it had to be worth talking about for several weeks —

"…Theo! Are you still daydreaming, I've been calling your name for a minute now!"

He blinked several times before remembering where he was and turned on the spot towards the direction from where the voice came from. "Sorry, Hermione, I was just… thinking."

"You're not going to do a lot of thinking with the sun burning your scalp. You've been standing there for at least three minutes."

Theodore scratched his head to feel the heat in his hair and shrugged. "It's not that hot. I could use a tan anyway, I look like I'm not allowed to go outdoors."

Hermione lifted one leg over the other and patted the space next to her under the shade and called out, "Well, instead of just standing around waiting for one of them to crash into you again, you can come sit over here in the shade."

The Parselmouth drove his arm across his forehead and walked over slowly to where she was sat and did his best to avoid the roots as his legs felt a little numb from the fall. He plopped down next to Hermione beneath high hanging branches of thick leaves not letting a single beam of light through and rested himself against the smooth drystone wall.

"See, that's better now, isn't it?" said Hermione moving her hair behind her ear whilst turning the next page.

"Ron's right, you know. You don't have to read, it's summer. We're supposed to have fun."

"Then why aren't you doing anything 'fun'?"

"Because you called me over to sit with you," Theodore pointed out as he plucked a smooth stone from underneath the root and tossed it hand-to-hand. "I'd be fine with seeing what's over the other side of the field but flying on brooms? No thanks."

"Why don't you like flying, though? We were in the same flying class, and you weren't awful. I mean, it means nothing coming from me since I'm terrible at flying as well, but it was Neville who got hurt that day. And you also —"

"Jumped off of a tower, I know. I just don't like it, that's all. Some people hate spiders —" He looked over at Ron making terrible dives attempting to stop the Quaffle from going in "— some people hate snakes, and I just hate flying."

Theodore turned his head slightly to the left and saw Hermione shuffling herself closer towards him and stopped just when their thighs came into contact. He was glad for Ron cursing at George for nearly hitting him on the head to give him a reason to look away and crossed his arms while doing so.

"Jumping off a tower does give you some credibility, I guess, even though the idea of it is just completely inhuman. So you got that."

Hermione then flicked through the pages and stopped suddenly in between and crossed her legs, swaying her head just slightly that Theodore could notice. She usually did this whenever her spirits were particularly high enough, mostly when it would be just the two of them — Theodore confusingly asked himself how he knew this.

"There's a town nearby that has really good ice cream," said Hermione, almost as if she were talking to herself. "Ron's mum let us go on my second day here; so I'm sure that we could go as well."

"We?"

Theodore bit his lip to hold in the smile at Hermione's face burning up as she slammed her book shut. "We, as in a-all of us! You know, Fred, George, Ginny, me… and you…"

"Oh," began Theodore in a tone of false disappointment — he had no clue what he was doing, "for a moment, I thought you wanted it to be just the two of us. That's a shame."

Hermione's face couldn't have turned any pinker. "It… wait, I mean — I mean, _we_ could still go — well, I d-don't think that Mrs Weasley would let us, but… umm…!"

"WE WONNN! WE WON, WE WON, WE WON!" Ginny and George screamed in unison in front of their dejected siblings elbowing harshly at each other's stomachs.

"What a catch, Ginny! Huh, I've taught you well in the art of feinting," George congratulated his younger sister. "Why didn't you say you liked Quidditch before?"

Ginny frowned and crossed her arms with her ears going slightly red. "I've been asking you guys to play ever since I was four! It was only because Charlie left that you even let me watch, let alone play!"

"All right, all right, calm down. Let's not destroy what we got here. You keep hissing like that, and you'll end up looking exactly like Ron when he's crying."

Ron was on the verge of bellowing every single swear word that he could think of when his mother came trotting out back with a large basket of damp clothes floating in front of her. Grumbling under his breath about three more years until he'd be seventeen, Ron walked over to Theodore and Hermione under the trees without muttering a single word, just directing his glare towards George's back as if it would set it on fire.

Hermione scrambled up on her feet, almost giving the impression that a snake tried to bite her. She hopped over the roots quickly and stood behind Ron with the book held to her chest — her face was luckily masked by her hair from Ron, not that he would've noticed.

"Next time, please play with us," mumbled the redhead with a hand outstretched to help the Parselmouth up. "I know you don't like it, but I can't stand being on a team with just Fred."

"Answer's always going to be the same, Ron. Unless I suddenly fall in love with flying on a broom, I'm useless in the air."

Ron sighed and nodded his head. He looked so worn out and depleted of energy that he saw no use of trying to persuade him or Hermione. Speaking of her, Hermione had managed to slip away just a little bit that the two boys didn't notice her until they both reached the garden door as the last ones inside.

Although it had passed, when Theodore was the last one through after Hermione, he saw her nose still holding a pink shade that he couldn't help but think that it made her sort of…? He rubbed his elbow, knowing the perfect word to describe her:

…

 _Cute…?_

Hedwig and Sawer came bursting through the doorway, screeching so loudly that it startled Mr Weasley, who walked in before Charlie and Bill. "My, I thought that the ghoul had gotten moody and decided to entertain itself! Whose owls do these belong to?"

"One of them's mine, Mr Weasley, sorry — Sawer, get over here and leave her alone, you too, Hedwig!"

The two owls finished circling around each other aggressively and fluttered over to the Parselmouth: Hedwig rested on his left shoulder and Sawer was on his right forearm.

"I'll talk to you two later when everyone's preoccupied with something else," whispered Mr Weasley to his sons before he turned to Theodore with a large smile on his face. "Mail from other friends, I presume? On second thought, I know _that_ owl." He pointed at Hedwig. "Isn't that Harry's?"

"Yeah." Hedwig nipped at her leg where a string was tied to an envelope and took it between her beak to hand it over to Theodore's hand. "Harry's sent me something. He's probably going to ask if I'm having fun here: he's having a horrible time over at —" Theodore held off at his sentence when he saw Mr Weasley grimacing a little.

"Yes, well… I was going to pick him up very soon before his birthday would come around, but it seems I might have to hold it off with everything that's going on in the Ministry and my job. We had a case of exploding toilets all across Manchester yesterday. Reminded me of Fred and George, for some reason…"

…

"But he is coming soon, right?"

"Of course, of course!" Mr Weasley responded assuringly. "Can't think that Sirius wouldn't want his godson kept away with the Muggles at any given chance. Well, you've got letters to read, and I've got letters to write. Decimated toilets aren't going to explain themselves."

Mr Weasley said goodbye and quickly rushed in the direction of where Charlie and Bill left to before he sliced the envelope open and read his cousin's letter silently:

 _Dear Theo,_

 _Did you get to Ron's place by the flying car? If you did then I applaud you: that's almost a two-hour drive! Flight, more like it. Tell me you didn't think that the Invisibility Booster was sort of cool._

 _I'm going to cut this short because I don't want to waste time. I already told Sirius about this, and he told me to ask Dumbledore about it, but I want to ask you just before that._

 _My scar's been hurting recently, like the time at Hogwarts. Voldemort can't be anywhere near Little Whinging, let alone Britain. Remember when Dumbledore said that he was hiding in Albania?_

 _I'm not trying to suggest anything, but you're the only person I really know who could have an idea about this, except for Dumbledore. You don't have to rush, it's not that bad. Anyway, I'll see you when I come over, 'if' I come over, that is._

 _From Harry._

 _P.S: I haven't told Sirius about this, but I had this really weird dream where I could hear Voldemort's voice as if I was almost there. Don't tell Hermione and Ron, please?_

His scar was hurting again, but he was perfectly fine? That didn't make any sense. If Voldemort wasn't anywhere near, then how was it possible that it was hurting him? It never happened during last year or the year before that. And what did he mean by hearing his voice? Theodore couldn't understand the connection between his cousin and father, unable to explain the reason for his scar that was surely the result of a curse. On the top of his head, he could only think _Secrets of the Darkest Art_ having any sort of answers, and Theodore barely made it halfway.

' _Cursed scars… I never heard about them; neither has anybody else. But Voldemort can't be near him. He's broken, barely human… gone… Yeah, he's gone… he's gone…'_

* * *

The air felt like dust during the day, thickening out hour by hour as the sun caked the ground as well as the exhausted people beneath it. Several instances of heatstrokes were found around nearly every corner of the streets that by the time the cool night washed over, the roads were full of healthy-looking inhabitants chatting when the evening sun would die, or people taking midnight strolls as if it were morning. And taking a walk during the night was a common habit to pick up these days, a very common habit.

The time that he had remained in this country felt countless, almost an eternity to him. His mind felt so distant, his senses made everything feel so surreal, and his body… well, 'his' body was failing him every step that he took. A wreckage of his former self. He could barely even remember his wretched name from childhood, although that was a blessing more than anything.

He felt the fresh air rolling on his withered skin as he hobbled weakly along the barren pavement of the sketchier parts of the town and feebly grabbed hold of the tattered black robes that were his only item of clothing. His fingers were almost down to the bone, resembling bones from their chalky tone. They were the only parts of his flesh exposed, otherwise, it was all hidden from sight but, unfortunately, not imagination.

"Body will not… last," he wheezed, smacking his lips dryly with the sounds of moisture being devoid from his mouth, "body decaying… disloyalty among us… the boy… I need… the boy…"

His legs were tiring out; soon, they'd crumble like the rest, ready to be studied by the unsuspecting Muggles who searched endlessly for an answer, only to be met with their incompetence. How typical.

Ah, yes. The 'fabled' wall that he'd pass by on a regular basis. Multiple stories were told from pictures alone, stories with such deeper meaning that only he could fully understand. He held himself still in front of the multitude of plastered posters, some that dated back from a few years ago till quite recently, the most recent one fresh above the countless others that eroded over time.

A boy, strawberry-blond locks, no older than five, suddenly missing after wandering off too far from his family into the unsuspecting forests that were claimed to contain creatures bred from nightmares. A reward — of course, there would be a reward — for anyone with valuable information. A small, innocent boy… He sneered with undertones of disgust. Not entirely with the Muggle boy but his predicament, something that that boy had been an… _unwilling_ _volunteer_ , if those were the correct choice of wording. Muggles over magical blood? Had he really stooped so low? There were only so many lives he could steal for his own sustenance before his tolerance would force him otherwise.

He weakly turned his head from the sudden bellows of raucous laughter coming from up along the street. The small tavern was always alive at this time of day, inviting those who had finished their mediocre jobs for a place to relax before they would return home. Three men had stumbled out onto the street and surrounded a dusty van, all intoxicated to the brim as they were barely recognisable as functioning humans.

One was holding tightly to a beer bottle, singing to the top of his lungs an unknown song, completely unaware of the two others wrestling each other into headlocks at the same time flailing stupidly on the ground: like before, a common habit. But no matter. _He_ was going home, away to rest and plan until the next day would come.

He returned to his hobbling up the street, still smacking his cracked lips to the rhythm of his steps. Eyes on the ground, remaining focused on maintaining this body for as long as possible, he kept himself to him— His feeble body nearly completely crumbled under the weight of two other, stronger men. Pain seared nearly every bone that he had stolen and was severing the mind from the body at every passing second.

"No… not now…" he whimpered quietly.

The men didn't tend to the elderly man that they crashed into and instead roared with laughter. So much alcohol coursed through their brains that they didn't register the abnormalities that the man possessed for his hood was retracted from the fall, and his head was exposed. Few clumps of withered strawberry-blond hair with a white-pale scalp underneath could've been seen by the lights coming from inside the tavern, but not his face.

"You're weak," he told himself. "Rest… find rest and heal… not now…"

The man that had been singing — he was easily the burliest one of the group — swung his bottle around the air, twirling round and round until he stopped at the feet of the old man's sprawled body along the ground. He slurred together words that were of the native language, swaying side to side until the bottle in his hand tipped over to the side and trickled a stream of beer onto the man's robes. All three men howled with laughter like simple-minded creatures that could be easily entertained by such simple acts.

…

As the beer dripped down from his hood, he laid still on the ground knowing that he wouldn't have any more time. It was over; this body had served its purpose. Soon he'd be without form, bodiless like he had been for so long… He used his spindly fingers to squeeze the excess liquid from his hood and revealed what had been obscured underneath only partially. Cracked lips that were almost nonexistent, white dry skin almost akin to discarded shedding from a serpent and where a nose should've been, thin slits that were also snakelike. But they didn't take notice of this. Not that they could or ever would.

His soaked hand slowly reached inside his robes and plucked out a piece of wood so crude-looking in appearance. Gently, he rose a shaky hand to point it at the man closest to him and nearly ripped his dried lips apart with a devilish grin as he hissed, _"Imperio…!"_

The bottle in his hand fell to the ground instantly, and his laughter vanished for the only thing that could be read from his face alone was that he was docile, absolutely devoid of anything other than that.

"I can see into your mind… yes… this is your van, and you have… _yes_ … Take the axe from your van… and show no mercy to your friends, Muggle…"

Not a moment of hesitation. The submissive man marched over to his van and opened the back doors, ignoring the questions of confusion from his friends as he approached them with a heavy axe held in both hands. It only took them a single second to comprehend what was happening through their drunkenness but only a single second.

He watched him drive the axe from the air down the middle of his skull, cleaving it cleanly in two as his body shutdown instantly. He watched as how the other tried to run but failed when he couldn't find his balance on the ground, stumbling off onto the empty road before the axe was swung down with such horrific force that his skull simply burst from impact, spraying the Imperiused man's boots with blood, bone and brain fragments as the body twitched pathetically like a fish out of the water.

' _How it has always been,'_ he thought to himself, now absolutely certain that the body had reached its end. _'Muggles are savages amongst each other, always have been. I… I…'_

The black mass of sentient smoke seeped out from the man's mouth and nose, swirling and clumping together like it had no grasp on itself. Reduced to less than a man, less than a ghost or the average Muggle…

It whisked away from the scene that left behind two dead men, viscerally slaughtered with their blood staining the cracks between the slabs in the pavement, a man who stood confused, blood-stained and traumatised from their sudden corpses, and the body of another boy whose bones had been snatched from him, abused and discarded like all the rest, another boy whose blood had been utterly poisoned by magic of the wickedest sort, another boy whose body fell victim to _him_ …

 **Theo's being a little flirt, even when he doesn't know it. If he truly knew about his appeal and was as vain as Lockhart, then… it's a sticky one. Theo's also acting like a teenage boy as well, noticing more about Hermione, even a bit about Louise from the other chapters (finally).**

 **I think that this means the chapters, the entire story, from now on is going to get a little more… mature-ish. Hey, I didn't give this an M rating just so I could have everyone swearing all the time. This is definitely the last part of the slice of life chapters, and the next is going to kick everything off (also, did you like the last part?). Hope you liked this chapter and I will see you later.**


	42. Chapter 42: Just A Thought

Harry's right eye twitched and watered from the sudden searing pain and the rush of emptiness that flooded his head. He felt his knees buckle from his legs losing their strength to keep him standing and tripped onto his bedroom floor with his palms slamming painfully onto the ground — how did he get from the bed to the other side of the room…?

"Boy! Enough with the racket or I'll make you sleep in the shed tonight!" hollered Uncle Vernon from his room.

Harry ignored the faint mutterings coming through his closed door and pressed his palm against his scar and right eye — both felt like someone had driven a white-hot fork through them. He rubbed viciously against his scar and clasped his other hand onto his bedsheets as he brought himself to his feet gingerly as if he might fall over again.

He never felt or seen anything like this before in his dreams at all, not even the nightmares that he had back at Hogwarts. Those were just broken pieces from whatever he'd see in the day prior, all meshed together to form a disordered dream, but this was nothing like that. What he remembered was so real: what could he remember?

Harry thought long and hard whilst climbing back into his bed to catch the slipping nightmare from disappearing forever. He was walking through somewhere… a place he had never been to before… his hands were white and withering away slowly, and his clothes were all black… Harry groaned — his scar was still prickling a little — and threw his head back onto his pillow with his cold hands cooling his burning face.

' _I was walking through someplace, and I saw pictures… posters of people… boys… why was I looking at them…? Two, no, three men laughing and drinking… I fell and they laughed even more until one took an axe and… then I couldn't feel anything and I was flying away… my head…'_

And the cold, high voice that sounded so weak which somehow came from his own mouth. Harry knew that it was so familiar, knew that it was a voice that he came to hate, almost fear even. Almost fear. That was funny. Harry didn't know what to make of it. So real… so, so real…

The light tapping against glass caught Harry's attention from his bedroom window, and Hedwig was flapping her wings gracefully in midair with her feathers nearly glowing from the moonlight. Harry reached for his glasses that fell somewhere near his wardrobe and walked over to the window to let the owl in and grabbed the letter attached to her leg.

Sirius was becoming quicker in his replies, this time only taking three days to write back. Harry was glad to see that he was recovering little by little but couldn't help wanting him to be perfectly well the next day. He had never felt more trapped before in his life which was the last sensation he thought he'd feel after living under the stairs for so long.

As he swung Hedwig's cage open for her, he slapped the envelope against his palm anticipating what could be written inside. Did he want to talk more about the trial: that was more or less how most of their conversations went. School, St Mungo's, Lupin, his dad, Theodore — Harry stopped moving his hand. He had almost forgotten what he told Theodore about his dreams; he was the only person who knew. Not even Dumbledore did.

"I should tell Theo about it, but what about Dumbledore?" he muttered to himself as he placed Sirius's letter on the table. "He knows everything about this 'thing' I have with Voldemort… Theo probably knows as well, I couldn't imagine him being clueless about this after what happened in the first year. I'll write to him first, Hedwig, then —"

Hedwig suddenly screeched and flailed her wings against the bars, forcing Harry to nearly jump over to her with his bedsheets thrown over her cage. "Hedwig, you're going to get me into trouble if you don't —!"

Harry almost flinched upon hearing his door nearly being pummelled from the vicious knocking on the other side as Uncle Vernon bellowed, "What did I say about making noise?! Do you want me to kick you out like last summer?!"

"Last time I checked, I left because I wanted to…"

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!" Harry tapped against the cage to check if Hedwig had calmed down from whatever set her off. "It's just my owl, she got scared for some reason."

"Keep her quiet, then! Your cousin, aunt and I are leaving for London, so we need to sleep! If I hear it flapping or screeching, I'll turn it into a barbecue!"

Uncle Vernon's heavy footsteps crunched against the floorboard and were masked from his own door closing as Harry grabbed the bedsheets off of the cage to frown at the Snowy Owl. "What's wrong with you? This is the third time you've done this!"

Hedwig twisted her neck towards the window and cooed quietly that Uncle Vernon couldn't possibly hear her. Harry moved the curtains away from each other slightly and peered through the gap to stare at the identical houses that belonged to his neighbours, all neat, perfect and boorish. Nothing struck him as abnormal, not even the tabby cat in the distance: must've been one of Mrs Figg's.

Harry gritted his teeth for yet again, his scar twinged with sharp pain. And suddenly, it caught up to him. For some reason, he didn't feel safe at all. No, he never once felt at home here at the Dursleys for even just a minute. Little Whinging was an area he'd gladly never visit again. But this time, he felt vulnerable, naked and cold. He couldn't understand it, but he wanted somebody to come take him from this place. Dumbledore, Theodore, the Weasleys, anyone who cared because he didn't feel at home. He felt even more constricted, more powerless as with every second that passed by so slowly, he stared straight out of his window without blinking, wondering if Voldemort was staring straight back at him.

* * *

Theodore couldn't help but smile or laugh as the following days passed by from his arrival. Every single moment was so memorable, and every single moment had bested all the days he spent during the summer at Stuggle's; the days with Louise were the only exceptions. The Weasleys were more than kind to him: if Theodore didn't know any better he'd think that they thought of him as part of the family.

It would be Mr Weasley asking him a plethora of excitable questions regarding anything Muggle-related; Mrs Weasley would ask him what his favourite meal was every day; Bill and Charlie telling him story after story about their time at Hogwarts, and Ron, Ginny, Fred and George just always being around him. Even Percy was much more talkative these days: Theodore suspected that he felt a little guilty about Viripin. Every single one of them would take a part of his day and he didn't mind at all. Why would he? Harry would be coming soon to join everyone, and Hermione… _well_ …

" _Isn't it Harry's birthday today?"_ asked Viripin from the sleeping bag as she watched Theodore returning to Ron's room, eyes curtained by his damp hair.

Theodore combed his hair back with his fingers and replied, "Yep. Mr Weasley said that he's going to surprise him by picking him up from the Dursleys. It's about time, don't you think? They're starving him over there…"

" _Harry was always on the thin side. I'm sure that he'll get fattened up nicely when he gets here. Did you get him a present?"_ Theodore stuck his hand through an unzipped hole of his trunk, carefully pulled out the inactive Golden Snitch and held it in front of the Maibian Adder. _"I thought that you're not supposed to give birthday presents back, especially after not taking care of them."_

"It's not the Snitch Harry gave to me, Viripin. I grabbed this from my mum's house in Harry's dad's old room," said Theodore, slipping it into his pocket. "I don't have any money, remember?"

" _I know, I know. Your mother's inheritance is still out there somewhere waiting for you. Oh well, it's not about the money anyway. I'm sure he'll love it."_

Theodore thanked the serpent and opened up the window for her and Sawer to go find any mice that would be scuttling in the garden. After giving the owl a shove through the window-gap as he became a little excitable and had gotten stuck, Viripin then slipped through and disappeared over the wheat fields as an eagle with Sawer trailing behind her.

Deciding that drying his hair was not all that important, Theodore changed himself quickly and left Ron's room for downstairs, being careful not to overstep on the zany stairway before reaching the ground floor. It didn't take much to convince Mrs Weasley to allow the teens to go to the Muggle village of Ottery St Catchpole, although Theodore and Hermione did most of the talking. Ever since she said yes, Theodore had been wondering if the ice cream Hermione was talking about was any good… A reoccurring thought that he just couldn't get rid of.

Theodore jumped into the kitchen expecting everybody to be there but was met with the eyes of Mrs Weasley alone with pots and pans flying above her head. This was unexpected. "Mrs Weasley," said the Parselmouth, a little confused, "where's everyone else —?"

"Oh dear! I thought you already left — oh wait. Had to get rid of the Gnome Putty from Fred and George, didn't you? Here, let me see." Mrs Weasley reached out for the boy and narrowly ducked under a zooming pan before she checked thoroughly through his damp hair. "Perfect. Now hurry along, they're all fast walkers. You'll probably have to run to catch up."

"Thanks, Mrs Weasley!"

"And Theodore? You wouldn't mind if I cut your hair a little short, you know, for the trial? You'll want to look your best," Mrs Weasley called out the moment Theodore almost closed the front door.

"Umm… no, I don't mind. I have to…" Mrs Weasley quickly said goodbye, and Theodore closed the door behind him, found his balance after nearly tripping over the pile of boots near the door and ran across the garden along the dirt-road pathway towards St Catchpole where the others would surely be heading to.

"…he'll get here soon, stop being such a child, Ron."

"You're the one who's being a child! If you hadn't put that stuff in his hair, we would've been there by now!"

"Oh, stop it, both of you! Look, Theodore's already here, he's running to us now."

In the distance just before the wheat field ended by a wooden fence with barbed wiring and a broken gate were Fred, George, Ron, Ginny and Hermione standing just beyond the gate apparently waiting for Theodore.

"Thanks… for waiting guys, I really appreciate it," puffed Theodore sarcastically, holding the area of scaring on his chest for it started to feel tighter.

"Sorry about the Gnome Putty, Theo. We didn't know it would stick so well to your hair."

"Another product sadly discontinued," Fred 'wept' with two hands on his heart. "Oh well, we've still got loads in the making. Just give us a warning when you're in our vicinity."

"If anything, _you_ should be giving us the warnings," frowned Ginny. "Aren't we going now? Mum could see us from the top bedroom window if she'd like. She'll make us come back if we aren't doing anything."

"True, true. All right, onwards, children!" Fred commanded, marching alongside George down the concrete path that was diverged from a road surely leading to the town.

The road winded and turned and would sometimes vanish from afar due to the numerous hills and open fields that surrounded the area. Theodore could barely see any other houses that were close by, although he wasn't surprised by this: the Weasleys were probably as far from any nearby Muggles as they possibly could. He could only catch glimpses of two farms and a weirdly shaped rock that could've been a house for all he knew. But what did he know? He had never been to the countryside before in his life if not counting going to Hogwarts.

"Car!" shouted Ron from the back. Everyone divided onto either side of the road and allowed a small blue car to pass by with the driver staring oddly at all of them before speeding off quickly. "Weird. We don't look that odd, do we?"

"I think it's mostly to do with the fact that we're just random kids walking up a road," said Hermione after everyone resumed walking up north. "Nobody really lives near here though, do they?"

"There's this crazy story about a fisherman who found refuge underneath the ground. Something to do with having so many tunnels dug in the ground that he's called Wormy."

"Sounds ridiculous."

"Yeah, you know how Muggles are with their crazy stories. _Princess and the Frog_? Since when does kissing a frog turn him human? How does that work?"

"Umm, magic?" Theodore said with half a smile and a raised eyebrow. Ron scoffed and shook his head, muttering how _that_ sounded ridiculous. Theodore ducked his head a little next to Hermione's and whispered, "Is it me or is Ron secretly starting to take an interest in Muggle culture?"

"You just noticed?"

The two both moved to the side of the road when a large van passed by and walked back on as Theodore whispered back, "Well, he has a few things in his room like toys and stuff, but I didn't realise until recently. He's even got a book collection. I know about all the fairytales, but there was this one weird book that I never have seen before. It was called _My Immortal_ or something like that."

Hermione grimaced a little and gave him a pitying look. "You really read that book?"

"I couldn't even get past the first chapter," shuddered the Parselmouth. "Ron told me that it was one of his mum's 'romance' stories, buuut…"

A grin grew on Hermione's face as she glanced quickly at the unsuspecting Ron. Theodore looked over at her to see her resisting a laugh from escaping and felt his mouth forming its own smile as well; he found her attempts to stop herself from giggling adorable. He didn't even think that what he said was all that funny — not that he cared.

After ten minutes of trekking along the now empty road, the teens then finally arrived at a river that passed by several houses next to the riverbank, and the road joined to the bridge above the water beneath which carried on forwards to a town Theodore could only have ever seen in primary school books.

Theodore trailed a little behind as the last one of the group as they walked further into the town that felt a little clumped to him. Houses were squashed together around the bends of the roads, small shops just sticking out from the corners as well. Everything felt as if they were on a single large hill with every building being slanted just a bit. This was definitely different from Lambeth, almost every detail of it.

The first place they stopped by was the ice cream shop that Hermione mentioned, a shop seemingly bare of customers save for an elderly woman and her granddaughter. Everyone picked out his or her combinations of scoops for themselves — Theodore was a little irked when he was reminded that this was a Muggle shop with no 'Sweet Caramel Pumpkin' — with Hermione and Ginny paying for them.

"We're the eldest ones here," complained Fred, "but she doesn't trust us with money! What's gotten into Mum's head recently?"

"It's the prefect thing, I'm telling you. She's just mad that we broke the 'perfect' tradition of Weasley Prefects. It's absurd!"

They all sat around a squeaky, silver round table in a booth at the corner of the shop, licking away at their cones while the Twins rambled on about their dispute with their mother. Theodore was sat in between George and Ginny, enjoying his ice cream at the same time getting flashes of the previous summer at Diagon Alley going through his mind whenever he'd look up to see Hermione opposite to him. When he told her that Sirius nearly killed him and she held his hands whilst looking at him with so much worry in her eyes…

"Shit," he muttered when he felt his nose suddenly grow cold. Theodore used his sleeve and rubbed the tip of his nose before he returned to eating his ice cream, still unable to stop himself from thinking about last year. _'All right, you like her, you idiot, we get it. Stop staring at her before it gets weird.'_

"Theo, you've got something on your nose," pointed out Hermione. Theodore viciously rubbed his nose until he felt it sting just a little and looked up at her to get a look of confirmation. She nodded just a little and held in a smile after taking a glance at his nose before she turned to talk to Ron.

Looking down at his reflection in the table, a distorted image of himself had a reddened nose that almost made him look as if he were blushing. Theodore sniffed and ignored it, turning over to Ginny who snorted after taking one look. "It's not that funny, Ginny."

"Whatever you say, Theo," she teased.

After every cone had been devoured, the six teens then left the parlour and decided to take a walk through the town; they finally saw the first sign of more people actually living in the area crowding around a large octagonal fountain made out of marble with a wooden stage mounted in the air. A magician with a soggy-looking face was the centre of attention, bellowing incoherent phrases with cards in his hands.

"You know, they're quite impressive with their tricks," said Ron in Theodore's ear after applauding the magician when he turned the stack of cards into multicoloured paper aeroplanes. "Wouldn't be surprised if this guy was an actual wizard himself."

"Don't be daft," mocked a woman in front of them with her nose upturned.

Ron scowled at her and whispered to Theodore, "If only we could do magic when we wanted to. I'd blow this crowd away with a snap of my fingers."

"That's still illegal, isn't it?"

"It's just a thought. Hey, look! He's pointing at us! Do you think he wants us to come up?"

Theodore quickly stepped behind Ron and gave him a light shove to which Ron walked heavily over to the stage, shuddering. Rather Ron than him, he wouldn't want anything to do with street magic after doing the real deal.

"Gamboo gave me some of his stuff, guys, look!" effused Ron as he dug through a bag of plastic wands, rings, hats and all other trick items after the performance was over. "This stuff all looks so weird…"

"Careful there, Ronny, you're starting to sound a little bit like Dad now," said Fred as he took a look over Ron's shoulder in the bag. "You've seen real magical prank items in the flesh, even been a victim to a few. How does this excite you, Ron?"

"I think it's cool how Muggles can do all of this stuff. They're getting on pretty well without magic. And so what if I sound like Dad? I'm not going to make these flowers fly or anything."

Fred plucked a plastic wand from the bag and looked at it confusingly. "Who remembers when Dad brought something like this home? Mum thought that it was a weird candle."

Ron snatched it back and stuffed it into the bag before tying it up and walking alongside Theodore, Ginny and Hermione. "I don't really sound like my dad, do I?" he asked the two, sounding a little doubtful in his own question.

The three both shook their heads robotically in sync, but it went unnoticed by the redhead, who sighed in relief. Theodore didn't understand why Ron was against being like Mr Weasley when it came to anything Muggle-related. Sure, Mr Weasley wasn't exactly 'up there' in the Ministry, but it was still something. Even when it came down to his best friends, him, Harry and Hermione were all raised by Muggles as well, a thought Theodore now wondered if it had anything to do with Ron's sudden change. Oh well, it was just a thought.

* * *

Coming back on the way they came, Theodore almost didn't realise that they spent so much time down in St Catchpole that an orange hue across the sky was slowly starting to spread all over. They only went for ice cream and a corny magician's act; how did the day pass by so quickly? Maybe he was right about it all going so fast for him. Sirius's trial was nearly a month away but felt like it was just hours in front of him. Then it would be back to Hogwarts with everyone probably praising him everywhere, or where he would see his godfather again…

' _From Sirius to Sna— 'him', your head's not properly screwed on, Theo. Too much stuff going on when it's Harry's birthday. I wonder if he's here…'_

The six teens then reached the broken gate and started on the dirt-road pathway back to the Burrow with Theodore falling behind just a little so that he could take out the Snitch to look at it closer. On the bottom side of the dead Snitch, just below the roots of its wings were crude etchings of initials possibly made by a small knife.

" _J.P._ and _L.E._ … James Potter and Lily…?" Theodore gave up quite easily in guessing his aunt's maiden name. Surely Harry would know it anyway with him living with Lily's sister. Theodore rolled the ball in his hand over and over again to see if there were any other markings worth acknowledging but slipped it back in his pocket when he could find none and when he heard his name being called from the others up ahead.

Theodore strode hastily along the pathway to catch up with Hermione and Ron, whom both fell back with something clearly on their minds. "Did you guys get anything for Harry?" asked the Parselmouth, quickly looking up to see the towering Burrow getting closer.

"I was going to get him a Sneakoscope, but I already gave him one last year," said Ron. He went through his back pocket and took out an emerald amulet in the shape of a phoenix which he dangled proudly in the other two's faces. "So I made him this instead. I mean, Mum helped just a bit, but it was all my idea. Harry's wand has got a phoenix feather as a core, and it's green like a holly leaf."

"So it's not green because of Harry's eyes?" Hermione wondered after getting a closer look.

…

"On second thought —"

"Your present's fine, Ron, don't worry about it. I got Harry a golden Hippogriff quill that I bought a day before I got here. Although I should have gotten the eagle one, it was so much prettier… What did you get, Theo?"

Theodore held up the Snitch in front of them and quickly explained how it was Harry's dad's before they questioned him about returning Harry's gift. "It even has his parents' initials on it, look. James Potter and Lily E. or something."

As they reached the other end of the wheat field, Hermione was enthused by Theodore's present choice and took it to get a closer look for herself. "Aww, how sweet is that? They must've really loved each other."

"Yep, I think I've got you guys beat in this," bragged the Parselmouth with a cocky smile, taking back the Snitch at the same time ignoring their sudden frowns.

"It's not a competition, Theo, it's about — Harry!" exclaimed Ron.

Harry was standing midway of the front doorway, just about to slip through after Mr Weasley when he stopped and turned at the calling of his name. He grinned at his three best friends rushing up to the porch at the same time wishing him a happy birthday all in a disjointed chorus. "Thanks, guys, really! Where did you guys come from anyway?"

"We just came back from the town nearby," said Ginny quickly before Ron could say anything. "Happy birthday, Harry."

"Thanks, Ginny," he replied with a grin, sending just a slight scarlet tinge in her cheeks. "Hey, Fred, George."

"What's up, kid? Had enough of those git Muggles? You know, you could've sent a direct complaint about them to us. We've been making 'stuff' that could've helped you out," Fred began with an arm around his shoulder.

"That's right. There's this thing, you see, called Gnome Putty, and —"

"All right, that's enough," Hermione announced as she held her arms out to force them through the front door. "You shouldn't be thinking about using that stuff on unsuspecting Muggles."

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," George waved aside, "we're already perfecting it as we speak. We know it's easy to wash out of your hair —"

"No, it's not."

"And that it is what we want to hear: we need feedback if we're going to make this work."

"And what is 'this' exactly?" Theodore asked as the last one through the door.

Fred and George tapped their noses in a mirrored fashion and walked into the kitchen with Ginny following behind them. She gave a quick glance to Harry with something hidden in her left hand before she vanished into the next room.

"All right, me first!" Ron took out the amulet and handed it over to Harry, who widened his eyes from the departure of his normal gifts. "It's a phoenix because of your wand core, and it's green like holly. You like it?"

"Love it! Where did you get this?"

Ron rubbed his shoulder with a 'sheepish' grin and said, "Oh, I didn't buy it. Made it myself with a bit of my Mum's help, of course."

Harry gave the amulet a twirl in his fingers and looked at it before he tied it around his neck after giving it one last look of appreciation. "It's great, Ron. I definitely didn't expect something like this —"

"Mum wants all of us to come in the dining room, especially Harry," Ginny chirped from around the kitchen doorway.

Theodore sniffed the air and felt his mouth watering from the mixture of sweet and savoury in the air tempting him to rush to whatever was being served, but he kept himself under control.

Harry tucked his amulet under his shirt and led the way into the kitchen where a large banner reading 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY' with several Snitches and broomsticks decorated around _'14'_ was hanging on the ceiling, a large three-layered cake similarly decorated sitting in the middle of the table with the Weasleys, Theodore and Hermione all surrounding Harry with grins ear to ear.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!" everybody sang in chorus without taking their eyes off of him. Harry stood silently with his cheeks turning mildly pink — Theodore noticed that they were sunken — and his hands patting his thighs. Once everyone had finished singing, Harry closed his eyes for a second and blew on the candles when the cake floated just close enough.

"Oh, Happy birthday, sweetheart!" trilled Mrs Weasley after summoning a knife to slice pieces for everyone. "Finally caught up with the others, how wonderful!"

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley."

"OK, now, everyone sit down so that we can all get slices. Make space because we're going to have dinner as well. Yes, George, I'm perfectly aware that we're having dessert before dinner." Mrs Weasley flicked her wand above the table to make the cake float high enough so that the various plates and dishes from the kitchen side of the room all came onto the table with extra chairs coming from the living room.

Theodore sat down between Hermione and Mr Weasley while Harry sat next to Ron and Charlie, who struck a conversation just like when Theodore arrived at the Burrow. Being the first real birthday party that he had ever been to, Theodore couldn't even imagine one better than this. To think that he almost preferred the Malfoys a few years ago.

"Are you seriously going to eat all of that?" Hermione asked as she stared at his piled plate.

"Are you seriously asking that question?"

Hermione rolled her eyes but slightly nudged him with her elbow before she started on her own food; Theodore's smile was masked by a mouthful of chicken, and he thumped his chest before getting down another forkful.

The dinner carried on for another hour, leading into the night as they talked and laughed as if they were all students back at Hogwarts. Mr and Mrs Weasley had given Harry a tin full of sweets from Honeydukes which Harry gladly accepted, noting that it felt heavier than it looked. The cakes then floated back down for anybody whose stomachs could fit anything else — Ron and Theodore were the only two capable of doing so — until they were moved away to where all the other unfinished food were. Theodore, Ron and Harry then, after helping to clear the kitchen up, left for the living room, feeling like their stomachs would explode at any second — Hermione quickly ran to Ginny's room to retrieve her gift for Harry.

"Theo, I don't know what to say…"

Theodore trudged over to the sofa opposite to the large fireplace and lazily slumped onto the ground in front of it whilst rubbing his stomach slowly. " _'Thanks, Theo, you're the best'_. Did you see what was written on there?"

Harry sat down on the sofa and turned the Snitch around to mutter his parents' first names, completely immersed by the ball that it didn't seem as if he knew where he was. "Where d'you find it?" he asked after a minute of pure silence.

"I found it in my mum's house when I went there just before I came here, and it was in your dad's room. Harry, you should've seen it, it was huge! There was this broomstick, loads of Gryffindor stuff, and I saw this pile of parchments that looked like the Marauder's Map. And that was only his room!"

"Wow…" Harry muttered, brushing his thumb over the initials with extra care not to break the wings off.

Hermione entered the room swiftly with an elegant, large golden quill that shimmered at every tilt in her hands as she held it out for Harry to take. "Is it too fancy? I don't think anybody has it at school."

"I don't think anybody uses this for anything other than to put it on display. It's really nice, though, Hermione, thanks. What's it made out of?"

"It's a Hippogriff feather," she remarked proudly, shooting a look at Ron and Theodore at the sofa with her arms crossed a bit. "Hopefully this year, you'll use it to write your own notes instead of mine."

"Fine. I'll just get help from Theodore instead. Ain't that right, Theo?" Theodore masked a burp with his fist and held a thumbs up before rubbing his stomach again. "So what else did you see over in Elmbridge besides the bedroom? I can't imagine that nothing else was interesting."

Theodore sat up properly and aligned his back against the footrest of the sofa as the others sat on the sofa waiting eagerly for whatever he had to say. He recounted how the rusted, fenced door had been entangled in vines that were charmed to prevent Muggles from getting through, even if they had a key; he described the outside of the house in vivid detail from the pools of pebbles to the giant oak trees on either side of the house, the floating chandelier when he first entered, the living room with the surely magical fireplace and his mother's and uncle's respective rooms. Theodore felt tiredness washing over him again and again but carried on speaking for their sakes.

"…and guess what was the craziest thing that I saw on that day? This flipping house-elf comes out of nowhere and decides to attack me when all of a sudden, I tell it to shut up and it does! Then it goes on about my mum being its mistress, so —"

"You own a house-elf?!" Ron asked, open-mouthed and in utter shock.

Theodore scratched his head in thought and replied, "Well, I don't know if I really own it. She kept quiet when I told her to, and she also disappeared when I told her to as well. Maybe it's a family thing?"

"Of course, it's a family thing," Ron exulted with a kind of madness in his eyes. "House-elves serve every generation of the family that they're linked to!"

"Serve?" said Hermione in an unsure tone. "What do you mean by 'serve'?"

"House-elves are sort of like servants for wizarding families who've got loads of money, you see? I thought that you knew this with all the reading that you do."

Hermione turned to Theodore, still looking dubious at the concept of owning a house-elf. "You're not going to make her your slave, are you, Theodore?"

"Why would I —?"

"They're not slaves, Hermione, at least, not really," Ron cut in just a little haughtily. "House-elves like to work for wizards, they just do. Theo and Harry's family most likely knew the elf, and I doubt they treated it like a 'slave'."

"She was happy to see me," added Theodore, "a little too happy, I think. She called me 'Master Theodore' and said that I finally came home. Anyway, from the sound of her, she must've loved my mum because she was sobbing all over the place when she saw me. I'm with Ron, I don't think she was anything like a slave."

Hermione huffed out of her nose a little and leaned back onto the sofa, looking up at the ceiling with paper cats chasing paper rats. "It still sounds odd to me. Harry said that Dobby hated working for the Malfoys and couldn't wait to be freed. It just sounds off."

"Who's Dobby?"

"Since you're its master, that means you can summon it whenever you like," said Ron, ignoring Theodore's question as he couldn't contain his excitement. "Go on then! Call it!"

"I don't know how to summon an elf," Theodore shrugged.

"You just say its name and it'll come, no matter what it's doing. Try!"

…

"Umm… I don't think I caught her name," muttered Theodore sheepishly. "Twammy, uh, Tibby? No… Tiggy! I swear it was Tiggy…! Give me a break, Ron, she was about to attack me with a brush, and she had to hide before my friend could see her."

Ron threw his hands up and slumped back on the sofa like Hermione. "But you remember everything! How could you forget something like a house-elf who's in your _own_ family house? I wouldn't!"

Something perked up in his mind the second he heard 'family house' and surprisingly found the words easily slipping out from his mouth as he said, "Speaking of family houses, that's probably not the only one that I come from."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The man who I went with to Elmbridge, my friend's dad, works with all this house estate stuff all over the country. Long story short… I think he found my family. My _other_ family."

"Wait, you mean the Riddles? Like… your dad's family?"

Theodore nodded a little at Ron, understanding the lack of comfortability at the thought. "Apparently, they had a manor in someplace called Little Hangleton. And, according to the man I went with, something horrible happened to them, like a tragedy. He didn't tell me what happened, even when I asked him. They're all probably dead from the sounds of it." Theodore looked up at their faces and saw that they were all a little disturbed from what he revealed. "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to get all dark and stuff."

Ron smiled just a little bit and said, "It's cool, man, anything to do with You-Know-Who would get a bit creepy, especially his family. So are you sure that it's them, your family?"

Theodore shrugged again and tried to shove the subject to the side, claiming that he couldn't care less about the family that never knew of his existence. But Hermione, once again never backing down from anything to do with his family, thought differently. "Maybe they'll be in wizarding records instead. You never know, Theo, since your dad was a half-blood, there could've been a wizarding family nearby…"

"Hermione, seriously, I really don't care about who the Riddles were," insisted Theodore, who stood up to stretch and face the others. "They're probably as demented as my dad. Maybe they went mad and killed each other off."

"Theo, don't say that," she returned with a very slight hint of pity in her eyes. "This could be a chance to know which wizarding family you're from."

"I'm from the Potters, now leave it, Hermione."

"I meant from your dad's side."

"Hermione, drop it," Theodore spoke sternly. "I don't care about him; I don't care about the Riddles. They're gone and this conversation is over, so if you —"

" _HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, HERMIONE. IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT HE'S GOT 'HIM' AS A DAD…"_

" _Disloyalty among us… the boy… I need… the boy…"_

Harry grunted loudly in pain and slapped his forehead where his scar was, while Theodore nearly staggered onto the ground, feeling the world around him tremble violently yet at the same time feeling completely weightless. He didn't know if he had smacked his head against the ground as there was no pang or the sound of blood rushing everywhere. No, the overwhelming sounds that sounded like serene screams exploded in nearly every corner of his mind, and that cold, high voice that sounded so similar to his father rang shrilly in his ears.

Theodore felt a soft pair of hands on his wrist and neck as they supported him up into a seating position where his dizziness subsided quickly enough. Hermione's face was rather close to his own, so close that Theodore could see each eyelash that fluttered from the girl's frantic blinking. And from there he could sense immense worry and care, deep, deep care that could only —

"Theo, why did you fall on the ground?" Hermione asked in slight agitation when he rubbed his forehead in the same fashion as Harry. "Ron, how's Harry?"

"I'm fine," assured Harry. His hand, however, was still stuck on his scar. "Just my scar, that's all. What happened to you?"

Theodore got onto his feet with caution and found his balance. "I don't know. Maybe I just ate too much…" he lied. "I'm tired anyway. I really did eat too much."

Ron yawned in agreement but kept his eyes close on both of the Parselmouths when their hands were finally removed from their heads. Mrs Weasley came into the living room and told them to get to bed early so that they could go across the other side of the wheat field and past the meadow the next morning.

Harry was the first one up the stairs, Ron, then Theodore, and at the back was Hermione, who stopped by Ginny's door and tugged at Theodore's sleeve to ask him if he was OK before saying goodnight and slipping into the room.

Theodore then turned and walked up the stairs and tried to relive what had suddenly happened out of nowhere for no reason. He heard Ron's voice that sounded like two megaphones were lodged into his ears so clearly when he, for a moment, looked straight in his eyes, and when he looked at Harry's, he heard his father's voice, weak and tired, sour and foul, along with the sharpest yet most rapid sense of pain above his right eye. Then it was Hermione, emotions nearly staggering, almost just like Louise…

First, it was just getting glimpses of whether people were lying or not, then it was merely sensing what they could feel. But now, all of sudden, he could hear his friend's voice in his head, he could feel whatever Harry was feeling, and he could see how much affection Hermione had for him? This wasn't normal, it couldn't be. Nobody should be able to hear other people's thoughts and feel their emotions; how could he?

Upon entering Ron's room where Ron himself bellyflopped onto his bed, Fred and George huddled in another corner of the room, and Harry moving his trunk next to Theodore's with Hedwig away from Sawer, Theodore was for once in a long time, absolutely clueless about himself. Was mind-reading truly real? Evidently, it was: Dumbledore gave the impression that he always knew something about Theodore without talking, and Professor Snape —

' _How could I forget that? He somehow allowed me to understand what he was feeling before I was completely blocked off: he has to know what the hell's going on with me! Harry writes to Sirius whenever he has a problem, so maybe I should write as well. He wouldn't mind, would he…? Of course, he won't. I hope he won't…'_

* * *

"And in these dreams, it feels like you're out of your body?" whispered Theodore to Harry after the Weasley brothers finally dozed off in their sleeping bags. Both of the cousins had decided to wake up in the middle of the night, both to discuss what they had briefly touched upon in their exchange of letters.

"Like I'm someone else. Like I'm in Voldemort's body, but it's not mine and it's definitely not his."

"What do you mean? Wait, does he have his own body?"

Harry sat up slightly and poked his fingers into his temples, thinking so hard to recollect whatever happened in his dream. "He… he kept going on about how his body won't last and how it's decaying. He saw a picture of a small boy and started to feel happy about something… It's so hard to remember."

"Try to remember something else," goaded Theodore, now sitting up as well. "What else did he say, why was he happy about seeing a small boy?"

"I don't know, Theo. It all just slips away so quickly. It's even worse than normal dreams. Sometimes, it's like those ones where he's walking around slowly, staring at people, places and stuff. And the others, it's almost like he's flying, moving around so quickly with his wand in his hand."

Theodore pondered for a second. "Maybe he's thinking about the past," he suggested. "He hasn't got a body, so he's thinking back to when he had one, his _own_ one."

Harry rubbed his scar again and looked over at the trunks blankly, despite the discomfort that was occurring on his forehead. "Did you break the wand?"

"No… I was planning on giving it to Ollivander or Dumbledore, seeing as how they both know about it. Hate having it near me, especially when it's inside my trunk."

"Maybe you should've broken it, though. He used that to —"

"Hold on, I need to go to the toilet really quickly. I'll be back in a minute." Theodore crawled out of his sleeping bag and left the room silently, being careful not to wake anybody else from the creaky floorboards. He remained on the edge of the staircase were it most sturdy and continued downwards until he reached the ground floor. The toilet was obscured by golden drapes resembling something straight out of Gryffindor Common Room, and it was required to shift it to the side, a risky task on its own.

"… it's all right, darling. We'll be here every single night if we have to. It's all right, sweetheart." Mrs Weasley's voice barely veiled the sniffling that emanated from the dark living room; she continued to coo at whoever was clearly crying.

Theodore's need for the toilet started to die as he stepped closer and closer to the doorway of the living room, making sure that not a single breath could be heard from him.

"Molly, we can't let her carry on like this. It's been a year, for Merlin's sake," whispered Mr Weasley's voice. "Now, I know that you're not all for it, but the Healers at St Mungo's —"

"Ginny's not mad, Arthur!"

"And I know that. But we're not doing her any good by keeping her grounded here. Hugs and kisses at nighttime can only go so far, Molly, even you know that. What's that, sweetheart?"

"… Theodore…"

"Ginny, please speak up."

"I want to talk to Theodore…"

"Oh, darling, Theodore must be sleeping right now. You surely don't want to wake him up when it's this late, do you?"

"But he's standing right over there…" mumbled Ginny in the darkness.

Theodore stepped backwards quickly, causing the floorboard to give off a creak too loud to ignore. He heard Mr Weasley mutter an incantation under his breath and the lamps suddenly filled the room with light, showing the faces of Mr and Mrs Weasley huddling around Ginny in a tight embrace. Ginny's face was a stark contrast to her usual demeanour, almost looking like a completely different person. Her eyes red and slightly puffy, and her numerous freckles seemed to be fading, despite the light reaching everywhere.

"I'm sorry," started Theodore as he backed away slowly. "I didn't mean to interrupt you, I was just looking for the toilet."

"It's fine, Theodore," said Mrs Weasley, giving her husband and daughter a slight squeeze. "We'll see you in the morning. Good—"

"Actually, Theodore, we wouldn't mind if you would stay."

Mrs Weasley whipped her head around to Mr Weasley and scrunched her face into a displeasing scowl and almost snapped in a harsh whisper, "Let him go to sleep, Arthur, he's a child! He doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"But he does. If anyone in the world has anything to do with this, Molly, then it's Theodore! You weren't there when it happened, I wasn't there when it happened, but he was. He's a mature, young man who possibly understands this more than we do."

Theodore halted in his steps and moved forwards again in the doorframe, catching on by just a little bit but still mostly unsure. "Does Ginny want to talk to me?"

Mr Weasley nodded his head and turned to his wife, who looked down at Ginny as if she were ill. She sighed, looked up at the Parselmouth and dipped her head just a little bit. "Come on, Molly. They'll be fine, they're in no danger. Let's go to bed, shall we?"

They both kissed Ginny goodnight and passed by Theodore, Mr Weasley simply nodding his head and Mrs Weasley giving him a sad smile. Theodore watched them trudge up the stairs until they finally became creaky echoes and it was just Theodore and Ginny left alone.

Theodore wandered over to the sofa and sat next to Ginny, now understanding why she wanted to talk to him alone. She continuously moved her long plait from shoulder to shoulder and tapped her bare feet against the ground: she didn't seem like Ginny at all. Everything about her at that moment wasn't her.

…

"You're still having nightmares?" he asked finally.

"It's been happening more recently," Ginny croaked before clearing her throat. "I get that same… lightheadedness every time I go to sleep. Like I'm suddenly going to walk out of bed without knowing it and doing something horrible."

"I understand how you feel, Ginny, I really do. There was a time when I felt completely helpless and when I wasn't in control of myself. I'd go to sleep one night, the next morning I was down in the Chamber. I had to climb up that pipe every morning until my fingers went numb, and sometimes I wouldn't try to leave."

"But I don't know why it always just comes and goes, Theo. I can still hear him hissing in my ear and telling me to do things I wouldn't dream of doing. It's always just hissing…" Ginny shivered a little and crossed her arms tightly.

He almost didn't know what to say. It didn't even last a whole year for him, the torment from his father's Horcrux. Yet Ginny was still suffering, probably more than he had. What could he say? Theodore raised his hand and held her lightly on her shoulder and spoke in the most reassuring voice that he could muster, "It will get better, Ginny. I know — I saw the worst of that diary, but I rarely feel anything from it. Eventually, it'll just be in the past as nothing to remember. I promise you, it'll get better —"

"It won't," she said almost snappishly, but she held back instantly afterwards.

"You don't know that, Ginny. Or maybe you do and you just don't realise it."

Ginny released her hold of herself and lifted her head just slightly to show her detached expression that did not belong to her. "How do _you_ know that it'll get better for me, Theodore? Just because it was easy for you?"

"I… yeah. If I can move on, then you can too. It's all about trying to forget and —"

" _You can't just forget when he leaves you with… 'this'! You can't…"_ Ginny snapped again before covering her mouth quickly and squeezing her lips as she shook her head slowly.

Theodore thought himself stupid for not understanding straight away, but it wasn't his fault. It was messy, heavily garbled and almost incoherent, but in the end, he understood. Her sudden fondness to Viripin, her knowing the things he'd say that she shouldn't have understood… all of it.

"Ginny… you're… you're a Parselmouth…"

* * *

' _She can speak Parseltongue… how can she speak Parseltongue…?'_

For the following weeks, those nine words had been repeated in Theodore's mind until they carved into his subconscious, always an echo in the corners of his brain. Theodore almost couldn't comprehend the truth that Ginny, _Ginny Weasley_ , was a Parselmouth just like him and Harry. It had been a full year since the whole Chamber of Secrets incident, but she never gave him any hint that she could speak Parseltongue. Maybe he just couldn't tell; maybe he was too engrossed with himself to really care: a lot did happen last year in his defence. With Sirius, his mother and Snape, how could he focus on Ginny at all — he felt a very slight twinge of his uniqueness faltering when he reminded himself that she was also a Parselmouth.

' _Still having nightmares is one thing, but speaking Parseltongue as well? Horcruxes keep you from dying, they don't let you speak Parseltongue… maybe I should try again…'_

Theodore was sat on his sleeping bag, despite it being late in the afternoon of mid-August. He never expected the summer to be nearly over so quickly. Two weeks left before school would start again, one week before Sirius's trial — Harry's birthday was only just yesterday, wasn't it? It didn't help when they would do anything fun either: Theodore would sometimes lose focus on what he intended to do to at least help Ginny, which was immensely difficult as well, not because she'd refuse (it was quite the opposite), but because he couldn't do it himself.

He looked carefully at the door to make sure that nobody was present before he would open his trunk. Not hearing a noise from behind the door, besides the ghoul right above him, Theodore flicked it open and stuck his hand through his folded clothes, stopping only when he felt cracked leather and grabbed onto the book that he was reluctant to even possess: _Secrets of the Darkest Arts_ , the only thing that could give him some sort of answer.

But that was the 'immensely difficult' part, actually reading it — it was not for a lack of trying. No matter where he'd be, inside the house, or in the garden or back in St Catchpole, Theodore could never be alone with the book without there being somebody close by. The most that he could get out of it was the horrific spell and nothing further. He could only go on with guesses and speculation, but it was truly irksome to his soul not being able to be alone with his thoughts; he'd never express it to anybody, though.

' _Magic… magic sometimes leaves traces, just like the diary did to me. I mean, my eyes turn red every time I feel mad, and I was almost ready to kill Sirius… Maybe I wasn't affected as much because I was already a Parselmouth, but it was still a Horcrux. It was trying to leech, no, bond to my soul like a parasite, and it was probably doing the same to Ginny. That's… that's why she can speak Parseltongue… it has to be it… has to be…'_

The knocking on the door, followed by the calling of his name, made him quickly slide the Dark book back under the clothes and firmly shut the trunk before he saw Percy's head sticking through the doorway wearing a navy-blue, pointed hat. "Theodore, the Minister for Magic is downstairs along with the Head of Magical Creatures."

"Fudge is here, downstairs?" said Theodore, mildly shocked. "Who's the Head of — _he's_ here as well?"

"I'm assuming that you're referring to Mr Lestrange. Yes, he's also downstairs with the Minister, along with Rita Skeeter. Mother seems quite happy for her to be here. Aren't you coming downstairs, I'm certain that they're here to talk about the upcoming trial."

Theodore pushed the trunk back into the corner and walked over to the door, pushing his theory on Horcruxes aside for later. As he closed the door behind him, he said, "That's all everybody talks about these days. Hey, Percy, how's it like in the Ministry? Working there, I mean."

"Extremely busy, but I already knew that beforehand," replied Percy as he fixed his glasses on his long nose. "In all honesty, I think that you would enjoy working there. Mr Lestrange and the Minister speak quite highly of you, even Mr Crouch mentions you times to times."

"Oh… that's cool, I guess. Well, I'm going to see what they're here for now. See you later, Percy."

Percy tipped his hat and reached into his matching robes for a thick collection of documents until there was a loud crack with Theodore being the only one left in the corridor.

Theodore then went down the stairs without trying to lose his train of thought, albeit, it was already lost the second Percy knocked on the door. He could go back up and take the book out again, but what was stopping anyone else from interrupting him further? It was even riskier considering that the others wouldn't knock and that he wouldn't be fast enough to hide it in his trunk. For another time, a time that had to be very soon.

He reached the threshold of the kitchen, expecting to see the others who had all dispersed for some strange reason, but his expectations were not met at all. Three adults were sitting at the far end of the long table with Mrs Weasley standing next to a fuming kettle with a smile brighter than any Theodore had ever seen from her.

Fudge had a cup of tea twirling magically in the air, and his iconic lime-green bowler hat was sat on the chair next to him, showing his slightly dishevelled grey hair.

Sitting opposite to the Minister was Rita Skeeter wearing a set of dazzling green robes with leopard-spotted fur that came up to her jaw as she tapped her long fingernails against the table with her other hand inching slowly to her handbag.

And finally, clad in expensive black robes with golden trimmings, his hair stylish as ever with the single curl and silver cane propped up against the edge of the table was Theodore Lestrange giving the impression that he was a relic of a statue, not even lifting his brow when speaking.

"It's getting closer and closer, Molly," stated Fudge, taking a sip of his tea before continuing, "just a week away. How time flies, isn't that right, Theodore?"

Lestrange gave a soft grunt. "I don't think it could have gotten any slower. Pettigrew's been in Ministry holding for far too long now, and Black's mental reconditioning is running at a similar pace. I don't know why you're so reluctant to just throw Pettigrew into Azkaban for life and let Black live as a free man."

"Sirius was a victim of the poor judgment system, Theodore," said Fudge matter-of-factly. "Just sending Pettigrew to Azkaban without a proper trial would just show that we didn't learn from our mistakes."

" _Barty Crouch's_ mistake."

"Rita, let's not point fingers at each other. We know what he did, but it's in the past now. You gave him a rough time in the _Prophet_ as well, including us and Albus."

Rita shrugged and started to tap against her handbag instead. "It's all about the sales, dear Cornelius. The more the people are aware of this, the better it is for everyone to move on when it's all over."

Fudge and Lestrange gave stares of annoyance over at Rita but simply tilted their heads up before Fudge turned to Mrs Weasley. "I'm sure that you're proud of your son, eh, Molly? Your husband's been talking about him ever since!"

"Never prouder! Ron always talked about catching Dark wizards when he was younger, and it's a nice change of pace from his older brothers, wanting to become an Auror. At least, I'm sure that's what he wants to do."

"Good to know that we've got a capable generation to hand things over to when we're done," said Fudge brightly, taking a longer sip of his tea before it floated back down on the table. "Molly, have you seen Theodore anywhere? We already discussed briefly the basic matters of next week with your son, Harry and Miss Granger, but not him. He is here, isn't he?"

Mrs Weasley's eyes grew wide for just a second before her equally wide smile nearly took over her face as she replied, "Theodore's here, most likely upstairs at the moment. He's been quite… occupied with himself lately. Ron always told me that he'd sometimes prefer being alone in the corner of the room, figuratively speaking, of course."

Theodore was about to turn around and try to find where the others had left to but should've known that any movement too swift at the doorway would instantly be noticed by the conversing adults, Rita in particular. "There he is, the main man of the papers! Well, don't be shy, come in!"

He clamped his teeth in self-annoyance for not being more careful. Throwing on a fake smile and turning on his heels, Theodore walked into the kitchen and stood at the end of the table, upright and unshaken. "Hello," he simply said to all of them.

"Afternoon. Feeling nervous about next week?" Fudge asked after shaking his hand firmly.

"Not really, no. Well, I can't be too certain, I've never been to a trial before."

"It's all standard, Theodore, nothing out of the ordinary. At least, it's not so dissimilar from the Muggle courts. A lot of people are curious about what's going to happen, even if the outcome is fairly obvious. And they happen to be familiar with your name as well."

"I've heard," acknowledged the Parselmouth with the slightest glare pointing towards Rita. "Mr Fudge, about that, I was thinking that maybe it's all a little too much for me, you know, seeing my name in the _Prophet_ every single time."

Fudge blinked and swallowed a little harshly. "Of course! Of course, I understand, you're still a child after all. It's just that the community… well, the community wants to know that if anything has happened from the First War, good or bad, then a name would come out of it."

Theodore held back the urge to glower at him and looked at the Minister and Rita, saying, "But you do know that it wasn't just me? I've been trying to tell everyone that it was all four of us, but it seems as if nobody's listening to me when —"

"The boy just wants the credit to go where it deserves, Cornelius," Lestrange interjected, scrunching his fist upon the table. "Unless I am mistaken…?"

The Parselmouth's left eye ticked, so quickly irritated that he was interrupted by him, but his appearance on the surface was still calm as he gave a small nod.

"Then I understand entirely, Theodore. We'll make sure that the _Prophet_ won't blow anything out of proportion," Fudge promised. Another glare at Rita, who finally noticed and held onto her handbag tightly and her jaw even tighter. "Molly, may I use your fireplace to contact somebody — thank you."

Theodore moved out of the way to allow the portly man through and stepped backwards where the kitchen, living room and front doorway were conjoined. He didn't see any reason to talk any further when Fudge was occupied with something else: Lestrange would probably want to tell him how he looked so much like his father for the fifth time, and Rita would just insist on making an interview date. If only he knew where the others went — he saw them last when he —

"There he is! I told you that I heard him go downstairs, but you didn't listen to me!"

Ginny's small frame came bouncing down with Ron following closely behind, Hermione next, then Harry as the last one. At first, Theodore thought that slumped along their right shoulders was a lengthy bit of vivid green tinsel until he realised that it was just Viripin instead being lifted like royalty. Was she really this long now?

"We were going to call you to say that Fudge was here, but Mum told us to stay put and leave you be. Did something happen to you upstairs?"

"I was just reading about something," said Theodore.

"You've been going in different places around the house a lot recently, though," reminded Hermione as she shifted part of Viripin's body on her other shoulder. "You're having your moments again."

"Moments?"

" _Yes, Theodore, your 'moments',"_ hissed Viripin with her head poised closer to his chest. _"Whenever you're quiet for too long, it's either scheming or brooding for you."_

"I don't brood! I haven't been —!"

"— moments like when you're planning something in secret or when you don't want to talk to anybody for reasons we have to squeeze out of you…" Hermione spoke over the quick exchange of hissing. "Oh, were you two talking?"

Viripin pulled her head back away and shuddered her lower jaw with her chrome eyes fixed on Theodore: he knew this as a sign to expect a snarky remark. _"Look at that, she knows you like the back of her hand. If she isn't the perfect girl for you…"_

"Viripin!"

" _What? You technically admitted that you like her —"_

"Viripin!" Harry bit his lip to stop himself from breaking into a large grin while Ginny's face turned pink and Theodore's almost a shade similar. Hermione and Ron both stared at each other in confusion but threw it aside, assuming that it was just the usual back and forth between them. "Just go off wherever you're going! Where are you guys going anyway?"

"We're going outside to fly around with Viripin. I didn't know that she could turn into a Hippogriff," said Ginny admirably.

"How d'you know that?" asked Ron.

"Uh — T-Theo told me when I asked! Yeah… Anyway, you should come with us, it'll be fun. You're already getting better on the broom."

"That's a terrible observation; I nearly fell off the last time — I'd rather stay inside instead. I'm… _helping_ Mrs Weasley with something."

' _There could be damage to your soul, but you want to go flying on Viripin's back. Ginny, what do you expect me to do? Like you can talk, Theodore: your soul's probably ruined from what you did to Quirrell… whatever that ripping feeling was —'_

"Ow! Why d'you hit me for —?!"

Theodore followed Harry's stare behind him, and he suddenly felt something uncomfortably off prickling against his neck. He twisted his head around and was suddenly face to face with Lestrange, who decided that sitting in the kitchen was becoming too tedious to tolerate — Theodore remembered him being taller a few months ago.

"Sorry to be a bother, but may I talk with Theodore for a moment?"

"We were just about to —" started Theodore.

"Just a moment of your time. I promise you, it won't be long. You'll join your friends soon," he assured calmly, attempting to smile that came across as an odd sneer instead.

The others quietly told Theodore that they would be outside waiting for him if he decided to follow after them and left with Viripin through the front door. Theodore breathed through his nose noisily, hoping that Lestrange would take it as a sign that he didn't want to talk at all, but he seemed more eager to speak as a result.

"It's all right, I'll keep it brief. I know that you're itching to run from this conversation."

"I'm not running," returned the boy flatly — he suddenly lifted his demeanour and thought that it was needless to be difficult. "I've already said everything I wanted to about the trial back there."

"Trust me, Theodore, I too have grown quite jaded over every discussion left and right. I can see that it's the same for you or rather, it's similar. No, I wanted to inform you of this." Lestrange twisted his fingers together and summoned an elegant, matte-black envelope that matched his robes. He then stretched his hand out and passed it over to the Parselmouth.

The golden insignia on the front displayed a ring with a stylised 'M' in the middle and the words 'Ministry of Magic' circling around them. Theodore thought of asking what was inside, but his fingers were already far ahead as they unfolded the envelope and slipped the letter out to read it carefully.

 _ADMISSION FOR JUNIOR-APPRENTICESHIP_

 _We are pleased and honoured to offer you an opportunity for a junior-apprenticeship at the Ministry of Magic under a Head official of a Department and/or Minister for Magic. Your skills, talent and reputation have been recognised as the standard for this program, and we hope that you will not disregard this chance for a pathway to a successful career in the future._

 _Name:_

 _D.O.B:_

 _Institution of Education: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Signature of recipient:_

 _Signature of recommender: Theodore Raphius Lestrange_

 _Signature of Chief Administrator of Institution: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore O.M. (First Class)_

Theodore scanned the short document one final time and looked up. "Dumbledore already signed this? When? Why?"

"When, just three days ago. Why, well, it's fairly obvious. The man thinks of you highly, Theodore. It's his job to want his students to flourish as much as they can."

Didn't Dumbledore ever ponder on the connection Lestrange had with his father? If he taught Tom, then he definitely taught Lestrange as well, and if that was so, Theodore was yet again alone with another of Voldemort's followers. Lucius Malfoy was another case, a wealthy pureblood who avoided Azkaban somehow; Theodore had his suspicions about his father's schoolfriend for an extensive amount of time now.

"Won't I have school at the same time? I can't do an apprenticeship throughout the whole of next year."

"You won't have to," addressed the older man whilst fitting his collar. "You're still too young to start but not far off. Fifteen is the youngest that we can allow."

"And… I'll do what exactly?" Theodore asked with curiosity he couldn't contain; the idea of possibly joining the Ministry before he'd finish Hogwarts could be incredibly useful in the future. He wasn't an idiot to pass it up. Although…

" _That_ will be shown should you accept. You have plenty of time to consider, although, I will advise you to choose wisely." He grazed his pale thumb over his eyebrows and continued. "The Ministry already missed out on one Riddle, and they don't want to lose a second. Of course, how could they ever know…?"

…

"Goodbye and thank you, Mr Lestrange," Theodore said flatly. "I'll… think about it." Theodore pocketed the letter and robotically shook hands with the questionable wizard before he aimed towards the front, not wanting to give Rita a chance to jump out at him.

"Theodore?"

The Parselmouth froze when his fingertips just skimmed the handle.

"You don't happen to still have that wand in your possession, do you?"

Theodore shook his head and left through the door without looking back or a single word being spoken. He carefully avoided the boots and kettles amongst each other and closed the door firmly behind him. _'It's not your wand, so why does it matter?'_

His attention was instantly drawn to the sounds of joyous screams and thunderous screeching coming from the garden where a rapid shadowing figure in the air was beating its large wings under the sun, diving so suddenly and disappearing over to the other side of the Burrow.

Theodore saw Ron and Hermione on ground level twirling in their spots when he arrived near the edge of the stone wall. Up in the air holding tightly onto a golden Hippogriff was Harry gripping Viripin's neck and Ginny's hair thrashing wildly behind him as a large grin was plastered on her face. Viripin took another breakneck dive; Ginny clutched tightly to Harry with her smile only getting wider from the sheer thrill.

"They're having fun," announced Theodore. "How come they're both doing it together?"

Ron and Hermione dropped their heads and rubbed their painfully sore necks but grinned at Theodore as Hermione spoke first. "So you _were_ coming!" she exclaimed as if it was by her doing that he arrived. "Harry said that Viripin said that she could carry two people at a time. Ginny wanted to go first, Ron wanted to go on his own, and I don't want to go just yet. Harry said he would go with her, for some reason…"

"Sure. _Some reason_." _'Two can play at this game, Harry.'_ "I'll watch you guys from over there where no broomsticks can crash into me."

"But Viripin belongs to you, Theo. How can you not want to fly when she can turn into nearly anything you want her to be?"

Theodore stepped over the roots under the tree and found a comfortable patch of soft grass. "Just a stupid childhood fear, Ron. Look, Harry and Ginny are coming down now."

Hermione looked behind and watched Ron sprinting over to the others before she turned back around and tilted her head to the side, softening her face almost in a pleading manner. Theodore felt something juddering in his throat and shook his head — he couldn't stop smiling at her though. She sighed and walked away from where Ginny was petting Viripin's head as Ron was trying to mount himself on her back.

Theodore couldn't pinpoint where his focus needed to be. He'd always think on subjects to their extremities but could never really balance everything perfectly in his head without favouring one out of many. Sirius and Pettigrew being on trial, Harry's scar and nightmares, whatever the hell that's happening in his head, and Ginny being an actual Parselmouth: it felt like more was being piled onto him every single passing moment. Even the Riddles would cross his mind more times than he ever hoped for. The Riddles and whatever wizarding family that decided to produce the evillest wizard known to wizardkind —

…

"Hermione and Viripin were right, I do brood… shit."

A chorus of exhilarating screams and shouts were thrown about in the air as Viripin took off again, this time with Ron and Hermione on her back.

Should he…? No, definitely not. He'd pass out mid-air and would fall straight to the ground. But they were all doing it perfectly fine, even Hermione, who also wasn't big on heights. But it was a crazy idea, a stupid idea that would only —

"There you go again, worrying like a pussy! Grow a pair," he scolded at himself. He gripped at his jeans and stared at the ground, waiting for that rush of energy and confidence that would sweep him off his feet and purge any fear inside of him… maybe it was… maybe…

He brought his knees to his chest and grumbled in self-disappointment. No way that he would become an Auror if he ever considered it. Theodore looked over his shoulder when he heard rapid footsteps approaching and swivelled his body around as Hermione came towards him, red-faced, out of breath and thoroughly ecstatic.

"Theo," she huffed on her knees, "you have to try it! I thought that I'd hate it, but Viripin's amazing in the air! She's brilliant at diving!"

"Hermione, I don't want to, OK? I'm fine just watching you guys having fun…"

"You're the last person here who Viripin would allow to be hurt. I'm sure that she'll go slow for you." She narrowed her eyes a little at him and quickly said, "Is it that wizard who's putting you off, your dad's friend?"

"What? No, not him, I — come on, Hermione. Can't I sit on the sidelines? There are loads of things to think about like the trial and…" His words suddenly trailed off when she took four hairbands from her pocket and scrunched her hair with her other hand to make a large, puffy ponytail.

' _Cute…'_

"… and other things," he finished when she was done.

"The Ministry _has_ to send Pettigrew to Azkaban for life after what he did. Honestly, Sirius is going to be fine and so are you. That's one less thing you have to worry about now, isn't it?"

"I guess…" Hermione suddenly appeared near his feet, eclipsing him slightly from her position as both of her hands were stretched out for him. "Hmm?"

"Come on! I'm not going away until you try to fly at least once."

"What if I don't try," Theodore asked puckishly.

"Well… it'll mean that I won't go away. Is that what you want, Riddle?" Hermione returned in a similar tone, her cheeks growing redder and redder.

Theodore took her soft hands and clambered slowly onto his feet; he couldn't tear away from her eyes at all. "Since when were you into daredevil antics?"

"Since… three minutes ago? Or should I say three years instead? So this means you'll try then?" Letting out an exasperated sigh, he rolled his eyes and lifted his head. "I knew that I could get to you. Ron said otherwise, but Harry and Ginny agreed with me —"

"Wait, what?" Theodore whipped his head over to Harry and Ginny to catch the quickest glimpse of them peering over at the two with the most conspicuous smiles on their faces. "Harry, you —"

"Ron! You already had a turn!"

Viripin and Ron were soaring above the house and over the wheat field that was splashed with orange from the sunset while Ginny stood on the drystone wall, vexed at her older brother for sneaking in another flight — Ron screamed happily at the top of his lungs without even noticing her.

' _It does look fun… This is it. You're finally going to get rid of this stupid fear and be over it. Nobody likes a coward who's scared of —'_

He still felt her soft hand warm in his left one. It didn't seem as if she noticed; Theodore looked at her from the corner of his eye to see no indication that she was focused on anything else other than Viripin and Ron. Maybe she hadn't noticed at all as he did. Theodore's face was starting to burn up, and he could feel that his heart was skipping beats as he casually brushed the back of her hand with his thumb and closed the small gap between them. Did she notice now?

The burning sensation travelled almost everywhere when she squeezed his hand gently, her other hand gripping his forearm and her head moving slowly to the side to rest on his shoulder. He wanted to know how she did it, how she made any troubling thoughts dwindle away by touch alone. But he already knew, and she knew him well enough. And a feeling, an odd feeling from nowhere, or somewhere he could never find, gave him the desire to hold her even closer, to have her against his chest so that he could take in the scent of her hair, hell, to have her face so close to his so that he could kiss — her… Kiss _her_ …

 _Just a thought._

 **The next chapter is definitely going to be the last part of the summer (it's been really long, hasn't it?). It'll be the trial, possibly going to Diagon Alley but absolutely going back to Hogwarts. I think it's overdue now, but what can you do?**

 **If you had any idea that Ginny could be a Parselmouth then give yourself a pat on the back. If not, then still give yourself a pat on the back for being surprised (I hope you were anyway).**

 **Everything else that happened in this chapter I'll leave you to be alone with, but now, I'll see you later.**

 **ImmortalGodd: I know I said I'd stop replying to reviews publicly, but there's really no reason for him to be 'cunning' at that moment with Louise. It would be worrying if he was scheming something 24/7 without showing that he doesn't know how to act with Louise after being separated for so long because he is still just a kid.**


	43. Chapter 43: A New Symbol Pt1

"All right, everyone! Wake up, let's go!"

It was here. August the twenty-third had arrived after what was an eternity of torturous waiting. The day of the trial; the day retribution would be upon Pettigrew, and the day Sirius would finally and truly be free. Such a day should've been met with enough avidity considering its significance across the past few months: that was the case for everyone outside keenly observing every passing issue of the _Daily Prophet_ , not so much for those at the Burrow.

"Come on, let's get going! We want to be as early as possible, so everyone out of your beds!" boomed Mrs Weasley's voice from downstairs. "Let's get a move on!"

Theodore lifted his head from his pillow with his eyes still completely shut, despite the voice that felt as if it could tear down the Burrow itself from sheer force. The combining odours of Fred and George's 'improved' Gnome Putty that was leftover from the previous night, mixing in the air with the smell of breakfast cooking downstairs stirred him slowly, confusing him on whether he should feel hungry or nauseated. The former, most likely.

"What've we done now?" mumbled Ron from his bed. "I swear, all she ever does is scream every day… Where're Fred and George…?"

Theodore rubbed his eyes with his finger and thumb, then panned over to his right to see two empty sleeping bags and Harry still snoring with his head buried in his pillow above his arms. "Probably woke up earlier than us… hold on, what's even the time?"

"Uhh… seven o'clock. Wait…" Ron peered closer at his watch that was hidden underneath his pillow and flicked his eyes wide open, looking noticeably piqued by the time. "Why the hell does she want us awake at a time like this? Harry, we have to get up now, wake up."

"The trial can't be right now, can it? I'm sure that they would've told us right before," said Theodore with both eyes now wide open. He crawled out of his sleeping bag and continued to rub his eyes whilst slipping a pile of food for Sawer in his cage. Viripin was hanging off of a peg on the door and didn't show any signs of being startled by Mrs Weasley's shouting; she was still and peaceful.

"I think so. Dad hasn't been to that many hearings and stuff when it came to any serious Death Eaters, but I'm sure it's always the same. Don't see any reason to change it, to be honest. Man, that smells good. Harry!"

A throaty groan came from Harry. "I'm getting up, all right? No need to shout…"

Theodore got the last of the packaged seeds through the cage until the owl was satisfied and then trotted over to Viripin to see if she was awake by gently tapping her skull. Although her eyes were wide open as always, Viripin didn't flinch even a tiny bit. Theodore left it at that and waited at the door for Harry to slink out of his bed, something that forced Theodore to give him a soft kick to the ribs.

"I said I was getting up!"

"But you weren't," Theodore responded flatly as Harry rose to his feet, stretching his hands out for his glasses with a sour look on his face. "The trial's probably starting in an hour or so; Mrs Weasley can't be calling us for anything else."

"How d'you know that?" asked Ron. He threw his duvet off and followed Harry to the door after Theodore exited the room. "Remember when Fred accidentally dropped one of those sweets in St Catchpole, and a Muggle was stupid enough to take it from the floor and eat it? That was only three days ago, and she's still mad about that."

"Yeah, but they probably did that on purpose. Didn't he say that Ginny was —?" Theodore kept quiet and didn't continue as he could perfectly picture Ron's face from behind him. "She wasn't all that angry anyway. Right?"

"I guess so," muttered Ron.

Theodore quickly switched the subject as the three boys were midway the stairs, opting to rather talk about anything else other than the 'unpleasant' comment from an even more unpleasant man at St Catchpole. An unfortunate misstep on the stairs, however, made an uncomfortable backside for Theodore and a quiet snigger from Ron — embarrassing but effective.

The smell of breakfast became incredibly strong the moment they reached the kitchen; they saw Mrs Weasley flicking her wand repeatedly above the simmering pans and plates without noticing anybody coming through, and they also saw Bill sitting comfortably on the end of the table with the _Prophet_ in his hands.

"— huh… That's the second time Pettigrew tried to off himself. How does he always _almost_ get away with it? You guys look happy considering that your eardrums got ruptured," remarked Bill, setting down the newspaper when the three boys took their seats around the table, "well, Harry and Theo at least."

Theodore sat down on the opposite side of Ron and Harry and looked around the room to spot anybody missing when he suddenly remembered who. "Where are Fred and George? And Charlie too, where's he?"

"Charlie, Fred and George are on 'Gnome-patrol' since they were up first. Charlie was always the early-bird type but never Fred and George. From what I remember, they never really liked dealing with them, unless…"

Bill scrunched his face into a grimace resembling one smelling a dreadful odour, an odour that he, Theodore — practically everyone in the house was aware of.

"You don't think that it's actually, _you know_ ," whispered Theodore over to Harry and Ron, who both shrugged their shoulders with looks of apparent disgust before plates were starting to fly over their heads and laying down along the table.

Mrs Weasley sighed loudly in the corner and walked over to her seat next to Bill and greeted the boys after making another attempt for her to cut Bill's hair short. "Honestly! You and Charlie both look as if you were… stranded on an island for years! Charlie's even growing a beard!"

"Mum, I'm a Curse-Breaker, and Charlie works with dragons. Sometimes, looking rough is right for the job. Ain't that right, Ron?"

Ron nodded his head but turned away when his mum pressed her lips together and furrowed her eyebrows a little bit. "Mum's been making me shave since last year and forced Dad to teach me how Muggles do it —"

"'Forced' is a very strong word, Ron," said Mrs Weasley sternly as she moved around plates of bacon and scrambled eggs closer to her, "now eat your breakfast. You've got a long day ahead of you boys and Hermione. Where are they anyway, Hermione and Ginny? They're the closest ones downstairs."

Ron swallowed a mouthful of baked beans and looked at his mother confusingly. "'Long day'? Isn't the trial going to be in the morning? It's barely seven-thirty."

"Your father told me last night after you went to bed that it'll officially start at eight o'clock tonight, giving us plenty of time to go shopping for school. With Percy gone, it'll be easier to split everything between the four of you."

"Is Dad going to take us?"

Mrs Weasley nodded her head and poured hot chocolate into an average-looking mug with a giant red heart encompassing the word 'MOLLY' before taking a long sip.

Ginny trudged through the doorway with hair flopping over her face and tiredly sat down next to Ron, muttering hello to everyone before she took her plate. Hermione followed behind her shortly, looking much more awake than Ginny, and apologised for not coming sooner, an apology that was brushed aside by Mrs Weasley and envied by Ron.

"We're going to Diagon Alley this morning before you four head off to the Ministry," said Mrs Weasley to Hermione as she took her seat next to Theodore without noticing, "so make sure that you eat quickly and that we get there before things turn hectic. Everybody always goes near the end of summer."

"You know what else is at the end of the summer? The first match of the Quidditch —"

"No, Ron, we're not taking you to the Quidditch World Cup the day before school starts!"

Theodore sat silently, sipping on his cup whilst pondering on the snippet he caught from Bill upon entering the kitchen. Pettigrew trying to kill himself didn't sound like him at all since he was so afraid of what could happen to him if he was caught — and he was. But he faked his death before, twice if counting the time he was under the guise of Ron's rat, so maybe it was a pathetic attempt to escape yet again. Theodore wanted to laugh at his face and mock him endlessly for his stupidity; perhaps he'd get the chance to, who knew?

"You're having one of your moments again," said Hermione quietly to him, shaking her head at the same time smiling.

Theodore turned to her and blinked a little absentmindedly. "Moments? Oh, come off it, I'm not — I was just lost in my thoughts. People do that all the time, you know."

"You especially. I already told you that there's nothing to worry about today. It'll be fine." Hermione took some toast and eggs on her plate and continued, "What you'll have to worry about is when we get back to school."

"Huh? Right, right! I can't imagine how it's going to be like when we go back; it's only a week away… You don't think that they'll take a picture of me or something, to put in the newspapers?"

"I think that your name has gotten enough of their attention," said Hermione after taking a bite of eggs folded in her toast.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Theodore responded simply, unable to stress even further about whether he'd be plastered all across the _Prophet_ or not. If anything, this was good: a reputation this good among others his age was extremely rare, one example being Harry himself. Although, there was the obvious impediment of this possibility…

"But…" started Hermione — her cheeks grew pink in a second — "you can't really blame them if they did. You're… _appealing_."

"Appealing?"

Hermione shrugged quickly and messily cleared off the rest of her plate, tapping her foot rapidly against the floor without looking back at Theodore.

" _Did she just call me appealing…?"_

"… so how come you're up so early, Bill? You don't have to be awake like the rest of us."

"I still think that Mum would have me awake in a second if she wanted to, Ginny. Right, Mum? Anyway, I woke up to an owl this morning from Gringotts. They've got a problem, and they need my help since I'm specialised in that sort of stuff."

"What's it about?" asked Ron.

Bill rubbed his knuckles and gave a look at Mrs Weasley before he answered, "They reckon they've gotten a hold on something dark, something really dark and cursed. The goblins say that it's too powerful to contain and has to be destroyed, and no, I can't tell any of you what it really is," he sighed when reading all their faces of synchronised growing curiosity.

"Come on, Bill," pleaded Ginny, "you always tell us about what you're up to! Like the time you fought off an army of skeletons in Egypt!"

Theodore gaped at Bill and spoke in a voice purely of admiration, "You fought off cursed skeletons?! That's wicked! No one said anything about that!"

"You were always off being… you," said Hermione.

"Sorry, kids, just can't say what it is. Now, if you excuse me, I need to send a letter back to a little fuc— I mean, Griphook." Bill avoided his mother's scathing gaze from the side and left the kitchen to leave upstairs.

"Bill's honestly got the greatest job ever," Ron effused as he turned his head away from his older brother. "I bet you he picked up loads of stuff wherever he'd work —"

"That's theft, Ron; Bill would've been fired from the very first day if that were to happen. The money is not the only focus: it's about having the perseverance to tackle extremely difficult —" Hermione's own words were sharply cut off as she squealed loudly and pushed against the table. "What was that, under the table?!"

" _Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,"_ hissed Viripin's voice softly from underneath the table. She slithered up along Hermione's chair and winded herself around Theodore's shoulders.

"She can't understand you, Viripin," Theodore whispered, waving at Hermione to come back over to show that it was just Viripin and nothing else. "Well, that's one less person who can't understand you."

"Ginny, can you help clear the table for me — thanks, dear. No, don't worry, Theodore, I can see you're not finished yet. Eat quickly so that we can get going soon, all right?"

Theodore nodded at Mrs Weasley before he felt Viripin poke her nostril in his ear. _"What did you do you mean by that?"_

"You do know I'm not all that happy that you never told me that Ginny was a Parselmouth? You could've told me months before, but you left it until she'd say something."

" _Firstly, you could've told me this all through the last few weeks; I was here the entire time, Theodore. And don't you think that I wouldn't have told you? I was going to tell you the second I knew, but Ginny wanted to keep it a secret from you."_

"But I still could've helped her," he muttered, lowering his head to hide from the others. "There could be like… _bits_ of the diary left inside of her… and me… The point is that you shouldn't've kept this from me, Viripin."

" _What?! You keep secrets from me all the time!"_

"What are you talking about, I've been honest with you the entire year, _extremely_ honest!"

"Hey!" Theodore lifted his head and was met by confusing looks from Harry, Ron and Hermione, Hermione being the one who grabbed his attention. "You two are… 'furiously hissing' at one another. What's the problem?"

"No problem," assured Theodore calmly as he moved closer to the table to finish off the rest of his breakfast, "just a little disagreement, that's all." Theodore looked up from his plate and just caught Harry saying to Ron, "… something about keeping secrets…?"

' _I haven't kept any secrets from her. At least not any small ones: she practically knows everything about me… except for the times before Hogwarts. Why hasn't she asked me about that?'_

Viripin moodily thumped the underside of her head against the top of Theodore's skull repeatedly — Theodore understood this to be another of her mannerisms, her either being grouchy or confused. She ceased her tapping from Theodore rolling his shoulders in slight annoyance and settled still on his head, only making very slight movements to the right only.

" _She's looking at you, you know."_

Theodore shrugged a little and carried on eating in silence.

" _Not one of those 'Theodore's going quiet again' looks. She's been smiling for a whole minute now — look, she even shuffled her chair a little closer to you!"_

Theodore could tell from the corner of his eye that Viripin wasn't lying as the obscure image of Hermione's hair seemed closer than before. But again, he shrugged, not wanting to give Viripin the satisfaction of drawing any sort of reaction from him.

…

" _Kiss her."_

Theodore coughed harshly, and his throat felt rough and dry from suddenly swallowing his food. He assured the others that he was just being greedy and got ahead of himself before declaring that he was going upstairs to get himself ready for the day.

" _What did I say? Don't you like her —?"_

"I'm not going to kiss her, Viripin! Honestly, give it a rest!" warned Theodore. He took to the stairs quickly whilst trying to ignore the Maibian Adder's attempts at admitting that she was only joking. "You always say that, but you never stop, do you?"

" _Well, how can I stop when you aren't doing anything about it? You know that you like her — one day, you'll say this clearly — and you most definitely know that she likes you back,"_ said Viripin in his ear, _"so… do something!"_

Theodore scoffed and pushed into Ron's empty room. "'Do something'. Saying is easier than doing. I mean, what do I actually _do_ — don't answer that."

He set Viripin down, once again ignoring her questions about Hermione and hauled his trunk over to his sleeping bag. Just the day before yesterday did the equipment list for the fourth year arrive for him, Ron, Hermione and Harry; Theodore plucked his list from underneath Sawer's cage and read it over once more.

"Look at all this stuff…" said the Parselmouth to himself, "two extra books for Ancient Runes, three more for Potions, and of course, another Defence Against the Dark Arts book — I wonder who's the next victim… Shit, I'll end up being like Hermione last year with everything here. Wait…"

A thought had just occurred which put Theodore on edge, for he cursed to himself for not realising sooner. Viripin slithered over to Sawer's cage and watched Theodore shifting and moving stacks of Ron's belongings, obviously in a search for something. _"What are you looking for?"_

"Dammit! I didn't get anything else with the equipment list; how can I be so stupid!" Theodore gritted between his teeth. Viripin asked him again, and he replied, "Every year after my first, I'd be written a letter from Dumbledore or McGonagall telling me who I'm going with to Diagon Alley, along with the school's money. But I got nothing recently."

" _Could… could you ask Ron's parents —?"_

"No," said the boy quickly. "No, I can't do that. It's their money, not mine. None of this money is mine anyway…" He pressed the bridge of his nose together and tried to think of anything to help him get out of a situation he should've foreseen a long time ago. If he could only remember the name of the elf back at Potter House, then he would have nothing to worry about. His inheritance lying somewhere there, a place that he never saw.

" _Dumbledore could never forget about you. There's probably an owl coming right now on its way here. You wouldn't go back with nothing."_

"If it's coming, then it's late. We're leaving in around an hour's time, and by then it'll be too late." Theodore dropped to his knees and opened up his trunk, unzipping the underwear compartment to take his father's wand, a towel and clothes and pushed the trunk back into its normal position.

The wand was unusually dormant and dead, no longer reacting in any sort of way when being grasped by Theodore. He paid very little attention to this sudden change in the wand's odd behaviour and instead left the bedroom for the bathroom after feeling slightly lightheaded from staying in the same spot for too long.

Theodore waited impatiently outside the bathroom for George, who was inside cleaning himself off after helping out with the gnomes outside. After half an hour, Theodore finally managed to get himself ready for the day ahead, leaving his 'best' clothes in his trunk for later and fixing his slightly shortened but nonetheless neater hair. Mrs Weasley had given every boy a haircut in the house, regardless whether they were going to the Ministry or not (Bill and Charlie were the only exceptions), and Theodore didn't know what to really think of it now as he remembered only having a few in his entire life.

After saying goodbye to Viripin, who decided that chasing Crookshanks as a large-winged bat was fun, Theodore made sure that his father's wand and his own were safely tucked in the waistband of his trousers and walked downstairs, with him considering asking Harry for some money for his own things. It almost felt physically painful thinking about hoarding Harry's own money, even more when the reminder of him being broke would hit him again.

"…yeah, he's coming down the stairs right now, Mum!" declared Ron's voice from the kitchen. His head popped out from the doorway and said, "You know what Floo Powder is, right?"

"Of course. Never tried it, though."

Ron grinned at him. "Then you're in luck. We're going to Diagon Alley by Floo Powder, and it'll be your first go. Harry sort of botched his, so we'll see if you won't end up… _somewhere_."

"And where would this 'somewhere' be — hold on, since when did you get ready?" Theodore asked upon checking Ron in normal clothing and a fresh face. He glanced over to the fireplace and saw Fred and George, Ginny, Harry and Hermione appear as if they had gotten ready before him: evidently, they did.

"We've got another bathroom. Didn't you know?" Ron pointed to a painting of a sentient tree battling a gigantic squid away near the living room, above it a small frame of two identical men with red hair slapping each other on the back and just behind both of them was a faded outline of where a door should've been. "No time for that now, we're going. Let's try and go before Fred and George — whenever they go in front, they always hide and try to scare me."

Theodore followed Ron to the others and saw Mrs Weasley holding a flowerpot that was usually on the mantelpiece. "All right, Bill, you first —"

"I can just Disapparate, Mum, no need for Floo Powder."

"London is a very long way away, Bill. Take a pinch and get into the fire."

Theodore stood next to Ron and Harry and watched closely as Bill rolled his eyes with a grin on his face before approaching the crackling orange fire. Bill took a pinch of the green sandlike powder from the pot and threw it into the fire, turning it to an emerald colour and its flames licking the air in a more vibrant manner. "Diagon Alley!" he shouted the moment he walked straight into the fire, and like that he was gone.

"It's not that hard," said Ron assuringly. "Just say where you need to go — _clearly_ , remember that — look for the grate that looks more obvious and focus on it."

Theodore nodded attentively and stood back to see Fred and George disappear in the green flames, Ginny after them, Hermione, Harry, and then Ron. "Just say the name, focus and it'll turn out fine. Unless you accidentally find yourself at the Malfoys and end up punching — I'm going now, Mum, geez."

"And at last, it's finally your turn, Theodore dear! Now, Ron told you exactly what you need to know," explained Mrs Weasley, repeating after Ron almost word-for-word until he got the gist of it. "You'll be fine, Theodore, you really will. Absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley." Theodore then took a little more than a pinch of the powder and chucked it into the fireplace, squinting just a bit when the fire grew brighter. "Diago—!"

"Hold on for a second, I almost forgot!" Mrs Weasley stopped Theodore from stepping in the fireplace and pointed her wand at the kitchen doorway, saying, _"Accio Hogwarts' sack!"_

Theodore heard something falling over in the living room, followed by another crashing sound of glass shattering on the ground. Mrs Weasley groaned to herself and held her hand out to clasp the zooming grey sack on instinct. "That'll be the _Glass Swan_ again… a wedding gift," she added from seeing Theodore slightly confused. "Here you go, courtesy of Dumbledore himself. The owl only came this morning."

"Thank you," said the boy, relieved from not having to ask Harry for anything until he noticed something off about the sack. "Umm… is — is it supposed to be this… small?" Theodore tried to purge any sort of smug entitlement in his voice as he clutched the obviously small sack of Galleons.

"The letter said that it would be enough for your shopping. Why, is there something wrong?"

Theodore shook his head and put on a smile, tucking the sack in his pocket as he pushed away the stabbing feeling that he wouldn't enjoy Hogsmeade like the others. So much for not wanting to ask Harry for money.

He took a deep breath and stepped carefully into the green flames. Theodore felt like he was strolling outside on a warm summer's evening — and a tickling sensation was running up his back from the sharp fear of ending up on the other side of the country. He closed his eyes firmly shut and thought about Diagon Alley clearly in his mind: The Leaky Cauldron was the first thing that came up.

"Diagon Alley!" shouted the Parselmouth clearly before everything disappeared around like a whirlwind of green fire encompassing him, an inferno with no heat whatsoever. Theodore felt his stomach squeeze without hesitation as it felt like when he Disapparated with Dumbledore for the first time, and he was certain that he was going to throw up at any given second. Spinning, spinning, spinning… forever spinning…

* * *

The spinning came to an abrupt stop, and Theodore was nearly flung from where he finally arrived after narrowly avoiding the other fireplaces that floated in the green inferno of the Floo Powder. He stuck his hands out and successfully broke his fall, landing on his knees rather painfully. Theodore's stomach was no longer rumbling dangerously due to it being emptied on his way to… where, exactly?

Theodore checked himself all over after stirring from dizziness to make sure that he hadn't broken or lost anything important. His wand was fine; his father's wand was fine, and his money was safe as well. Hogsmeade was again purged from his mind as he brushed his knees from the dusty floorboard and looked around the room to make sure that he wasn't someplace else. The room was full of chairs, splintered barrels and cobwebbed boxes were in the corners, nothing that was really special — Theodore felt a small spark of nostalgia inside of him when he stared closer at the barrels.

"Of course! I'm at the Leaky Cauldron," he said to himself. He heard a buzzing noise coming from behind the small door, confirming that a mass of people had to be nearby, hence the beloved Leaky Cauldron.

The fireplace suddenly began to burn fiercely, illuminating the room with green light until it died down. Mrs Weasley effortlessly slipped out of the fireplace and sighed with relief when she saw the Parselmouth unharmed. "Thank goodness! I know that you said the words properly, but I didn't want this to become another… _Harry situation_ ," she whispered.

Theodore told her that he got a 'little' sick along the way but managed to hold it down when he arrived. The two left the unused storage room and started to walk down a corridor that was instantly recognisable to Theodore. This was where Tom had any extra rooms in case the ones upstairs were full, and of course, the storage room which he never bothered to visit for some reason.

As they approached the main pub, the buzzing became louder and clearer with every step that Theodore took, and he could just make out 'Potter' being chanted over and over again. Theodore was then reminded of a contemplative fact that he was returning to the wizarding world with his name being read, said and heard nearly everywhere. His steps were starting to become lazy and slow, but it didn't matter: he was already there.

"Potter, Potter, Potter — THEODORE!"

Theodore nearly jumped backwards onto Mrs Weasley from the sheer volume of his name being bellowed by a multitude of wizards and witches, all raising their tankards to him.

Gribblegork came rushing over to him at the same time downing his drink and stuck out his hand to congratulate the embarrassed boy. "The little runaway returns finally! I — _hiccup_ — I've always been wondering when you'd get back… How's Timothy?"

"I don't know who that is, but it's nice to see you again — whoa!" Theodore was suddenly dragged away from Gribblegork and was surrounded by burly wizards who slapped him on the back, along with an equal number of beautiful witches cooing continuously at him. His cheeks couldn't take any more of the incessant pinching in just a few seconds that he forced himself away from the crowd after struggling past everybody.

"All right, all right, let him through! This is a pub, not a concert for the _Weird Sisters_! How are you, Theodore?"

Theodore instantly smiled and swivelled around to see where the familiar voice came from. "I'm great, Mr Tom, how are you?" he replied happily as if being nearly squashed to death had no impact on him.

"Fabulous, Theodore! I feel absolutely fantastic! My, you've gotten taller in just, what, a year?"

"I don't feel that much — oh! I have to go now, I'm here to get my stuff for Hogwarts," said Theodore quickly, shaking Tom's hand then speed-walking over to the back door. He dodged another pair of witches his age reaching out for him and found Mrs Weasley soon enough waiting for him.

"Finally," said George when the two arrived at the courtyard. "We've been waiting here forever. What was happening back there?"

"They were… _excited_ to see me. And my stomach still feels weird…" he muttered as he joined Harry, Hermione and Ron. "They didn't try to crush you lot, did they?"

"They tried to hoist Harry on their shoulders, so there's that."

"Huh. Lucky me."

Bill tapped the hole in the brick wall and passed through first when the bricks revealed Diagon Alley in all of its glory. Theodore felt as if it was his first time walking down the street with Dumbledore, several eyes following the praised wizard while he was a nobody by his side; how three years felt so long ago, how he missed being back where he belonged.

"Mornin', Theodore!" greeted a lanky, familiar man.

"Hello… Torgan…?"

Torgan snapped his fingers and pointed at the Parselmouth before disappearing into Knockturn Alley. Theodore's eyes followed him as he continued to walk forward until he bumped into Hermione and awkwardly apologised for it. Although they were halfway down the Alley, he couldn't help himself from looking back over at Torgan and wondering what a man like him could ever be doing in Knockturn.

' _Hmph. Could never really read that guy… how odd…'_

The Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Theodore carried on through all the way till the end where the blinding Gringotts stood with wizards and goblins guarding the outside, a bit unusual yet not worth paying attention to at all.

"Bill, you take the kids to the vault and Harry to his, while I'll stay up here with Theodore," said Mrs Weasley, handing a key to her eldest.

"Mrs Weasley," said Hermione as she brought out a thick purse from her pockets, "my mum and dad gave me some money so that I could exchange it, but they never really told me what to do. Could you…?"

"Of course, dear, you just stay here with us. Make sure that everything runs smoothly, Bill, and for the love of God, do _not_ let Fred and George loose on the carts again! I do _not_ want to be banned from here again!"

Fred chuckled and elbowed his twin while Bill nodded with his cheeks slightly red. "Mum, could you calm down, please? I'm with acquaintances here…"

Harry stayed behind for a brief moment and whispered to Theodore, "Was there anything in your mum's will about a vault for you? Maybe that's where the money is at."

"Even if it was there, which I'm seriously doubting, I would need a key, which I don't have. _Even_ then, wouldn't they know who I really was if I claimed it?"

"I guess you're right. Anyway, I'll see you in a minute."

Theodore watched Harry tagging behind the Weasley kids and joined Ron at the last second before they disappeared behind the doors leading to the vaults. He sighed heavily to himself. It couldn't have been anywhere near Gringotts. His mother wasn't like her brother, revered by the public. Who would know if the goblins tried to lock away whatever money she left for him forever? No, not here, nowhere close to here. The only place he could think of was at the house where the elf rambled on about protecting gold. If only he could remember her name…

"Good morning," grinned Mrs Weasley amicably at a scrunched-faced goblin behind the high-raised desk. A small silver tag on his clothes simply said 'Griphook', and that was all. "My son's friend here would like to exchange some Muggle money."

Griphook leaned over slowly and nastily sneered at Hermione, baring his pointed teeth. "Muggle-born, I presume?"

"Does it matter?"

Griphook sat back again and merely shrugged his shoulders. "Only wanted to know. The amount that is to be exchanged, if you will," he croaked a little. He stretched out a clawed hand right above Hermione's head.

The girl scuttled back when she felt him brushing against her forehead and quickly flicked open her purse to hand over several pound notes to the goblin. Theodore watched his sneer grow even more prominent from holding Muggle money as Griphook slowly counted with a quill in the other hand.

Listening to him repeatedly saying 'twenty' and 'ten' removed any sort of attention Theodore had towards him, that he faced the entrance of the bank where a grotesque man with a crooked back and an equally crooked smile was dressed in the same uniform as Griphook and all the other goblins, albeit, his were quite filthy.

"'Scuse me," he asked in an unpleasant voice to a passing family of four, "might you and your kids be of the Muggle sort? Muggle-borns?"

"Move along, children. Don't look at him."

Griphook disappeared for a moment and popped back over with a clean sack that had the imprint of the Gringotts logo on it clearly. He snapped his fingers and caused it to levitate all the way to Hermione's arms — her sack was obviously bigger than Theodore's — before he proceeded to scribble on a long roll of parchment as if he had been recently disturbed.

"Umm… thank you, Mr… Griphook!" Hermione thanked politely.

Griphook didn't even twitch let alone look at her.

"Don't take it harshly, dear. That's rather normal between wizards and goblins. There's a lot of bad blood between us, after all."

Hermione nodded and brought out a small cube from her pocket which sprung open as a massive green bag when she threw it up in the air. "Expand-A-Bags," she clarified to Theodore. "Mum bought it for me the first time I came here because there was so much stuff to buy. It's enchanted to be as light as a feather, no matter how much stuff you put inside."

"Where d'you get it from?"

"Mum said that she got it from a Muggle market somewhere around here. And I, uh, did the enchantments myself," Hermione added proudly.

Theodore nodded his head as he held the bag; it was like he was carrying a quill in his hand, despite her money sack being casually dropped inside. "It's impressive, I'll give you that. But how exactly can you have this out without drawing attention to yourself? Seems to be a bit of a flaw."

Hermione grew a smug smile on her face and tied the bag up like a ribbon on a present. It was like somebody sucking the air out of a ballon; her bag then wrinkled up and continued to shrink until it became the small green cube once again. "See? I can carry it around without having to actually lift it. More than impressive, I think, Theodore."

"Yeah," Theodore replied in awe. "But — but there has to be at least three different charms on this, including the Extension Charm, and that's N.E.W.T level, at least!"

"That was the only one I couldn't do. It was so tricky that I asked Fred to do it at the end of our second year. He's really good at that sort of stuff. Of course, he knew that what I was asking was _questionable_ …"

"So you did something illegal then," remarked the Parselmouth. Hermione clasped her hands on his mouth and widened her eyes to tell him to be quiet.

"Shhh, don't say anything!" hissed Hermione, "I don't want to get into trouble!"

Theodore removed her hands and said, "Don't worry, you hooligan, I won't say anything to anyone. Dear God, you've been breaking rules left, right and centre: you have a problem, Hermione."

"No, I don't! I was going to use it just in case the situation called for it. I'm not a 'hooligan', Theodore."

"Sure, sure, I'll retract what I just said," noted Theodore sarcastically. He was still holding her hands, but by this point, it became the norm. "That's still great, though. Second-year, and you're already trying out N.E.W.T stuff. But you could've just come to me instead."

"I was going to, but…"

Theodore caught sight of Bill coming through the doors first and released Hermione's hands. He looked over to the shady man still hounding passing people with the same questions regarding their blood status and slightly caught the image of Mrs Weasley smiling at them a little further away. Theodore instantly turned away, cheeks burning in mortification: did she see him and Hermione holding hands? They weren't at all obvious, or so he thought.

"Got to stay behind now, but I'll see you all at dinner tonight," said Bill when they all regrouped with each other after he had given his mother some money. "Charlie should be coming later since he was called up to the Ministry by Lestrange."

"What does Lestrange want with Charlie," interjected Theodore.

Bill smiled and said, "Old Lestrange has been trying to get Charlie to work with him since he got the absolute highest grade in Magical Creatures ever after Lestrange did himself. Charlie's been evasive for a long time, mostly to do with Lestrange's background."

"Death Eater?"

"Yep."

' _Knew it. Of course, the guy was a Death Eater. Maybe even the very first.'_

Bill cut the conversation short and said goodbye to everyone then left with a band of goblins who led him into a small door that was well-hidden behind a gleaming suit of armour. Mrs Weasley beckoned everyone to follow her outside so that the money between her children could be rationed without any distractions.

Hermione, Ron, Harry and Theodore fell back a little to speak about what cursed object could Bill be handling with until the crooked man jumped right in front of them, and, unfortunately, right in front of Hermione. His teeth were like chipped grey stones covered with rancid grease, and his skin was hanging off his bones like a loose bedsheet. Theodore honestly thought that he was an amalgamation of a human, house-elf, goblin and a little dash of troll in the mix as well.

"'Ello there, child! Any chance that you may be of a Muggle background?"

"Why do you want to know that?" Hermione asked with goosebumps crawling up her arm. She didn't look to the others for help, not that they wouldn't do anything if something went wrong.

"Well, I mean, for starters, look at these folks! They clearly ain't your family. You don't look a thing like that one over there," he continued as he pointed at Harry, "and you were getting quite close with this 'andsome fella."

"I wasn't —!" she stammered, but the man didn't want to hear it.

He hobbled closer to her and put on a tempting voice, saying, "'Ow about it then? I could test you for any wizard blood that might be lurking in your veins. Don't worry, darling, it's completely safe if you just come with me over here —"

"Keep it to yourself, you fucking creep," scathed Ron at the man. He pulled Hermione away as Theodore and Harry gave him stares of detest, stares that did not faze him at all. "Next time you see a guy like that, don't listen to a word he says, all right?"

"Noted, but what was he talking about? I can't have any wizard blood inside me, I'm a Muggle-born. He was trying to trick me, wasn't he?"

"Yes to he was trying to trick you, and no to you not having any wizarding blood inside of you. Wait, shouldn't you know how Muggle-borns pop up every now and then —?"

"Just say it, Ron," Hermione cut in, slightly irritated that Ron knew something she didn't.

Ron noticed that and puffed up his chest as he explained, "What that guy was trying to ask you is part of the biggest scam in the entire wizarding world. Happens all across the world, mind you. They're called Inheritance Tests. No way can you go through with it without it ending up horrible for you. Started when goblins were being 'friendly' with wizards centuries ago. They started this, see."

"So then why was he asking if Hermione was a Muggle-born?" asked Harry. "I thought that they didn't have any magical blood."

"They do, but it's really small, metaphorically speaking. Every Muggle-born's got a Squib ancestor several generations back. Usually, when two Muggles who both got Squib great-great-great grandfathers or something have kids, chances are that they're gonna be magical."

Hermione held her chin in thought and continuously muttered 'wow' under her breath. "So what you're saying is that somewhere further up my family could be wizards?"

Ron took his share of money from his mother and started to make his way back down Diagon Alley whilst speaking at the same time. "They're most likely to be ancient, even more so to all be dead. That's why you've got weirdos like that guy always targeting Muggle-borns, thinking that they're gullible enough to go through with it."

Theodore asked if Muggle-borns still took them regardless and Ron replied with, "Of course! Not as much as a few decades ago, but you'll still get a few giving up some of their blood, hoping that they'll get a whole family tree dedicated to them. It's a bit sad if you think about it."

"'Sad'?" Hermione nearly spluttered, "it's horrible! Preying on innocent people who have no idea what they're getting into! How dare they! What — what would've happened if I did give him my blood?"

Ron grimaced. "If you did? Best case scenario, you'd get an incurable blood-curse which will be passed down several times through your children if, for some mad and idiotic reason, you decide to have children."

Hermione looked back at the grotesque man with utter disgust and walked quickly over to Theodore's side where she complained about how Inheritance Tests were a thing of evil. Theodore wholesomely agreed with every single word that she said as he was unable to grasp the idea of cursing not only just one person but an entire family for generations with the only way out being the complete death of every member. He knew that goblins were cruel creatures, but this was beyond sickening.

"Disgusting! Do they really hate wizards that much?"

"You're not gonna like to hear this, but some people think that the pure-bloods back then actually struck deals with goblins to curse Muggle-borns specifically."

Hermione scrunched her hands up in a ball until her knuckles turned pale against her tannish skin. She looked like she was on the verge of screaming her lungs out when Theodore told her that she could vent when nobody was around. "Somebody should do something about this," she gritted angrily.

"Then go do something. Call the Ministry, sue that guy, start a club even. Just don't scream your head off here, OK?" Theodore looked over his shoulder when he heard somebody calling out his name from Flourish and Blotts and was surprised to see the Patil twins just about to enter the bookshop.

"Hey, Theo," called Parvati, waving flirtatiously as she batted her eyes at him. "Looking good over there —!"

"Parvati, stop being such a flirt! You already know who he likes…" Padma held her sister's hand and dragged her into the shop but not before briefly looking over at Theodore to give him a smile that was unlike her; more like Parvati instead.

"Theo, I think your popular-points just went straight through the roof," smirked Ron, elbowing Theodore in the arm. "At this rate, you'll be the next Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Shut up, Ron. It's just… Parvati being Parvati." Theodore quickly flicked his eyes over to Hermione and saw her staring over at a rush of children sweeping out of Ollivanders. "How about we just get going? My quill's all fucked up, and I've got no ink left."

"Hold on! Let's go to the Magical Menagerie first. Mum and Dad gave me a few extra Galleons so that I could get a new pet. They've been really generous lately."

Harry patted Ron on the back and carried on down the Alley and said, "I guess it helps when you run over a Death Eater with a car. I think _your_ popular-points are showing, Ron. Let's go before more people decide to crowd around us."

He and Ron led the way while Theodore remained at the back just behind Hermione. She hadn't said anything after Parvati and Padma disappeared into Flourish and Blotts and was walking rather briskly in front of him. Theodore kept his hands deep in his pockets as he stared at her hair bouncing up and down; he didn't know why she fell silent so quickly. On second thought, perhaps he did…

"Hey," said the Parselmouth after he strode quickly to Hermione's side, "are you OK?"

Hermione looked at him, oddly confused then formed a smile like he said something complimentary. "Of course! I mean, yeah, I'm OK, why wouldn't I be OK?"

"A guy did almost try to give you a blood-curse not too long ago. I guess sickos also extend over to the wizarding world, huh?"

Hermione nodded only a little bit and stared over at the passing shops with her hands behind her back. Now Theodore didn't know why she didn't want to talk at all. He didn't say anything bad. Maybe she was just deep in thought regarding those Inheritance Tests, he thought to himself. It couldn't be anything else, right?

He gave her the slightest nudge with his elbow and leaned a little in her path of walking, unknowingly wanting to see a reaction from her. "Theodore, walk properly! You're in my way," Hermione complained at the same time unable to suppress a half-smile creeping on her face.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. Gosh, I can get so clumsy sometimes, can't I?"

"Yeah, sure," Hermione responded by deepening her voice to mock him.

Theodore shook his head and paced further in front of her and muttered, "Absolutely immature. I expected better." He followed Ron and Harry into the pet shop and held the door just long enough for Hermione to get through — Theodore wrinkled his nose for the stinking fish aroma had worsened over a year's time.

The four weaved through the cages of animals stacked on top of each other in the oddest ways possible. Some animals like the armadillos and four-winged birds were absent from their cages, presumably sold a long time ago. But they were easily replaced. Several new creatures trapped in boxes were either curling up in the corner of their cage or barking at the four teens whenever they brought their faces far too close for their liking.

"So what's it going to be, Ron? Another rat?"

Ron looked with a deadpan expression at Theodore and was almost about to flip him off. "You're so hilarious. Please, as if I'm ever getting anything close to a rat."

"But look at those ones," pointed out Harry over to a cage of sleek black rats doing circus tricks and leaping off a small pedestal in a fancy manner. "Do you see what they just did? You could have a whole family of —"

"No rats," interrupted Ron. He said this quite firmly with a serious face. "I need something that can fly. Owls make the best pets, right?"

Hermione scoffed and crossed her arms. "There's a shop for owls specifically, Ron. You could've just gone in there instead."

Ron turned on his feet, apparently to mutter something under his breath as he quickly manoeuvred around the cages to find something, anything that could catch his eye. That, and anything that didn't resemble a rodent of any sort.

Theodore recommended that he should take the sparrow with a dragon tail; Harry suggested taking the talking sloth which insulted a passing old wizard about his hair, and Hermione told him to take an owl if he wanted something that could fly. Ron ignored them and resumed his hunt until he practically squealed when he stopped in front of the front desk.

"Guys, guys, come look," he called to them happily. "Perfect! This is the one!"

Theodore leaned into the newish cage that sat alone on the desk next to a small snail-fish in a tank of slime. Almost hidden in the corner of mounds of grey fluff littered with bird seeds was a baby Golden Eagle, its feathers much darker than others belonging to its species and eyes that were unusually large, round and of a piercing green colour. But what Theodore found most unusual about the bird, besides the fact that it was shaking in terror from four people staring straight at it, was that it had a mangled left wing in a tight sling.

…

"Ron, this one won't fly," stated Harry bluntly, breaking the silence.

"He just got a broken wing —"

"'She'," corrected the saleswoman from the backroom.

" _She_ just got a broken wing. It's nothing that I can't fix. Magic, remember? We can use it?"

"But she's a baby, Ron," said Hermione. She ducked her head down and tried to comfort the eagle by moving away a little. "Even if she gets better, she'll barely lift a letter above the ground. Are you sure you want to have her?"

Ron nodded fervently and asked the owner of the shop how much it would be to take the eagle. He paid the required money and a little extra for the cage as well. The saleswoman tapped her wand against the lock and swung the cage door open, reaching in to take the shy bird by hand, but it was of no use. The baby eagle pecked viciously at her fingers and hid under her good wing. "For goodness sake! That's what I get for taking her in after her mother had abandoned her! Good luck dealing with _that_!"

"She's just shy, aren't you?" Ron closed the door of the cage and picked it up gently to avoid scaring the eagle any further. "Just have to give you some time, that's all. And you'll need a name."

Theodore thought it was rather odd to see Ron so ecstatic over getting a new animal, even more when said animal was obviously crippled. But upon thinking over it again, it made perfect sense to him: Ron never had a pet that was truly for him alone. It was much deserved and overdue.

The four first went to Flourish and Blotts where they bought their books for the upcoming year — Harry, Hermione and Ron were heavily relieved that they weren't required to have another monster book from Hagrid. Theodore, in all honesty, wouldn't have minded much. He followed Hermione to the top floor to take their books on Ancient Runes, and Theodore had once again caught the attention of another female classmate, Sally-Anne Perks, a Hufflepuff that Theodore had no clue of their existence until that very moment. Hermione had her eyebrow arched the entire time but was smirking when she saw Sally becoming frustrated that Theodore had gotten her name wrong three times in a row.

"Wow. Aren't you the little charmer?"

"Oh, leave me alone! You can't tell me that you knew her as well?"

Hermione pressed her lips together and held a grin inside, shaking her head. The two stared at each other for five seconds then burst into a fit of silent laughs that made them both feel guilty about not knowing their fellow schoolmate.

Theodore and Hermione regrouped with Ron and Harry and paid for all their books, then they left the shop for Amanuensis Quills, where Theodore chose a bright, white quill to replace his old one. He picked up two different ink bottles, one red and one dark blue, then quickly entered Madam Malkin's to be fitted for a whole new school uniform.

"Should I expect to see you this time next year?" asked Madam Malkin when it was finally his turn. "Most people come in here every three years."

"With the stuff that's happening at school, I'll be coming here till I'll leave."

Harry, Hermione and Ron waited for Theodore on the benches and when he had finally paid for his robes, they opted to go to the Apothecary next, due to nearly every other shop being flooded with customers. Theodore trailed behind them as he was having difficulty folding his robes into a bag with his books as well.

' _Why didn't I think of charming a bag to put anything inside? Now it's going to get all wrinkled.'_

"Theo, come on! The Apothecary's starting to build up; we've got to hurry!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Let me — save me a spot in the queue, I'll be there in a second!" he yelled back at Ron. He threw his robes over his head and carefully arranged the books so that the robes could fit seamlessly inside. "All right, there we go. Now all I have to do is — what the hell?" Something was buzzing, _trembling_ against his waist. Theodore slapped a hand where the sudden sensation came from and realised that it was his father's wand acting out like it used to.

' _Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Can't believe that I almost did…'_ Theodore pulled the wand out of his waistband and felt his hand growing a little fuzzy from holding it tighter. He looked far over to the Apothecary where the others had disappeared into the crowd leading into the shop, then he turned his head over to the lonely-looking wandshop that was much closer to him. A woman and her daughter left the shop with the child marvelling at her brand-new wand in her hand. He didn't even think about joining the others: he gripped his father's wand in one hand, his school things in the other, and he made his way to Ollivanders without a word.

Three years since he had been here to buy his wand with Dumbledore, yet nothing seemed to change at all. Nothing seemed out of place or neatly propped on furniture — Theodore thought that it was perfect the way it was. Three years felt like a lifetime, and three years ago he was just Theodore Riddle, a normal wizard. Just that.

Sounds of boards and boxes being slotted onto shelves could be heard from behind the counter, along with somebody muttering to themselves continuously, not giving the sound of the bell any notice. Theodore set his bag on a rickety chair in the corner and walked up to the counter, and he saw Ollivander holding his chin with five wands in his hand. He was staring at them as if they were little people who were talking back at him. Theodore kept quiet and didn't want to disturb whatever the wandmaker was doing at that moment but waiting for him became tedious too quickly.

"Um, Mr Ollivander? Can I talk to —?"

"Blast it all!" fumed Ollivander — Theodore was completely shocked. Ollivander turned away from the direction of the counter and angrily flung the wands the air behind him, and he stomped off behind an obscure door as the wands floated gently into different individual boxes and back onto the shelves.

…

' _What the hell was that?'_ Theodore leaned over the counter and said in a louder voice, "Mr Ollivander? Mr Ollivander? I need to speak with you about something regarding my wand! Mr Ollivander?"

There was no response. Theodore fell back flat on his feet and crossed his arms. What could he be possibly angry about with those wands? Did they not work? Theodore tapped his foot impatiently against the floorboards; he didn't want to be kept waiting. He had several questions about his father's wand and his own, and he needed them now. There was no way that he'd go back to Hogwarts, just to wait another year to speak with the only wandmaker he knew.

Theodore tapped his hand as he walked up and down the counter, staring at the back of the shop waiting for Ollivander's white hair to appear at any second. His father's wand was shaking even more, shaking so much that he took it out and left it on the counter where it calmed down. Theodore kept on glaring at the door. Five minutes passed, still no sign of Ollivander.

He looked all around the shop to make sure that boredom wouldn't get to him any more than it already did. Boredom that made him flick at the floating silver square-based pyramids on a display, boredom that made him poke the same spider from before, boredom that somehow managed to make him wander a little too far across the counter and behind it. Theodore just couldn't help himself.

The space behind the adjacent shelves was around a third the size of the front room itself. It served as a hallway of some sorts, and three doors could be seen by Theodore, all three closed. But Theodore didn't pay any attention to them. The newfound area was ridiculously clean compared to the shop's outer image. On the Parselmouth's immediate left was a small working area with a single desk littered with graphs, notes and books and a pin-board that was hanging on the wall above it.

Theodore looked closer at the notes and saw that they were all handwritten by Ollivander himself. Several complex diagrams with labels pointing to images of presumably wands caught his eye, tempting him to pick it up for a closer look. But he thought to himself that if he did, Ollivander would know that somebody had been in the area that was surely restricted from customers.

" _Wand Log, 1960 to 2000_ ," muttered the intruding boy as he read the title of an ancient-looking book at the top of its pile. "Probably what he uses to record the wands he sells. He's even got some that date back more than seventy years ago. That's crazy…"

His curiosity eventually led him away from the desk and to the pin-board that seemed to be even more cluttered. All the notes read like a sort of map to somewhere, where strings of different colours linked to different parts of something that was connected to something else. Moving pictures consisting of phoenixes, dragons, unicorns, kelpies, trolls, Thestrals, thunderbirds, and so many more creatures were plastered on every corner of the board. The phoenixes, dragons and unicorns were ringed in gold and the rest in red except for the Thestrals, which were left alone and unmarked.

But then, curiosity brought him away from that once again, for something else grabbed him — Theodore had forgotten that he was far deep in the wandshop. Theodore reached for a photo down at the bottom-left of the board and moved away the surrounding notes that suddenly peeled away like plants into thin rolls of paper by touch alone. Underneath the folded notes was a faded image of three young men standing next to each other with their arms around each other's shoulders — Theodore assumed that the third was a man; a singed hole was where a face was supposed to be on a body of a tall figure in purely black robes.

Theodore brought his face closer to look at the other two men, who were simply smiling, one on the verge of bursting into tears from pure laughter. The man in between both of the others had a fresh, young and a familiar face. Theodore could make out his hair being auburn and long, and the same went for his slowly growing beard of the same colour. But his eyes seemingly stood out so much from the rest of his appearance, a striking baby blue. And that's when Theodore knew who that was. He had to squint his eyes just a little bit, but it didn't escape him that Albus Dumbledore was once a young man: he didn't look a day over seventeen here.

The Parselmouth looked at the young Dumbledore some more, unable to comprehend that he wasn't born old, then moved onto the man on Dumbledore's right. This man was also young, most likely the same age as Dumbledore in the picture. His hair was jet-black and thick, reaching to his shoulders in a rugged sort of way. Theodore instantly recognised him as Ollivander, but he took it back when he stared closer at him. The silvery eyes were the exact same, but his nose was smaller than the old man today. Perhaps old age did change him, but that couldn't have been him for sure.

Theodore now desperately wanted to know who the third man was, now that he saw Dumbledore as a young one. He looked at his thin frame again head to toe and saw that hanging on his chest was a small golden pendant too small for Theodore to make out. He then looked at Dumbledore and saw that he too was wearing the exact same pendant, and the same went for the man that looked like Ollivander.

"What the hell is that thing? Did Dumbledore have a fashion line back then?" Theodore joked to himself as he poked the photo. It peeled up like the rest of the other notes to reveal the bumpy wood behind it; Theodore stood frozen by what he saw. Not in fear, not in shock, or even awe, just confusion. A triangle holding a circle inside of it, with a single line running down the middle. That was what he saw. Was this a rune? Theodore poked the photo again and watched it unreel in front of him. Somehow, he could see the symbol hanging off from their necks, the very same symbol.

"What is that? And… and why do I feel like I've seen it before…?"

"My, my, isn't this a surprise."

Theodore's heart felt like it was crunched instantly. He turned quickly on the spot and retreated rapidly until he hit the desk, and he faced the wandmaker who was not irked in the slightest that somebody was in the restricted parts of the shop. "Mr Ollivander! I — I was just — I'm sorry for —!"

"Don't be sorry, young man. I did hear you at the front calling my name, but I had to take care of something rather important."

Theodore straightened himself and stammered, "Mr Ollivander, I'm really sorry! You — you just left, and I… sort of got a bit bored, so I —!"

"It's all right, Mr Riddle. Come, we'll talk where there is more space for us; it's rather cluttered over here," said Ollivander good-naturedly as he led the way back to the main part while Theodore followed him silently. Ollivander remained behind the counter and waited for Theodore to stay in front until he finally said, "So, Mr Riddle, what brings you here? As I recall, you already bought a wand three years ago on the twenty-ninth of March."

"Wow… you actually remembered that. Um, no, I wanted to talk about —" Theodore started as his hand slowly reached down to his waistband for his father's wand. He gripped the bonelike handle tightly and stared straight into the old man's eyes, oddly being evoked of the first time he came, when Ollivander said that his second name was peculiar and described his father almost in reverence; how there was that flash of fear when he told him his name…

"About what?" asked Ollivander a little bewildered that Theodore had kept silent.

"Um… I wanted to talk about this." Theodore lifted his hand and placed a wand on the counter for Ollivander to see clearly.

Ollivander arched his eyebrow and slowly took it up in his hands and took his time to twirl it between his fingers, to run his thumb across its side and make the occasional casual flick to produce very weak sparks. "Yes… I know this wand… acacia, a Thestral tail hair as a core, and…?"

"Twelve and three-quarters inches long," finished Theodore. That day was seemingly unforgettable. "You said that this wand was odd, right? It wasn't like any another wand that you ever made."

Ollivander's left eye twitched a little, but he kept on fingering the acacia wand in hand. "Yes, that's right. Wood and core, opposite natures that complement each other. Negative and positive, if you will. But excuse me for saying this, I see no problem with your wand, Mr Riddle."

"There's nothing wrong with it, it just acts weirdly sometimes, more often recently. That's why I came here. I wanted to see if you would have any answers."

"Has it ever failed you before?"

"No," answered Theodore unthinkingly, "I don't think it ever has. Actually, it's sort of protective of me. Like… _scary_ protective. There was a time where somebody had my wand and tried to use it against me, but for some reason, it just backfired on them. And it wasn't broken like my friend's wand. It just turned on them as if it intended to do it. What that does that mean?"

The wandmaker opened his mouth to speak and turned the wand upside-down to examine its base but closed it for a short while. Theodore tilted his head to the side whilst wondering what could possibly be running through his mind. "From what I gathered about wandlore, specifically the cores of the wand, I only sell three different types: phoenix feather, dragon heartstring and unicorn hair. Many of my forefathers have branched out in looking for the greatest core of them all, and so many secrets have been passed down in my family regarding the magic behind wandlore itself.

"However, when it comes to Thestral wands, they do not operate in the same manner as the three that I mentioned. Thestral tail hair as a core is terribly obscure in an obscurer field of magic. Tricky and unpredictable. From what most previous Ollivanders understood from these type of wands, me included, is that their performance and nature mirrors that of their master and that those chosen tend to have an unusual ability to grasp the deepest concepts of pure magic itself, one including death."

…

Theodore swallowed uncomfortably and tried to take it all in. "So… has there been any other wands made like this? Ones with a Thestral hair as a core."

"As far as I know, this is most likely the only Thestral wand in Britain and is the only one that I've ever made. But — this is rather common knowledge to the skilled wandmaker — there was another wand made from the core of the Thestral. Lost to time many decades ago. Men and women fought and killed for it."

"Why?"

Ollivander's face grew a little pale when he saw Theodore becoming firmer in his voice, even forceful. "The wand was reputed to be the most powerful in existence. Such a wand would attract attention from most places, eh?"

"Right," said the Parselmouth quietly. He noticed that Ollivander stopped observing his wand and had it still between his fingers. One other question was lingering in his mind, and he finally managed to pick it out from just a little more thinking. "I just wanted to know one more thing. Two months ago, my wand did something that no other wand could. My friend — the same friend — broke his wand after we… did the thing at school."

Ollivander nodded his head and smiled approvingly.

"It broke, you see, and everyone knows that you can't mend a wand with another, right? But my one did. It repaired it perfectly, and there wasn't a single crack on it. It was like it never broke in the first place!" Theodore could feel himself becoming more excited for some reason. "What does that mean?"

The wandmaker's face lost that smile; he gulped harshly and held Theodore's wand tightly. He stared at it with hesitation then leaned forwards towards the boy as if there were unwelcome ears all around them. "This could mean only a few things, Mr Riddle. I told you before that I hoped that you followed in your father's footsteps in more ways than one, but not too many. You may be on a path where you'll be awed and adored for your power, or horribly feared because of it. But either way, Mr Riddle… you are destined for _great_ things. Things, I dare say… are impossible."

"Like my father?" Theodore asked with a trembling feeling in his chest. Ollivander lifted his head just barely and left Theodore's wand out in front of him for its master to take back. White sparks burst from the tip like the first time he ever held it, and Theodore mimicked the old man by twirling it around in his fingers and paying closer attention to detail than he ever done before.

He remembered Hermione's statement about wands changing over time to match with their owner, and the same went for his own. Compared to his faint memory of how it first appeared, the slightly uneven surface made it look shrivelled, almost resembling a small limb from a Thestral itself. Theodore turned it over and looked at the base the same way Ollivander did and shifted it into a ray of light coming from the windows to see what was — the same symbol. A little faded and near impossible to discern underneath the intricate swirls on top of it, but it was the very same. A circle within a triangle, and a line going through the middle.

' _What else are you not telling me? Wait… what else is Dumbledore not telling me? He had the same pendant, so he knows what that symbol is… what is it, though?'_

"Are you satisfied, Mr Riddle," broke Ollivander when Theodore fell into his thoughts.

"Yeah. Yeah, thank you, Mr Ollivander. I really appreciate it. Anyway, I have to go now, I've got some more school stuff to get," spoke the boy as he walked over to grab his bag. "It was nice speaking with you, sir."

"And to you too. I expect extraordinary things from you, Theodore, we all do. A powerful wand will only choose the most powerful, after all. Never forget that."

Theodore courteously nodded his head and heaved the bag up in one hand and his wand in the other. He said goodbye one last time and pushed out of the wandshop for outside: it felt like he had just woken up from the longest nap ever.

Diagon Alley was significantly emptier with most people heading home through the Leaky Cauldron or getting the last few things that they needed for school. There was no redhead, no bushy, bouncing brown hair or a jet-black mess in sight. How odd. The others usually looked for him whenever he'd wander off somewhere. Theodore was entranced by his wand and thought about the words spoken to him about the wand and, ultimately, him. Was he really destined for the 'impossible' as Ollivander put it? The two greatest wizards that he knew had practically done the impossible: would it be the same for him? He slipped the wand back into his jeans and made his way to the Apothecary.

"Where have you been?" scolded Hermione when he casually entered the store. "We were in the queue for several minutes waiting for you, but you weren't there!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Theodore replied. He was scooping up mismatched ingredients and had to start over many times. "I went to Ollivanders to talk about my wand and how it managed to fix Ron's."

"Did you? What did he say?"

"Long story short: it's a very weird wand."

Hermione looked over her shoulder and leaned in closer to him, whispering, "Did you ask him about what happened to Lockhart? We should've had our memories wiped from our brains."

Theodore nodded and told her the basics of what was explained. Hermione dropped her irritation towards him and helped him pick out all the ingredients that he was missing. "Where are Harry and Ron by the way?"

Hermione snorted. "About ten people saw Harry — don't know how they couldn't before — and practically chased him out with Ron next to him. They already got everything they need, and I said that I would wait for you here. It's not like they could actually hear me anyway…"

After Theodore paid for his ingredients, the duo then left to search for Harry and Ron, both who were found easily hiding in Rosa Lee Teabag, a shop that was usually empty and barren. They hurriedly ran out of the teashop and to the Leaky Cauldron when the coast was clear; they didn't stop for anyone without red hair.

Narrowly avoiding Colin and his younger brother, the four went through the brick wall and into the Cauldron where they could finally relax for a few hours before the trial would begin.

"I'm drained," yawned Ron loudly. "I could go for a Butterbeer or two. What about you guys?"

"Sure," replied Harry, rubbing his throat.

Hermione nodded, and Theodore was about to give his answer but couldn't when he saw somebody familiar hobbling over to a bench in the middle of the pub with a tray of tankards. "Same here, I'll have some as well…"

"You don't sound so sure, Theo. Do you want to —?"

"Erveris!"

The limping man peeked his head up and turned in many directions like a chicken in an open field. "Who called — who said my — huh?" he stammered.

Theodore rushed over to where the man sat confused by what was happening and dropped his bag on the floor at the end of the bench. "Erveris! Look, it's me, Theodore!"

Erveris faced Theodore with widened eyes and instantly stood up, despite his injured leg, with the largest smile on his face. To Theodore, he looked the exact same from when he last saw him, hair, eyes and face (but somebody else flashed in his mind when he saw Erveris closer), everything the same. "Oh, Merlin's beard! It's really you! Little Theodore! Well, not so little now, I mean, look at you! You're almost as tall as I am!"

Theodore grinned uncontrollably and said, "I don't think so. Two years isn't a lot, is it? Wait, so where's Ms Padalin?"

"Right here," a voice said behind him. Theodore rotated himself around and was caught in the embrace of a shorter woman in tattered robes and a musty sort of smell, but he didn't mind at all. In fact, he hugged the woman right back. "Oh, Theodore! Oh, how you've grown! How are you, darling? It's been so long."

"I'm great! Honestly, I feel amazing. But how are you, both of you? I didn't get to say goodbye properly last time…"

"It's all right, kiddo. We knew you were in a tough spot then. Sorry for leaving so soon. But hey, you're here!"

Ms Padalin held Theodore's hands and led him gently over to the benches to sit down — her hands were rather cleaner than before. "Now, young man, you just tell us what you've been up to for the past two years. Suddenly, we see your name in the _Prophet_ catching a Death Eater at Hogwarts?"

"Well, it wasn't just me. My friends —"

"Must've played an equal part as well," finished Ms Padalin with a little smirk on her face. She picked up her tankard and continued, "Rita Skeeter is not one of my favourite people in the world. Could never stomach any of her writings. She didn't ask you for an interview, did she?"

"Umm…"

"Come on, leave the kid alone, Mum. He's on his way to becoming great, regardless whether Rita is involved or not. Say, Theo, how exactly did you get here? Dumbledore?"

Theodore shook his head and told them that he was here with the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry when he suddenly remembered that they were still in the back somewhere when he ran off. He quickly excused himself and paced over to the others around a table talking amongst themselves. "Sorry, guys. Didn't mean to run off like that."

"Who is that guy anyway," asked Ron. "Have you seen him here before?"

"He was the neighbour of the Potters. Him and his mum. Harry, they knew my mum and your dad when they were kids," beamed Theodore at his cousin. "Come, let's go!"

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron, then he stood up and followed Theodore with a smile growing on his face, similarly to Theodore himself. Theodore told Hermione and Ron that they should come as well, and they tagged along without any questions either. The four walked over to the Padalins and saw them laughing until they both gasped at them, or rather, Harry.

"Oh my god…" mouthed Erveris. "He looks just like him…" Harry nervously smiled and didn't say anything which prompted Erveris to make the first move. "I, uh, my name's Erveris Padalin. My mum and I were neighbours of your dad, and… you look just like James… Mum…"

Ms Padalin gave Harry a heartwarming smile which seemed to work perfectly on him. "Hello, Harry. I know that I — _we_ are strangers to you, but it's finally nice to meet you."

"You too. So… you knew my dad?"

Ms Padalin laughed. "Knew them? They were like second children with the way they used to jump over into my garden! Fleamont would go mad sometimes while Euphemia would laugh her head off! James and Valerie were the two loveliest little devils that I've ever seen!"

Harry laughed and stood still in thought, possibly thinking about what his dad must've been like at such a young age. Ms Padalin invited the teens to gather around the table so that they could all talk together properly without having to stand up.

"…Ron Weasley? I think I knew a Septimus Weasley back at school. And you, dear? What's your name?"

"Hermione Granger," said the girl politely.

"What a lovely name!" complimented the old witch, causing Hermione to go pink at the cheeks. "You better make your name heard; be the first of the 'Great Hermiones' to come afterwards."

"She's the best in our year, you know. Hermione did better than me in the first one," Theodore spluttered without thinking.

"Impressive!"

Hermione squeaked out thanks and looked directly at Theodore from the opposite side without tearing away. Theodore felt a nudge of the elbow from Ms Padalin and looked over to her sipping on her hot chocolate, her lips curling slightly.

' _Why would you say that to her? Yeah, Hermione's brilliant… absolutely brilliant…'_

He didn't look away from her, neither did she away from him. He watched her rub her elbow a little, brush her hair behind her ears as she continuously smiled at him without turning away. And there it was again, that sudden rush of overwhelming emotions nearly screaming in his ears as he locked himself into contact with those eyes…

"Are you OK, darling?"

Theodore was rubbing his pounding head and was breathing loud enough for just Ms Padalin and Hermione to notice. He insisted that he was fine and that it was a surprisingly long day so far. Hermione made sure that he was OK by asking again, then was caught into a story by Erveris about how James made a tantrum when Valerie left for Hogwarts the first time.

"I think that she likes you a lot," whispered Ms Padalin when the pang in Theodore's head subsided. "And if I didn't know any better…"

"She's just… she isn't, but we're not… maybe I —"

"It's all right, you don't have to tell me anything. However, something seems to be troubling you, and I can't help but feel that it's about your mother."

Theodore leaned forwards and looked over to see Harry, Ron and Hermione laughing with Erveris, who was having the time of his life. He sat back and gave what he wanted to say some thought: he always got what he wanted in an indirect approach. Almost always.

"I went to Mum's house a few weeks ago," he spoke finally. "It still looks good, just needs some redecorating before looking brand new again."

"That's wonderful. There was actually a charm over the house that gave it some sort of sentience, sort of like how the castle works at Hogwarts. Did you visit the lovely garden?"

"No, but I'll definitely do it next time. Probably next summer if I can. Maybe you and Erveris could come with me."

Ms Padalin chortled and said, "That's very sweet of you, Theodore, but as much as I love that place, it's full of past demons that I can't face. Even thinking about it too much is…"

…

"And I found out more about them, Mum and Dad," revealed Theodore in a low voice. "Not just what they did at school but _really_ found more about who they were."

"Oh god… Theodore, I — I never wanted you to know when you were so young, I mean — you _are_ so young! I didn't want to tell you the truth because I thought —"

Theodore waved it aside and chewed the inside of his cheek. "No, it's fine. I actually wanted to thank you for not telling me anything, for saying those things about Mum. I don't know what I'd do if I really knew about her… and _him_ …" He said the last part grimly with furrowed eyebrows.

…

"It didn't take long for me to know who you were when I first saw you," said the old witch as she clinked her fingernails against her tankard. "Harry's not the only one who looks exactly like his father, and of course, you both have your mother's' lovely eyes. But on the Knight Bus, when looking at you closer… it was like seeing Tom all over again, standing there, sitting there, even nearly walking the same way. I knew what he had become, and I knew who fathered Valerie's child, so of course, it had to be you. A one in a million chance that I could ever meet you, ever…"

Theodore released a sigh, not knowing if it was out of relief or something negative. That's all he usually felt like when it came to the both of them, just not really knowing.

"Theodore?" said Ms Padalin. Theodore looked at her with an uneasy look on his face. "I wasn't lying when I told you that she was a great woman. Despite every horrible thing that she ever did, Valerie Potter was a woman who really did love her little brother, her sister-in-law and child, and above all, her own baby boy. Her family was the only thing that truly mattered to her, and nothing else."

"Yeah… yeah, I know."

She smiled tenderly at the Parselmouth and gently flicked a lock of hair that fell over his eyebrow. "You have her best parts," she commented, "and although you may not want to believe it for a single second, you have his best parts too."

"What do you mean?"

"Tom… was unnaturally different from everybody else. He knew who he was, and he'd never let anybody tell him different. And there was a time where Tom Riddle was, honestly? A perfectly normal boy. At least, from the outside. But I guess I always knew that somewhere deep inside, far too deep for probably even him to know, that… I always had a knack for seeing people beyond their surface."

"Really? Me too," admitted Theodore interestingly. "But I can't really explain it. It's sort of like a switch that becomes harder to control over time."

Ms Padalin dropped her tankard on the table and held both of the boy's hands and looked up to him, still struck that she finally saw him again. "I know it must be hard for you to take it all in. I didn't expect you to find out until much later on. But you must promise me something, Theodore. Promise me that no matter what happens in the future, no matter what anybody tells you time and time again about your mother and father, that you know who _you_ are; that you won't let _anybody_ tell you differently, because you are you. You're not Valerie, you're not Tom. _You_. Always you. OK?"

Theodore felt something strong building up into something absolute inside and said, "Yeah. I promise. I won't let them." Ms Padalin smoothed his hair and went back to drinking her tankard before joining her son with the storytelling. And that thing that Theodore felt rising was that happiness of being with the Padalins again, seeing Harry and Ron guffawing together; seeing Hermione smile at him without ever looking away. What could be better than this? What possibly could?

 **Sickness. Is. A. Bitch. Yes, yes, I'm not dead, and I definitely haven't abandoned this story. I've just been so so sick over the past few weeks, and on top of that — school. Need I explain any further? Sorry if you were waiting for so long.**

 **So, one thing that I wanted to point out is that magic is going to be altered from canon, not like I haven't done that already, and this year is going to prove it. Think of year 4 as… Theodore actually being studious and wanting to learn even more magic, starting from here. All I'm saying is that it's going to be a bumpy ride.**

 **And I know that I said that the trial was going to be the last part before school, but I felt like this chap was important, despite feeling like info-dump to me. Just hang on for me, kids, don't worry. Hope you enjoy this story, and I'll see you later.**

 **P.S: Ollivander knows a** _ **lot**_ **more about wandlore than in canon:)**


	44. Chapter 44: A New Symbol Pt2

_**Warning: Chapter is long asf, there was no cutting point where I could have a good cliffhanger and a decent amount of words for a regular chap. Enjoy!**_

* * *

"All right, we're all here," said Mr Weasley, who was standing in the middle of the living room after everybody, save for Bill, had returned from Diagon Alley. "Ron's here, Hermione's here — where's Theodore? Ah, there you are, and Harry's here also."

Theodore carefully squeezed past Fred and Mrs Weasley at the doorway with Viripin around his shoulders as he spent the remaining hours after returning to the Burrow feeding and talking with the Maibian Adder whilst waiting. He popped the last of Viripin's mice in her mouth and joined the others near the fireplace.

Mr Weasley looked at his watch and said, "The time is seven thirty-five, and we'll need to get to the Ministry by ten to eight. Percy, you're prepped for being the new Court Scribe?"

"Don't worry, Dad, I'll be fine. Corman Prenderghast is better off enjoying keeping baby Thunderbirds in his attic then worrying about his job."

Mr Weasley smiled and stared at the ceiling in muddled thinking before he clapped his hands together and summoned the pot of Floo Powder. "OK, this is all of us. They're expecting us to make an entrance at the very last minute, so I'll hurry this up then. Now, we're all going to Floo to the Ministry, but you must be very specific and clear on our destination. Repeat after me: Ministry of Magic, Port Three-Two, the Atrium."

The four teens repeated the words three times before they were perfectly in sync with one another.

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Mr Weasley before he turned to Percy to talk under their breaths.

"Hmm? What is it?" asked Theodore quietly when he felt a nudge against his left temple.

" _Are you nervous? Feel any rats in your stomach? Need anything to eat or drink?"_ hissed Viripin rapidly in his ear.

"I feel fine; I'm pretty sure that it's _butterflies_ in your stomach — where d'you even hear that — and I'm not hungry. Well, not that hungry. I just ate a few minutes ago. Why so worried?"

" _It's because you're going somewhere you've never been to before. You shouldn't feel nervous or hungry at all."_

"I'm not for either, but thanks, Viripin," replied Theodore with a grin as he stroked her head all the way to underneath her jaw. "And I won't have to do much. Pettigrew's already going to Azkaban for at least twelve years. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Ministry would be idiots to let him off any life sentences."

Viripin used her head to pat the Parselmouth's hair down to make it slightly neater and hissed, _"You'll do great, all of you. I know you will. Just don't get too interested that you'll wander off."_

"I'm fourteen, not twelve, Viripin. I think my attention span is in check."

" _Just saying."_

"…to make sure that she doesn't take advantage of them, especially _him_. You have a question, Harry?"

"Aren't we going to see Sirius first at St Mungo's? He's still there, right?"

"Actually, Sirius has been in the Ministry all day," disclosed Mr Weasley. "They had to do a lot of… checking before he'd go in." He looked at Mrs Weasley a little uneasily and shook the pot to see if there was enough powder inside.

Mrs Weasley, Fred, George and Ginny all closed in on the leaving party, hugging and squeezing each before they'd be separated — most of the hugs came from Mrs Weasley herself.

As Theodore managed to pry himself in the least offensive way that he possibly could from her, he turned to see Ginny shaking hands with Harry whilst blushing just a little bit, and he held in a grin that would've easily been caught by the both of them. Harry walked back over to the fireplace, leaving Ginny alone until Theodore came over, unfortunately, smiling uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" Ginny frowned at the approaching boy.

"Nothing! It's just that you got a little…" Theodore pointed at his cheeks. "You've been a little too obvious recently."

Ginny snorted, but her face grew even redder. "As if _I'm_ the obvious one —" she leaned in closer towards him and whispered, "everyone has seen your face burning every time Hermione's with you. Like _that_ isn't obvious."

"No, it's not," Theodore shot back defensively. "There's nothing that's obvious about me and — whatever, OK? Anyway, take care of Viripin while I'm gone. It won't be for too long — I _hope_ it won't go on for too long. Here you go."

Ginny took Viripin shakily in her arms and allowed her to wind around her shoulders and rest her head on top of her hair. "Hey, Theo. Good luck over there. I know you'll smash it."

"Thanks, Ginny, really. And about the… you know — I'm gonna help you for real this time. I know that I barely did a thing during this whole summer, so —"

"You did what you could, and I appreciate it, Theo, I really do. If anything, it was my fault for not saying anything sooner. If I did, then…" Ginny trailed off and looked over at Fred and George putting their arms around Ron's shoulder in an uncommonly brotherly fashion.

" _Theodore, aren't you going now?"_

Theodore nodded, stroked Viripin affectionately one last time and said a quick goodbye to Ginny before he joined the others. Mr Weasley asked them if they all had their wands on them as he held the pot out for each to take a pinch from — Theodore's wand was essentially the bulk of his solitary conversations with Viripin when they came back.

Once everybody had taken their portion of Floo Powder, they all formed a line in front of the fireplace, the first being Mr Weasley, followed by Percy, then Ron and Theodore as the fourth.

"Good luck, Theodore!" Mrs Weasley called out the moment Theodore chucked the powder into the flames.

Theodore briefly faced and thanked her, then he turned to the fireplace once more, heaving in and out breath after breath for what was to come. He admitted to himself that he was not nervous in the slightest about the trial: it was the possibility of his stomach being pumped out for the third time running that day, even worse when there'd be multiple people upon arrival.

' _Breathe… breathe… Keep it under control, don't think about it, and you won't feel a thing… Just breathe…'_

"Ministry of Magic, Port Three-Two, the Atrium!" he shouted as he stepped into the roaring emerald flames and instantly, he felt his body being sucked through a hole, the violent spinning twisting his stomach into knots upon knots, the whirlwind of green fire that felt like an entirely different world, even if it was for a brief moment. Theodore closed his eyes, mentally chanting to himself to think about anything else as he carried on spinning and spinning until it suddenly stopped like always.

He didn't fly off like the first time when he travelled by Floo Powder, but Theodore's knees became weak the second he awkwardly stumbled out of the new fireplace and onto polished wooden flooring. Theodore's stomach was juddering wildly, but it oddly felt a little tame compared to his past two experiences. At least he didn't vomit — he almost spoke too soon.

"Come on, up you get," mumbled Ron's faded voice from his right as two hands grabbed his arm, while another pair took his left. "Jesus, Theo, your face is turning green."

Theodore shook his head and stood up slowly with the help of Ron and Percy, breathing through his mouth loudly to get rid of the distressful wrenching in his stomach. He really needed to work on his alarming queasiness. "I'm not going to throw up, I swear. I'm fine, really, I'm — whoa…"

The Parselmouth rubbed his eyes firmly just to make sure that what he was seeing was not an illusion or a creation from his imagination. No, when he came to the realisation that it wasn't a false image, Theodore's eyes grew and twinkled in near childlike excitement. He couldn't believe it at all.

Dozens of witches and wizards were scuttling up and down the extended polished floors that ran along the magnificent hall composed of so many colours to make up for the lack of natural light. Theodore turned to his left and watched multiple wizards popping out of the adjacent fireplaces that burst with green each time, while on the other side were identical fireplaces, only that people disappeared in them instead.

From where he was standing, he was somewhat halfway down the hall, possibly further away from where most wizards and witches were emerging from (other than the fireplaces), and he could barely see above the huddled moving heads striding in front whilst engaging in unstimulating conversations regarding what they'd be having for dinner soon, but Theodore didn't pay any attention to that. He instead gawked up at the peacock blue ceiling where approximately twenty or so witches had their wands pointed at and immediately, their wands emitted sparkly grey smoke which then meshed together to create golden skies filled with stars, terribly similar to the enchanted ceiling at Hogwarts.

And although he barely reached an inch or two below most of the passing people, the long Hall was considerably empty compared to its width, and Theodore could make out just right around the corner a circular, polished stone fountain with giant golden statues standing in the pool, reflecting golden-green lights across the walls from the fireplaces. Miniature golden magical creatures such as centaurs, house-elves, goblins, phoenixes, unicorns and dragons were slowly orbiting the two towering statues of a fierce wizard and a dainty witch — some looked a little ridiculous to Theodore with their expressions of admiration towards the wizard and the witch being extremely contrasting to what he knew about them, the dragon, the centaur, and the goblin _especially_.

"Oh, goodness me," said Mr Weasley to himself reprovingly, "we didn't go through the visitor's entrance. They won't know if —"

"Don't worry, Father, I've already got it covered," said Percy as he took out four silver badges with individual names gleaming on each one. "While they were at Diagon Alley, I made sure to prepare these before they'd return."

Mr Weasley clapped Percy on the back, turned to the fireplace where they all came from and saw Harry walking out, followed shortly by Hermione. Both of their mouths fell open the same way Theodore had done just a moment ago; they were unable to speak at all.

Ron looked at them with impish delight to see his friends being awed by something that was the norm for him. "I've been here about six times when Dad would take us. I only went to his office, though. There's a department on each floor, as well."

" _Each_ floor? We can go up?"

"Up, down, backwards, forwards, whatever you're in the mood for. Fred got lost once in this place called the Department of Magerie or something —"

"Sshh!" hushed Percy. He darted his head side to side as if Ron had said something forbidden, and he leaned into his younger brother, whispering, "You're not allowed to say anything sounding close to what you just said around here!"

"What did I — oh, all right, I'll shut up!"

Harry and Hermione twirled in their spots a little while longer — Theodore joined them as he couldn't keep his eyes off the enchanted ceiling. The hall definitely did feel quite empty compared to how big it was. It was only until Percy handed them their own badges did they cease their astonishment with their surroundings and gather around Mr Weasley.

"So this is the Ministry of Magic, as you obviously put together quite quickly. We call this hall the Atrium; it serves as the main body of the Ministry, you know, for officially clocking in whether it's your job or your hearing."

"Father…"

"Right! Of course!" Mr Weasley remembered like a jolt of electricity just hit the back of his brain. "The four of you are required as visitors to present your wands to security for registration."

"They can't expect us to blow stuff up, can they?" asked Ron a little dryly. "We're just kids."

Mr Weasley beckoned the four to follow behind him and for Percy to come close so that he could whisper one last thing before Percy left hurriedly someplace else, then said, "It's the law, Ron, we can't disobey it. Although it is far-fetched for kids to be put through a wand-check."

Theodore leaned his head over the pool of the fountain and saw Sickles and Knuts sunken at the bottom while the bottom of the pool itself emitted a sort of entrancing glow that almost made him want to jump straight inside. He blinked when he realised that he wandered too close to a pretty witch that was crying nearby and hurried over to the others who fell away into a diverging area where an unkempt wizard was seated behind a desk labelled _Security_ , chewing on a piece of willow bark.

"I've got four kids here, all visitors," declared Mr Weasley as he gently pushed the four in front closer to the desk.

The wizard threw the bark in the air which ignited and floated as ashes, and glanced at them all lethargically as if it required so much effort to do. "Whose wand's first?"

Harry offered his own and handed it over to the security wizard who produced a complex instrument resembling an old typewriter with no keys except for three large buttons, one red, one yellow and one purple, and a cracked screen above them. The security wizard slotted Harry's wand through a hole in the side and pressed the yellow button. The typewriter-machine whirled, coughed and spluttered for a few seconds before it stopped. He pressed the purple button, and the screen flickered with light then gave out the second a large sheet of parchment was spat out of it.

The wizard took this up and began to read off of it. "Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, three years in use, correct?"

"Correct," Harry replied, lifting his brow line a little.

"Purchased on the thirty-first of July 1991, at Ollivander's, correct?"

Harry simply nodded.

The wizard took a stamp the shape of a star and slammed it against the parchment sheet before sliding it into his drawer. He pressed the red button which ejected Harry's wand and handed it over to him without flexing a muscle in his face. Ron went after Harry, Hermione was third, then Theodore became last, clasping his wand from his waistband and holding it out for the security wizard to take.

The instrument shuddered just like the others when the wizard pressed the yellow button until it finished. The wizard pressed the purple button and took the parchment out in front of his face as he read through it, but he didn't say anything at first, or for the next two minutes.

"Is there a problem?" asked Theodore, more curious than worried.

…

"Umm…"

"This can't be your wand," the security wizard said finally.

Theodore scoffed and looked back at the others, scrunching his face. "That's ridiculous, of course it's my wand! Why wouldn't I have my own wand with me? Look, I can even tell you the date when I got it: twenty-ninth of March 1991 —"

The security wizard waved it off, but Theodore still didn't get the reason why he suspected that it wasn't his own wand, and so he asked him. "Yeah, your wand's weird, kid. It says here that it's been in moderate use for the same time as your friends over here, but traces of spells and magic coming from this wand dates back to nearly a century ago."

"Well… Mr Ollivander said that he made this wand when he was young, and he isn't exactly a spring chicken," Theodore clarified, although it was more to Harry, Hermione and Ron than to the wizard himself. "He took it out of a random box, and I was lucky for it to choose me."

"Mmm Hmm? 'S that the truth?"

"Of co— yes, it's the truth." The man's eyes reeked with scepticism towards him, and Theodore honestly just wanted his wand back.

The security wizard huffed and started to read the parchment out loud while Theodore whispered to Harry about how sketchy the entire wand registration. "Twelve and three-quarters inches long, Thestral tail-hair as a core — hmph, never seen that before — has been in use for approximately ninety-two years, but you claim it to be three —" Theodore frowned "— correct?"

"Correct."

"Purchased from Ollivander's, and that is that." He stamped the parchment and took the wand out to hand it over to Theodore before he produced another piece of bark out of nowhere and started to chew.

Mr Weasley formally said goodbye to 'Eric' and led the way to where several iron lifts remained stationary in the far end of another hall that was much smaller, but nonetheless still wide.

"What's a Thestral?" Harry asked quietly as he and Theo dropped a little behind.

"It's…" started Theodore, "it's kinda like a horse, but not really. Like a skeleton or Infe— I mean, a zombified horse with massive bat wings! Yeah, that's it."

"But what is it really? I never heard of any Thestrals, let alone for a wand core. Doesn't Ollivander only use three types?"

Theodore opened his mouth to speak, but both Hermione and Ron fell back as well, and Hermione, in particular, managed to catch Harry's words before Theodore could give out his answer. "He does, but he probably had experimental wands back when he first started. Thestrals being used as cores is unheard of since they're supposed to be ill omens of death."

"Like the Grim?"

"No, not like the Grim," said Hermione stiffly. "People can't see them unless they've seen death and have accepted it properly. Apparently, that's why people think they bring misfortune on people. Personally, I don't believe any of it."

"Wow, you sure know a lot about Thestrals," remarked Theodore as a queue to the lifts started to build up and slow them all down.

"I read about them before I dropped Divination, and I supposed you did too."

"As if I'll read anything for Divination. I told you already, I said that I could see the Thestrals pulling the carriages at school."

Ron gasped a little bit and said, "So that's why we can't see them! They're Thestrals! I doubt hundreds of kids would've seen somebody kick the bucket right before their eyes."

"Wait," said Harry with a lowered voice, "if you can see Thestrals, who did you watch die then?"

Theodore's jaw clamped shut, and his mouth suddenly went dry. Ron's face lost its curiosity, and Hermione looked at him anxiously through the sudden silence between the four. How he was forgetting all of these things that should've scarred him for life so easily was absolutely beyond him, and none of them knew the truth as well. Was the guilt coming back?

"Actually, don't worry about it. We shouldn't be thinking about that anyway," Harry spoke to break the quietness.

Theodore nodded and perked a little when he remembered where he was again. They all passed through the gates over to where the lifts were when the queue diminished quickly but was still and unmoving.

However, as they got closer, Theodore realised that it wasn't the queue: a small crowd of wizards and witches were bundling together in a tight corner, all chattering and arguing loudly over each other, some even grabbing at each other's robes and attempting to pull them up to their waists. Theodore thought of them as angry employees who just wanted to go home for rest, but Rita Skeeter's shrill voice was unmistakable in the midst of the arguing.

"Of course _you_ would find a problem with this trial in particular, _Barty_ ," seethed Rita with burning red cheeks. "What else do we expect from somebody who let the power get to their head, eh?"

An elderly man with grey hair perfectly neat as Lestrange, black elegant robes and a narrow moustache that was equally neat as his hair stood stiffly in front of Rita with his jaw clenched so hard that a protruding vein was pulsing on his forehead. If it wasn't obvious already, Theodore could've guessed that this was the famed Barty Crouch that he'd been hearing about.

"I guess it's in your nature to lie about anything and everything, just so that people would be aware of your presence," Crouch shot back as he tried to look anywhere else except at Rita. "You think I'd let not one, but _three_ articles mentioning my name in a bad light slide, just because it's you? You're mistaken if you think so!"

"Bad light, good publicity, it's all for business, Barty. No need to get worked up all over it." Rita pushed up her curls and smirked at Crouch who was starting to grow livid.

Theodore panned over the rest of the crowd and saw that Rita and Crouch weren't the only ones that stood out for him: this person, in particular, came as a shock and an irk to the observant Parselmouth. As Percy appeared out of nowhere and attempted to calm the situation down between the two arguing adults, Theodore met the stares from Lucius Malfoy lurking behind a pair of two dumpy wizards, clutching his cane tightly and sharpening his eyes when he saw Theodore looking back at him. Feeling like he had nothing to be scared of, Theodore returned the glare and returned to see if anybody else was recognisable in the crowd, but nobody triggered anything for him.

Mr Weasley, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Theodore approached the golden grilles without moving so fast that they'd capture everybody's attention in an instant — as if they could hide from Rita. "Bozo! Come quick, come quickly!" she ordered a beer-bellied man with a large camera. Rita scurried over to Theodore almost under a second and grabbed hold of his shoulders, slightly digging her nails into him. "Today, we have a remarkable young man stepping into the centre of wizarding Britain. Make sure that you get his left side in the shot —"

Bozo held a thumbs up and readied his camera that looked far too heavy for anyone to handle — but Theodore didn't care. He rolled his shoulders harshly until her hands were free and spun around to avoid the flash of the camera. "What are you doing? What happened to what we talked about back at the Burrow?"

Rita furrowed her eyebrows and muttered, "The Burrow? Oh, you're talking about the house you were at. Oh, come on, Theo, dear! Don't you want a little taste of fame? One picture will have —"

"No," he whispered sternly. "You're just going to plaster my face on the front page, I know it! No pictures, at least just not with me by myself. My friends have to be in there too."

"You really want to?" said Rita with an eyebrow raised. "It's OK to stand out from your friends, you know. They can't always be at the same level as you."

"Harry Potter is literally standing right there."

Rita rolled her eyes and tapped a talon against her glasses before she came to the decision for the four of them to appear in the picture — this was not part of Theodore's plan; he thought that Rita would drop it and leave them alone. Obviously, he was wrong. The four teens were abruptly moved away from Mr Weasley and were instructed to stand awkwardly still in front of several strangers, Theodore being front and centre and Harry being a little closer to the front than Hermione and Ron.

' _I hate this. I hate this so, so much.'_

Theodore flinched from the rapid flashes of Bozo's camera and couldn't get rid of the scowl on his face. Bozo finally took his final shot of the four and studied his camera while the teens rubbed their eyes in soreness, not able to see Rita waving at Bozo to take several more photos, or Crouch walking at a moderate pace over upon looking closer at them.

"So you must be the four that I've heard all about in the _Prophet_ , I presume," Crouch introduced himself without cracking a smile or showing any sign of cordiality towards them. He glanced over to Harry's forehead, then to Theodore. "Congratulations on apprehending the rogue Death Eater. A surprising feat for children your age."

"Just came down to luck, I guess," said Theodore honestly — his eye ticked a little when he called them 'children'. He quickly twisted his neck to see Harry's blank face hiding brewing animosity towards Crouch before it was starting to become a little too overwhelming again. Whatever this thing was, was starting to become more of a curse than a gift the more he used it.

Crouch tilted his head side to side at the same time saying, "I'd be more confident in your abilities, Mr Riddle. It is Theodore Riddle? Modesty can sometimes weaken self-reliance, in my honest opinion." Crouch sighed and looked over at Rita with aversion and continued, "I've been appointed as an overseer for this trial. Some people are lucky when it comes to second chances, not just…"

Percy waddled over with several clipboards floating behind him attached with multicoloured strings, clearly red in the face puffing. "Mr Crouch — I've got all of the — the notes from your office — Perkins stopped by, and I — I ran into him just now near the fountain."

"Err… yes, of course," Crouch responded when he stared at all the floating clipboards. "Make sure to attach them to my seating, Whistley."

Percy went red in the ears and nodded firmly before heading over to the lifts. Ron snickered and infected Theodore and Harry to do the same. Hermione was biting her lip as she rarely liked to laugh at Percy at all, considering how much of a respectable student he was at Hogwarts.

Crouch ended their, or rather with Theodore, conversation and followed Percy, while Mr Weasley returned from a conversation of his own with a fluffy-white haired wizard and motioned everybody to follow him into the lift. Only one was available, and Theodore had his qualms on whether it would fit ten people, let alone fifteen at the least. Nevertheless, nobody else had that particular thought in mind as everybody squeezed straight inside.

The unfortunate thing about being one of the smallest people in a tight space was that no matter how efficiently you could slip past people, there was nowhere to go, and Theodore learned that the hard way. At first, his face nearly smashed against the back wall if it weren't for a plump witch being in his way.

Theodore embarrassingly apologised for it but was, very unfortunately for him, forced into a corner that was in between both Malfoy and Hermione, the former staring down at him contemptuously, while the latter was blushing so profusely.

"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Broom Racing Championship and Synchronised Flying," said a soft female voice from nowhere, "Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation…"

The lift tumbled and shook at every stop, shaking Theodore as well as Hermione, who was pressed so closely to his chest that it was impossible for either of them to turn away from each other. Hermione was biting the inside of her cheek, blushing so terribly that she forced herself to stare right at his chest in case anybody else could see.

And it wasn't just her, it definitely wasn't just her. Theodore could feel his clothes slowly sticking against his skin from perspiring so rapidly. Even if they no longer brought pain to him, his scars were still sensitive against even his touch. More people squeezed into the lift, forcing them to become closer and closer until it was impossible to move their necks around without hitting somebody's shoulder instead. So what choice did they have other than to look at each other with their faces so dangerously close to one another? It was burning, sweltering inside of Theodore, the same feeling whenever he'd be around Hermione this close to her; he'd never been _this_ close to her, not for this long at least.

' _Think about anything else… Anything else than her… There's no fucking space for me to move away from her…! Shit… Anything else than her…'_

"Sorry," whispered the Parselmouth to Hermione, knowing that she'd hear him perfectly.

"About what?" Hermione whispered back, somehow able to shift herself a little to the right so that her head had some space near his cheek.

"Nothing! It's just really cramped in here, and we're really close, so I thought that you'd… it's nothing," he said in relief and in shame. _'She knows… oh, kill me now…'_

"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Beings and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau."

Theodore winced and firmly closed his eyes when another set of people scrambled into the lift as it was a wasted effort to move away from Hermione. It was either that or back away against Malfoy, something that he didn't want to happen at all for a second. Hermione lowered her head out of sight, pressing very slightly in his shoulder, only leaving her hair in Theodore's line of sight. He couldn't move a single inch, not even half of one…

"Evening, Theodore," said a witch's voice in the boiling lift. Theodore tried to make out who said his name since he was unable to change his position, but he kept quiet when another voice spoke back to her.

"Evening, Wakanda." Lestrange's voice was loud and clear amongst the sharp whispering since everybody was too tired to speak properly. More shuffled and squeezed against each other and pushed each other's ribs inwards — it was uncomfortable for everybody.

"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services." Only a few people pushed into the lift before the grilles closed again, and the lift suddenly moved backwards then began to climb quickly without halting until it had to. "Department of Mysteries."

Everybody spilled out into the plain and quite bleak corridor which made Theodore feel as if he were trapped inside a cuboid (he felt this after stepping out the lift where he could finally breathe properly). Streams of wizards and witches hurried down the left of the corridor where the sounds of feet slapping against wood suggested that stairs were present.

Theodore followed Mr Weasley as the last of the four behind to fan himself when Hermione slipped away so quickly that all he could see from her was her blurred image sticking next to Harry and Ron up in front. Theodore's insides felt cut up, and he cringed from what she was possibly thinking about him — no, he put that out of his mind. He ignored Malfoy sneering as he strode past, and he ran his arm across his forehead which was prickling with heat. At the other end of the corridor, he could see a single black door placed in the hallway's plainness.

"Theo, this way," called Ron, who was waiting at the bottom of a flight of steps.

Theodore followed him and made his way up then down two more before they reached another, a more different corridor that could be compared to a dungeon with the rough stone walls, torches along the sides and heavy doors with metal signs swinging by a nail at each one with a single number.

Mr Weasley checked his watch and sighed. "Good, we've got five minutes until we'll get inside. Courtroom Seven: it's probably the least used in all of the Ministry's history. Only had three people trialled in here, not including Pettigrew."

"Who were they?" asked Harry.

"One of them was yours truly," interjected a voice that Theodore hadn't heard in a seemingly long time. The four and Mr Weasley instantly turned around to where it came from, and bright smiles became etched on their faces.

Sirius's appearance was vastly different from the last time they all saw each other that he almost felt unrecognisable. Granted, he still looked a little thin on the bones, lean and tall like always, but it was no longer an unhealthy look. His grey eyes were expressive and clearly visible from a distance, his skin being much cleaner and that of a healthier complexion. Cleaner robes, cleaner, sheen hair, teeth that were bright like they should've been — Theodore could see the man that was inside the _Prophet_ during his escape, handsome yet weary in the face: he had to remind himself that he did spend twelve years straight exposed to Dementors.

"Sirius!" cried Harry. Sirius has his long arms out wide and embraced his godson like it had been years since they last saw one another. "Normal robes look much better on you than prison rags."

"You think so? I think that I got the look down if I'm being honest with you," he said back, grinning down on Harry like a proud father. Sirius looked up at the other three and waved them over to greet them as well. "Don't shy away — how are you guys? Theodore, Hermione, Ron? Feels like it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Definitely. Two months can feel like forever."

Sirius blew out air through his nose and said, "Especially when you're cooped up in a ward at St Mungo's. When Remus left, it took the fun out of everything, if there was any, that is. Arthur, good to see you again!"

Mr Weasley amicably took Sirius's outstretched hand and shook it. Theodore looked over at Harry, seeing his face brighter than when they crossed paths with Crouch earlier on. The two men engaged in small talk as Theodore turned to Hermione and Ron both speaking with each other, leaving him alone in the middle with his thoughts. He didn't mind that much, only that Hermione seemed nearly mortified from what they both just experienced. On the outside was calmness, but Theodore could feel the heat coming from her somehow.

Theodore rubbed his temple when he made eye contact with her: rushing emotions all flooding in before they were trapped out again. He cursed under his breath and hoped that he wouldn't act up with several people all gathered in one single room — he could barely handle one person, let alone twenty at least. The Parselmouth made sure that it washed over and turned his back on the two to prevent it from happening again.

The majority of the wizards and witches were assembled right outside Courtroom Seven, pinning golden and silver badges with the letter 'M' on them on their robes and speaking softly to one another. Theodore couldn't believe that five minutes hadn't passed yet.

"Straighten yourself, Theodore. Don't look lazy at a place of work."

"But it's not _my_ place of work, though, is it?" said an unbothered and tired voice just a few steps away from Theodore. The calling of his name snatched his attention, but once again did he realise that it was not for him — it wasn't even for Lestrange either, for it was he who spoke his name.

A familiar boy who was tall and noticeably thin, neat brown hair and dull blue eyes was standing in front of Lestrange with his arms crossed, his face as boorish as his voice. Theodore remembered him as a boy who fell under the victims of the Basilisk two years ago; a boy who was sat on the far end in Ancient Runes, barely speaking a word: the 'other' Theodore, Theodore Nott.

"It will be if your head is kept down instead of tagging around Lucius's son," said Lestrange harshly. He looked over at Malfoy speaking with a sharp-faced wizard and wrinkled his forehead. "What's not to gain here? You have a better pathway than most of the kids in your school."

Nott shrugged his shoulders. "I never really wanted to work here, anyway. I'd rather go do something outside the country than be stuck in an office all day," he remarked.

"Is that so?" Lestrange sounded slightly disappointed but still kept a solid exterior of firmness. "You know, you should be thinking about this more, Theodore. OWLs are just next year, which will get you to take your NEWTs. There's heavy competition among your peers, namely a few well-known ones."

"Granger and Riddle are both freakishly smart, but that's two people. I could easily get in here," scoffed Nott as he threw a small look at the 'unsuspecting' Theodore before turning back to the older wizard.

"Blood status won't help much now these days. Half-bloods are becoming more abundant, so thinking you can weave yourself in because you're a pure-blood is not the way about it. Don't you forget that."

Nott smirked and closed in a little to Lestrange and whispered, "So, just don't be like the Malfoys? Got it."

" _Hem hem_!"

High-pitched and unusually loud for a person clearing their throat, everybody was silenced when they heard somebody wanting everyone's undivided attention. A squat witch stood right in front of the courtroom's door as everyone retreated so that she could be seen by all. Ron was clamping his quivering mouth shut and nudged Theodore with his shoulder when the witch came into full vision, and Theodore could see why perfectly. She was dressed in formal dark blue robes which didn't match the deep pink bow in her hair. Nearly everything about her face was toadlike. A round and wide face with an even wider mouth, no neck that was possibly visible, and eyes that protruded from their sockets, unlike any other human being. She was — Theodore knew this, and Ron knew this especially — essentially, a pale toad imitating a human. It was that simple.

"Good evening, all. My name is Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," spoke Umbridge in a shrill, girlish and sweetly annoying voice that quickly irritated Theodore, for it greatly resembled Lavender's. "We have decided to utilise this courtroom partially for reasons decided by the Minister himself, and we are now proceeding. Please, members of the Wizengamot and overseers make your way to the stands, if you will."

Umbridge pointed to the walls to the sides of the door and remained in a fixed position, smiling unnaturally. The members of the Wizengamot straggled to where she was pointing in queues until the first few meshed into the wall and produced a boulder-sized lump that zipped straight up the ceiling and vanished.

Theodore was taken aback by this. He, along with the others, watched witches and wizards merging with the wall and vanishing upwards like there was a higher floor. Mr Weasley wished them all good luck and followed suit behind Malfoy, who was followed by Lestrange and Nott together.

"Are any of you nervous?" Sirius asked, unsure with himself, "because I feel like it. God, Remus was telling me to keep myself calm when I'd get here."

Hermione closed in on Sirius and said, "It's OK, Sirius. I'm sure that all of us are nervous. This day felt impossibly far when we first heard —"

"Mr Black?" They turned their heads to Umbridge still wearing that 'sweet' discomforting grin on her face. "I'm so terribly sorry about your little predicament —"

' _Little? He was stuck with Dementors for twelve years. What the hell…?'_

"— and I just wanted to wish you the best of luck."

"Uhh, thank you. I appreciate it —"

"And I couldn't help but overhear that you knew a Remus," she interrupted, taking a few steps closer. "That wouldn't happen to be Remus Lupin, a former teacher at Hogwarts, wouldn't it? He was seen at the scene of Pettigrew's apprehension, so that would make him a witness, correct?"

Sirius swallowed harshly and kept his eyes trained on the suddenly suspicious witch. Theodore tried to force himself to see what her intentions with Lupin's whereabouts were, but he held it back. A woman like her didn't seem pleasant at all, despite her 'gentle' demeanour.

"Remus always got so easily ill ever since I knew him, but he always knew how to take care of himself. There's no telling where he is now," Sirius let out smoothly.

"But wouldn't it be the most logical decision to remain at St Mungo's?"

"I don't where he is. I'm sorry."

Her eerie smile didn't faze Sirius as she kept still again before spinning around to face the side of the heavy door. "The Minister will call upon you when the time requires it, and you will walk through this door when ready. Good luck," she simpered before merging with the wall and disappearing like the others.

Nobody said a thing after Umbridge went through the wall. Everybody seemed to be trapped in their own minds, battling their rising anxiety whilst looking fixedly at the door. Theodore had no clue as to what the others were feeling at that moment (although, he did have an idea what), and he could say the same for himself. Out of everything that was about to happen in just a few seconds maybe, the urge to find Hermione's hand was growing strong inside him. Things could take a turn for the worst; Pettigrew could even reveal his parentage to them like he tried to at Hogwarts.

The Parselmouth's breathing quickened from the nightmarish thought. Pettigrew would try anything, _anything_ just to be free. If he tried to before, then he'd try it again — Hermione's fingers slipped and interlocked with his left hand as if she knew what he was thinking. "You're having your moments again, Theo," she whispered.

"I know," Theodore said back, nodding his head. "But it'll be fine. Nothing wrong will happen…" _'Nothing…'_

"Witnesses, please enter," spoke a muffled voice through the corridors that sounded like Fudge.

Hermione released Theodore's hand when Sirius heaved in a deep breath and twisted the iron handle of the door. He entered first and was followed by the others slowly, squinting from the sudden darkness that fell over them before they became bathed in orange light.

The only thing that Theodore could compare the courtroom to was a colosseum that was compressed to the size of the Great Hall. Rows and rows circled around the arena-like setting, similar to the Quidditch pitch but much lower down. Waves of witches and wizards dressed in dark blue, deep red and black could be seen as slow-moving flares of fire flew across their heads from sentient stone dragon heads. The ground was made up of massive metal circular rings with rusted symbols etched in them, giving the impression that if they could be shifted around, they'd reveal a hidden message.

Theodore stopped behind Ron and stared from one corner to the next. Suddenly, a spike of despair pricked him, and he forced himself to look up where he heard faint rasping breaths coming from — of course. The ceiling was an endless void of darkness and just underneath, barely visible from the streams of flames were four Dementors standing ominously on pedestals without moving, only sucking in air, polluting it more like.

"May the underaged witnesses make it to their seating area, please, and the adult to their own" pointed Fudge to a booth to the right of him. Fudge was on the lowest level of the multiple rows, and he was wearing very formal black robes. When the four and Sirius entered their respective booths, Fudge then said, "Bring out the defendant!"

Out of nowhere, seven wizards came out from doors leading to pedestals under the flares and had their wands all pointed at the rings in the ground. They murmured incantation after incantation deeply and swirled their wands calmly like they were orchestrating for an extremely slow music piece. All of a sudden, screeches of metallic grinding filled the courtroom as the rings rotated in opposite directions until the symbols aligned perfectly to display an absolute foreign message. The central point twisted and sunk into the ground, leaving a large hole in the middle, when something emerged from there. A floating sphere made purely from glowing silver rose higher and higher until stopped for everyone to see it clearly. And wasn't it a sight.

It was more of a spherical cage than anything else; it was pieced together like a shattered globe with parts missing so that the inside was visible, and on the inside was Pettigrew. The treacherous wizard was still revolting to the normal eye, but he looked even worse than the first time Theodore met him. His face was squashed and pudgier, and he had scars running all over. His nose was more crooked than Dumbledore's, and his hair was completely gone. His beady eyes couldn't be seen from afar, and his back was hunched as he pressed his palm against the cage, looking thoroughly depressed and dejected.

Theodore could gladly say that he was proud of himself for being a part of making this possible. Seeing Pettigrew, caged like the animal he was felt invigorating to him like he wanted to see him suffer for what he did. He wasn't wrong to feel that way — Theodore dragged his eyes away from Pettigrew for a moment and looked on behind the traitor where he could see two men entering through a wall and seating themselves. Dumbledore was in bright blue robes the same colour as his eyes, and shockingly, right beside him was Professor Snape, still clad in black and appearing reclusive.

Fudge's area had suddenly risen from the ground, elevated to the height of Pettigrew and moved backwards while the members behind him shuffled to the sides to avoid being stuck. The platform stopped when it touched the wall of the highest row to allow two witches to sit beside him, one being Umbridge, the other being unheard of and unseen by Theodore.

"Are you ready, Weasley?" Fudge called over to Percy a few rows down where he had a quill and a large roll of parchment in front of him. "Trial and conviction on the twenty-third of August into crimes committed against the International Statute of Secrecy by Peter Farris Pettigrew of no known address.

"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley. Overseers: Bartemius Geritze Crouch Senior, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation; Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump, Grand Sorcerer, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot; Theodore Raphius Lestrange, Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

A woman with a broad jaw and medium, grey hair on Fudge's left, who was presumably Amelia Bones, summoned parchment rolls from behind Percy and handed them over to Fudge for him to read out loud. "We are brought to this court today under the laws of the Wizengamot for the capture of an evasive and treacherous wizard who has been affiliated with You-Know-Who dating back to at a minimum of thirteen years ago. You, Peter Pettigrew, are charged with several crimes against humanity, not just wizardkind or Muggle, and have broken several degrees of the International Confederation of Warlock's Statute. This court is now in session."

Madam Bones shuffled another parchment roll in front of her and spoke out. "You are Peter Farris Pettigrew, am I correct?"

"Yes," said Pettigrew with a terribly hoarse voice.

"Can you tell us what your affiliation with the Dark Lord is, dating all the way back to 1981?"

"Th-there is no connection between me and the Dark Lord," Pettigrew garbled, the blatant lie ringing throughout the colosseum.

"But during your many attempts to end your life before this court was in motion, there have been several bodily examinations to clear you of anything that could be deemed dangerous to cause you fatal harm, and upon the examinations, we uncovered the Dark Mark imprinted on your left forearm."

"The Dark Mark?" said Theodore quietly to an equally confused Harry. "Isn't that just lights cast by Death Eaters?"

Harry shrugged and tried to focus on what was happening.

"Th-that isn't… I haven't —"

Madam Bones swished her wand, and the pieces of the sphere spun and twisted violently, shaking Pettigrew as he cried for help before his left arm was forced through a hole and clamped in a stuck position. She swished it again, making the sphere hover slowly above the rows with Pettigrew's arm dangling out while he struggled futilely. It was only a matter of time before he floated right above the four as his arm was in clear view. It was reddish and raw but had a sharp shape to make out its sinister design.

' _Wait… didn't I see that during my Divination exam…?'_

A skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. Theodore now remembered but questioned himself why he was able to see it then. Could it have been a hint of who Pettigrew really was: he was looking for answers during that period of time after all. But he never put the skull and snake together with the feared Dark Mark created by his father.

Whispers came from all around when the sphere returned to its position, then they stopped when Madam Bones had called Ron up. The central point sunk again and produced a pentagonal booth for Ron to stand in. Once he stepped onto it, it rose up in the air but not so much that he'd be too close to Pettigrew.

"Full name," asked Fudge calmly.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, sir," Ron squeaked before clearing his throat.

"It's all right, just take a deep breath. OK, may I ask what your relationship with Peter Pettigrew is, please?"

Ron's face became a mixture of embarrassment and disgust. "I hate thinking about this… he was my pet, you know, when he was a rat. Percy had him before me, and I got him on my first year to Hogwarts. He was just Scabbers then… I never really had anything to myself, so I kept Scabbers with me everywhere I went. Like _everywhere_."

"Disgusting," muttered a witch behind Theodore.

"Poor child…"

Pettigrew whimpered and fell backwards when his arm was released.

Ron was asked when he started noticing signs of Scabbers's true identity, and he responded, "I was a bit of an idiot to not see it at first. Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, was really out to get Scabbers the first time that we brought them together. Of course, I thought that it wasn't normal with how aggressive Crookshanks was towards him, but it was a cat. It's what they do, right?"

People gave small chuckles left and right before it died down by Madam Bones's hand. "So if this is the case, how exactly did you deduct that it was Pettigrew in disguise all along, and what role did you play in subduing him?"

"I — I didn't do any of the deducting. No, it was all Theo. He found out who Pettigrew really was; he figured it all out. I just got lucky when the Ford Anglia came about. Pettigrew looked like he was about to kill my friends, so I — I ran him over," Ron ended sheepishly.

Laughter, not in a mocking tone but of a cheerful one, filled the corners of the courtroom before they too were silenced by Madam Bones. "No need to be embarrassed. You did a brave thing, Ronald, and I'm sure that you made your family proud."

Ron looked like he was about to say thank you, but…

" _Hem hem_."

Everybody looked over at Umbridge with the same chilling smile on her face. "So sorry to interrupt, but we must remind ourselves of how the vehicle was _illegally_ enchanted in the first place," she remarked in an almost sing-song voice.

"Yes, that is the case," said Fudge with a raised eyebrow — Mr Weasley from afar slid down his seat a little — "but we have resolved this situation, remember, Dolores? Arthur Weasley has been granted several permits allowing him to remain in possession of the car, _provided_ that each trip is authorised."

Umbridge pressed her lips together and bowed her head a little bit before she took her own flamingo-feathered quill and scribbled on parchment.

…

"Thank you, Ronald. You're free to return to the witness area."

Ron did an awkward bow and hurried back over where the others patted him on the back, helping him to ease his breathing. "Oh, God! It's like millions of eyes were just staring at me!"

"You did good, Ron," assured Harry. "I think we're off to a good start."

"You think?"

They nodded at him. Ron breathed out heavily and grew a smile on his face before sitting back against his chair.

"Peter, according to the witnesses, you were involved in a plot presumably formulated by the Dark Lord to penetrate the Potters' secret location by conspiring with a fellow Death Eater against the Ministry."

Pettigrew shook his head. "I… I don't know what you're talking about —"

"Witnesses had revealed that you _were_ conspiring with an accomplice, the Death Eater being that of the deceased Valerie Avilasa Potter."

"She-she was the real traitor," he stammered with his mouth sticking out of a hole, "the one who betrayed her brother and his wife! No-not me! I didn't —!"

"You both planned to take advantage of the Ministry's weakening numbers," Madam Bones cut him off again, "only pretending to appear as allies when that advantage was severely damaged by Potter's disappearance as a Secret-Keeper."

"There's your proof! Right there! How-how do we not know that Valerie hadn't told the Dark Lord of James and Lily's location?! I was hoodwinked, forced into the Dark Lord's clutches! Her power over me was far too strong for me to resist—!"

Theodore was thankful that Fudge cut him off as he could feel the anger bubbling inside of him. He wanted to jump over the booth and give Pettigrew every single curse that he knew until he'd look like when he was run over by Ron.

"I call Hermione to the stand, please?"

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thanking the boys when they wished her luck and walked out slowly to the booth in the middle when it rose up. She was shaking and pink in the cheeks but seemed more in control than Ron.

"Full name, please?"

"Hermione Jean Granger."

Madam Bones peered closer at Hermione and gave her the first smile seen today from her. "Hermione Jean _Granger_. I've heard a lot of things about you, from my niece to Professor McGonagall. She told me that you were one of her _'favourite and best students of all time'_."

"T-thank you," Hermione replied meekly, blushing.

"Hermione, on the day of Pettigrew's capture, two of your friends gave an extensively long and weary overview regarding of Sirius's innocence, if I am not mistaken."

Hermione shook her head and allowed her to carry on.

"During that explanation, they told the Minister, several Aurors and Ministry officials how Valerie Potter was an informant of the Dark Lord, specifically tasked to uncover the Potters' secret location alongside with Peter. Is this true?"

Hermione blinked and turned her eyes to Theodore but said "Yes," firmly.

"So can you, if you are able to, remember what Peter specifically said about him and Valerie during their activities as infiltrating Death Eaters when you first confronted him?"

"W-well, he said that You-Know-Who was using Valerie to get to Harry's parents and him…" She looked over at Theodore with regret but forced herself to carry on. "Apparently, she was just supposed to bring the other side down, but You-Know-Who had other plans for her. He… he knew that Valerie loved her family so much that she wouldn't give them up for anything, so he hoped that she'd become a Secret-Keeper for them. But…"

"But…?" Fudge led on curiously.

…

Hermione looked at him again as if to apologise for putting her in a bad light. Theodore smiled at her to show that it was all right, even though he couldn't stop his anger from manifesting inside of him. "She… she ran away with her child for some reason… You-Know-Who's child..."

Loud chatter became thunderous in a second, and Pettigrew screamed above it all, "The child is real! The child is real, he's —!"

Fudge whisked his wand and separated the moving flares above and lifted the sphere in the middle of the isolated Dementors. They all leaned inwards and sucked in an ungodly amount of air, causing Pettigrew to stumble around in his cage and become silent. Theodore watched approvingly when the sphere lowered back but immediately took it back when he saw Hermione's eyes shut, refusing to look above. He didn't stop to think that she had the closest view of it all.

"Is there anything else, Peter?"

Pettigrew whimpered and shook his head.

"Good. And for everyone's information in this courtroom," continued Fudge rather grimly, " _the child does not exist_."

Madam Bones picked up from where Fudge left off and said, "Hermione, is there anything else that you're able to recount on that day? Anything to do with Valerie, or her _supposed_ child with the Dark Lord?"

Fudge scoffed quietly, but Hermione said, "I know this for a fact: You-Know-Who did pretend to be Valerie Potter during her absence, and he took advantage of Sirius before he told… before he…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

The booth was lowered, and Hermione scurried back to the boys and began to panic when she told them that there was so much more that she could say.

"Calm down, Hermione!" Harry said happily.

"Yeah, relax! You did great, better than I did!"

"But I was stuttering all over the place," she groaned with her face down. "They probably didn't take me seriously."

Theodore put a hand on her shoulder and gave a bright, perfect smile. "You did brilliantly. That was perfect! You said everything that you needed to say! They took you seriously, I know they did. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here, would we?"

"I guess not. Thanks, guys."

They all turned back outwards while Theodore was gently grazing his knuckle against the back of Hermione's hand. It was odd how sometimes, it was either burning everywhere or felt incredibly calm whenever he'd touch her. He was glad that it was now the latter.

"Members of the Wizengamot and Overseers, we have been provided with enough evidence, from physical to witnesses, to confirm that Peter Pettigrew has _indeed_ made connections with Death Eaters and has partaken in activities against humanity.

"He has managed to evade punishment from the wizarding world for twelve years, assuming the identity of a house pet when another man took his sins on his shoulders, not only betraying the Potters but murdering twelve Muggles in the process and faking his own death!"

"But I had to get away!" shouted Pettigrew through the bars again. "Sirius, he's crazy, _mad_! He's not right, he'll never be right in the head again! I didn't mean to —!"

"Mercilessly massacre innocent Muggles who had no clue, not even for a fraction of a second, why they died?!"

Madam Bones took another roll of parchment and read, "Sirius Arcturus Black has suffered horrendous torture of the mind from the Dark Lord personally, damaging his psyche while _you_ led him straight to the Dark Lord each and every session. You are the reason that he suffered these 'outbreaks' during his transformations."

Pettigrew wanted to scream again, but he looked at the hungry Dementors and closed his mouth.

"I call Harry Potter to the stand."

Like Hermione and Ron before him, Harry sucked in a huge amount of air and walked over to the booth as he breathed back out. As expected, Harry's name revived the chattering all around, and Madam Bones took a while to silence them before speaking.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry."

"Pleasure to… be here."

Fudge took the question on and asked Harry, "Harry, what do you know about Pettigrew being able to transform into a rat?"

"It's because he's an Animagus," Harry answered confidently.

"Correct. Now, aside from the fact that you must register to become one, something that he neglected to do, can you explain to us further how exactly he became an Animagus?"

Harry was staring at Sirius, unable to speak. Sirius also became an Animagus illegally, so would he have any repercussions for that as well? Surely not. "Pettigrew was friends with my dad and Sirius. They knew each other since… their very first day of Hogwarts. Somewhere down the line, they… probably thought it was fun to try it out, all five of them —"

"Five?" Umbridge spoke up after being quiet for a lengthy amount of time. "You mentioned three people, but you said five."

"… I did."

"Can you please disclose these names?"

Harry cricked his neck and looked back at Sirius, who nodded without hesitation. "There was my dad, James Potter; Sirius; Pettigrew was a part of it, and… Severus Snape."

"And the fifth?"

"The what?"

"The fifth person, who is it?" Umbridge asked kindly.

…

"I think you already know who that is."

Umbridge's left eye twitched, and her wide mouth quivered just a little bit. She must've taken that as sass, and knowing Harry, it was intentional: Theodore knew him well.

Umbridge set her quill down and closed her fingers together, smiling as she said, "Of course. Remus Lupin, _who_ was present at the scene but discharged himself from St Mungo's when the trial was in its works."

"Why does she care about Lupin at all," hissed Ron. "Sirius already told her about him."

"You don't think that she knows, does she?" Hermione asked nervously, leaning out to see Umbridge's toadlike face.

"She can't possibly know! How could she anyway?"

"Remus has been a friend to _dear_ Mr Black for quite some time now. But according to some of the reports on the day of Pettigrew's capture, he was found in the backseat of the enchanted vehicle, barely clothed and exhausted. Now, why's that, _Peter_?"

Pettigrew was silent.

"I repeat my question: why is it that Remus Lupin was barely clothed and at the scene when there was no mention of him during the 'weary' explanation?"

"Oh, my God, he's gonna fucking say it," muttered Theodore as he gripped the handlebar in front of him, his knuckles turning white.

"He won't," Hermione assured, "he wouldn't…"

"Can you please answer the question?" Umbridge asked once more in a girlish voice covering her frustration. "Why was Remus Lupin there?"

"Dolores…" Fudge started.

"Wait…" Theodore spoke out as his head came out of the booth, but…

"He's a werewolf…"

Theodore's, Ron's, Harry's and Sirius's bellows of lividity mingled with the shouts coming from everybody else and were not the main focus of anybody. Theodore felt like breaking the handlebar, even wishing that the cage could break open so that he could have Pettigrew all to himself.

"That was his fucking best friend since they were kids!" raged Ron with his ears turning a very deep red. "Best friend! But he said it, he really _fucking_ said it!"

"Look at her," Hermione pointed discreetly at Umbridge — Hermione was doing a better job at keeping her anger under control, but not by so much. "She knew that he'd say the truth! She knew that he was a werewolf!"

Umbridge was indeed joyous in the revelation of Lupin's condition. Her smile was hard to suppress, but she managed to keep it down underneath all of the ruckus. And it was there where Theodore felt an instant burning of immense dislike, bordering hatred for a woman he just knew for little under half an hour.

Theodore gazed over at Harry and felt the same rush that was blazing inside of him as well — it didn't even feel painful. Pettigrew and Umbridge, two names that were now so vile on the tongue that — Dumbledore and Professor Snape were closed in on each other speaking. Just speaking.

"Silence! Silence!" Fudge bellowed as a bang was let off from the tip of his wand. He looked to his left where Umbridge's expression remained and reluctantly allowed her to finish.

"Thank you. A werewolf, everyone. Imminent danger wrapped in the skin of a man was let loose, not only in a well-populated area but a school full of children," Umbridge said in an I-told-you-so voice, "allowed by none other than the Headmaster himself —"

"Professor Dumbledore only let Lupin come to Hogwarts just to help him," Harry interjected, taking most of the adults by surprise, especially Umbridge. "He wasn't going to let a kid who was a werewolf be shunned from everyone like any other coward would try to do."

Now that shut everybody up. Theodore, Ron, Hermione and Sirius all stared at Harry, slightly awing at him that they might've well drooled from what he just did — silenced an entire courtroom. Harry realised this and put his arms against his side, his face becoming neutral and unable to make sense of. That only made it much cooler to Theodore when Umbridge's mouth ticked like a large tongue was going to whip out and catch Harry like a fly.

Umbridge, now silenced by a child, carefully took her quill and scribbled down notes on her parchment. Fudge, however, remembered where he was and sat up straight. "Although this revelation is… is shocking, the relevancy of Lupin's _condition_ is unwarranted… here. Right, er, Amelia? Care to carry on, please?"

"Of course. Using this incredible ability which only the most talented of sorcerers can obtain, Pettigrew squandered his skills as an Animagus and successfully fooled the wizarding community by covering the blood on his hands to stand by an unsuspecting family and bide his time until the Dark Lord would supposedly rise again —"

"Noo!" Pettigrew screamed. "I told you — I told you that as long as I was out there, Sirius would find a way to get to me! I had to hide, I had to —!"

"Enough with you!" Madam Bones slashed her wand in the air and made the cage temporarily shift into floating metal liquid that compressed around Pettigrew's body and solidified, leaving his head sticking out of a silver sphere. "I call Theodore Riddle to the stand, please."

His heart jumped in his chest: has it been that quick? His stomach was tying into knots again, and his breath was becoming short. But it vanished so suddenly when Hermione held his hand again and jogged him by the arm. "You have to go, Theo. Just take a deep breath and calm down. That's what we all did."

Harry's eyes lowered quickly to where they were holding hands, but he held Theodore by the shoulders and said encouragingly, "Get out there; you're the main man here. They've been waiting for you. You've got this, Theo."

"Yeah, I do." And he firmly believed that he truly did. He took a deep breath and held it in as he exited the witness booth for the pentagonal one and released when it shuddered under his feet and brought him up into the air. The number of wizards and witches talking, pointing at him, smiling, even waving was startling. On his far left, he could see Rita's quill floating right above her parchments, ready to flick at the sound of his voice.

Suddenly, the rings started to shift and turn, not only the ground but the rows as well — Theodore then realised that it was just rings upon rings forming together to make the entire room. The rings stopped moving, and Fudge, Madam Bones and Umbridge were still facing him, but up on the rows beside them were Professor Snape and Dumbledore, able to see him as clearly as he could see them. Professor Snape's eyes widened when Theodore looked over at him, but eye contact was broken when Madam Bones began to speak to him.

"Full name?"

"Theodore Silas Riddle."

Madam Bones second smile came through. "Another brilliant student from Hogwarts. Most of your teachers and Professor Dumbledore alike has informed us about you, Theodore —"

' _So that's how people know my name here!'_

"— we can only hope that we'll be seeing you up here in a few years time, hmm?"

"Right! I mean, thank you." Theodore tapped his fingers against the edge of the booth, unable to keep his eyes fixed at anything.

"Theodore, earlier on, Ronald claimed that it was you who managed to deduce Pettigrew's identity as an Animagus hidden as a pet for him. Essentially, you uncovered the truth behind his disappearance after the mishandling of any further investigation. Can you please explain to us how was it that you came to solve this, please?"

' _Deep breath… deep breath…'_ Inhale… exhale…

"It was just like Ron for me. When Crookshanks kept on attacking Scabbers, I honestly thought that it was a normal thing for him to act that way with a rat, so I really just ignored it, to be honest."

"So what exactly caused you to seek Pettigrew out?" Madam Bones asked as she and Fudge leaned inwards a little to hang onto every word he would utter.

"It all started in Little Whinging when I met Sirius for the first time. Well, not 'met' — I would say encountered. I was going to Little Whinging with the Muggle orp— with the Muggles that I live with, and that's where I first saw Sirius. But…" Theodore gazed down at Sirius, "he wasn't exactly all right. I guess that he had an episode, or something triggered him to transform. What happened basically was that Sirius accidentally attacked me, and I… had to fight back, obviously to protect myself!"

Fudge backed the claim and asked Theodore how his suspicions led onwards. Theodore stopped for a moment. Viripin was arguably the most crucial factor in finding out if Pettigrew and Sirius were Animagi or not. She was the one who told him about Scabbers's oddity, but he couldn't tell them that, not without him revealing that he's a Parselmouth.

"Theodore?" Fudge said as if Theodore dozed off. "Did you hear the question?"

Theodore blinked repeatedly and held onto the edge, saying, "Yes, sorry. I was trying to remember it all… Right!" He really hoped that they'd eat this all up. "When Sirius had followed me and Harry up to Hogwarts, he started to appear all around the school, and it got a bit panicky. I was guessing that he was trying to kill us both, but it was later on when I realised that he was just trying to talk with me in private.

"Eventually, it got to the point when I knew I had to go talk to him if I wanted him to leave me alone." Theodore scratched his head and looked away from the interrogators. "You see, I was sort of, kind of… banned from going to Hogsmeade, and it was where he wanted us to meet, so I had to — well, I _did_ sneak out of the castle during the night."

"But there were Dementors in Hogsmeade…" stated Madam Bones a little wearily.

Theodore wanted to laugh. "Yeah! Yeah, it was really stupid and dumb. I was just going with whatever feeling was in my gut, but I know that Sirius would be down there. Guess I got more than I bargained for when I met Pettigrew in Hog's Head Inn asking me to protect him from Sirius."

"I'm assuming that it was quite easy for you to slip outside the castle," Umbridge remarked a little dryly whilst trying to maintain her calm image, "a castle which is supposed to have extensive protections against dangerous forces from the outside. Yet it was simple for you and _dear_ Mr Black to go in and out as you please, you walking straight into a designated zone for Dementors."

Dumbledore looked incredibly cheery for somebody being indirectly insulted numerous times. "It was either that I went to Sirius, or Sirius would try to get to me again on school grounds where he'd be attacked on sight, even kissed by Dementors. Then where would we all be?"

Umbridge ignored that, took a parchment roll and studied it quickly before saying, "Your name, Mr Riddle, has been spoken about in the Ministry for nearly a year and a bit now. I've heard that you achieved impeccable grades in each of your final exams, save for your second year, one of them being that of Potions."

Theodore didn't like where this was going but went along with it. "It's my favourite subject. My teacher's really good." He didn't look up from Umbridge.

"Yes, and according to this, you spend some of your time working as an apprentice to Professor Snape, correct?"

"Correct."

"And so, back to what we were discussing… Remus Lupin was a werewolf in a school. I can't believe that no precautions have been made beforehand."

Theodore opened his mouth for a rebuttal and clenched his fist, but he let go. What was the point in getting angry? "This isn't really relevant to what I'm being asked of at all…"

Fudge and Madam Bones looked over to Umbridge until she leaned backwards, her mouth now fidgeting to swallow Theodore whole as well. "Now, can you describe to me about the night you first met Pettigrew? Hog's Head, did you say?"

Theodore nodded and recounted how Pettigrew came to him, desperately seeking for protection as he claimed to be a worker at the Ministry. He mentioned how he scurried away, presumably through the plumbing as a rat while Theodore ran into Sirius — Sirius rubbed his throat — and discussed Pettigrew being the true traitor of the Potters.

"And from there on was when you began to look into the given information?" Fudge asked, clearly impressed.

"I did what I could. Once I told the others about Pettigrew, we were going to set a trap for him as we knew that he hadn't left the grounds. I read about how to reverse the transformation of an Animagus and taught it to my friends. But things sort of went south when I —" He looked over at Umbridge, and he sighed. "I had to get Wolfsbane Potion for Professor Lupin."

Murmurs and chattering, all quickly silenced.

Theodore quickly spoke to stop Umbridge from getting a question in and said, "It went well at first. Professor Lupin got the Wolfsbane in time, and we had Pettigrew on the ground. But he said something that set Sirius off, and I nearly would have died if it wasn't for Harry and Professor Snape. Pettigrew got away again, so did Professor Lupin and Sirius. My friends went to go find him while I had to stay behind. Luckily, I was able to leave the castle without anybody noticing, and I made it to the Forbidden Forest where Pettigrew had stolen my wand and had Harry and Hermione captive.

"But Pettigrew revealed everything to us, and I freed my friends so that we could chase after him again. Pettigrew was — was about to kill Hermione, but Ron came in with the Ford Anglia and crashed straight into Pettigrew. It would've been all over if he came just a second too late."

For a moment, Madam Bones, Fudge and several others were looking at Theodore in an almost childlike state of listening to a wondrous story before they came back down to Earth.

"You displayed a lot of nerve and risk-taking, all four of you," Fudge quickly added. "Showing such determination to capturing one man to free another is extremely commendable, even for more experienced wizards."

Down below, Sirius was smiling, and so were Hermione, Harry and Ron. Of course —

" _Hem hem_! May I please request one final question to Mr Riddle over here?" Umbridge asked like a schoolgirl. Fudge allowed it. "Mr Riddle. To what extent did you understand Valerie's involvement thirteen years ago regarding the infiltration of the Ministry?"

Was this a joke? Theodore pressed his feet against the ground and became stiff in his legs. "I've barely read up on who she was; I don't anything more than Hermione."

"Did you not attempt to try and —?"

"Enough, Dolores," muttered Fudge sternly to his subordinate. "I know where you are going with this. Let the boy breathe!"

"Thank you, Theodore. You may return to the witnesses area."

The pentagonal booth lowered, and Theodore walked back over, avoiding Rita's gaze and huddled with the others as he said to them, "So we can all agree that Umbridge is trying to get at us, instead of at Pettigrew, right?"

They all nodded their heads firmly. "She obviously hates werewolves," said Hermione darkly as she looked over her shoulder, "and she obviously knew that Lupin was one as well. What was she trying to do, using this place as a chance to expose him?"

"She must've pieced it together. But that's a lot of obscure information, you'd have to carve that out of someone's memories."

"What do we do?" said Harry. "She probably knows a lot more about —"

"I call Sirius Arcturus Black to the stand, please."

Sirius slipped out from his personal area and stepped onto the adjustable booth. He looked extremely wracked with distress.

"Sirius, just be comfortable with whatever you want to say; we won't force you to say what we want from you. Now, can you tell us: what is, or was, your relationship with Peter Pettigrew?"

Sirius rubbed his knuckles and looked down to the ground before he said in a lowered voice, "Peter _was_ one of my greatest friends in the entire world, the very few that I made when I thought I'd never had any… It took a lot of willpower for me to finally understand who was responsible for James and Lily. Yes, my mind was a wreckage, and I was not fit for any sort of rational decision-making. But I like to think that I still knew whose fault it really was…"

"Your treatment at St Mungo's, is it going well?"

"I'm starting to keep a hold of myself a little better now."

"So, Sirius, if you can still remember, can you recall any of these encounters you had with the Dark Lord when Pettigrew led you to him repeatedly?"

Sirius brushed some of his long hair away from his face and took in each of those faces that easily thought of him as maniac just a few months ago. "They're getting clearer the more I think about them, but they also become looser as well. It's like they're harder to grab hold of, even when the memory is so sharp. I'd always remember Worm— sorry, Peter wanting to speak to me in private, telling me how he was scared for James and Lily. I had to comfort him — why wouldn't I? I felt the same way. We'd agreed to try and…" Sirius chuckled a little. "… make ourselves forget for a moment, going out for a drink, drowning our sorrows when a war was happening right around us.

"But… I'd remember being hazy when Peter would take us both back. Confunded, most likely. Nothing felt the same around me, but I could barely notice. Then… then I remember seeing _his_ face, and there was so much pain… so much pain…"

Everybody was quiet except for Pettigrew. He was squirming around in the sphere, probably trying to move his arms that were both completely trapped in a fixed position. The Dementors breaths became raspier and raspier like they were getting hungrier.

Theodore looked all over at the members of the court to see their faces towards the innocent man. Some displayed utter sympathy towards Sirius, clearly wracked with the guilt of ever believing him to be what they made him out to be without a second's thought. But others looked down on him with disdain: two thin-faced wizards and Crouch.

"Argh!" Theodore hissed under his breath when his mind opened up the floodgates from the three wizards. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples to help him think about anything else. He was starting to hate what was happening. This truly was a curse, whatever was making him able to feel and hear other people's emotions and thoughts — he wanted it gone, now.

"Are you getting your headaches again?" asked Hermione uneasily when Theodore wouldn't stop groaning in pain.

"It's just headaches."

"You've been getting them a lot recently," said Ron from the other end of the booth, "ever since Harry came to the house. What's happening with you?"

…

"I don't know — I wish I did." Theodore cupped his cheeks and pressed inwards. He flicked his eyes open when the pain stopped and told the others that he was OK. Hermione, being Hermione, had to make sure that he wasn't lying; Harry wanted to know more about his headaches, and Ron just wanted to know that he was OK: it took Theodore quite a while to realise that he was treated like the 'baby' of the group, and he didn't like that.

The rings began to swirl around again, changing Theodore's perception of the colosseum and — "Argghh!" Theodore threw his head back and pushed his palms against his eyelids. Why was it only five times worse this time? Hermione was gently tugging at his arm, but her voice was anything other than gentle.

He barely heard their voices beneath the overflow of several wizards and witches either sympathising with Sirius or insulting him, and it was just too much. Harry and Ron were by his side while Hermione was crouching in front of him, holding his elbows and saying something that he couldn't make out. Theodore looked through the gaps of his fingers to read her lips but lifted his head to see from a distance, Professor Snape looking down on them. Concern and… anxiety? Theodore could barely read him like always and — it stopped. Just like that, it stopped.

"Theo, are you OK?" Hermione must've asked for the umpteenth time. Theodore rubbed his face and confirmed it for them but didn't dare to look at any of their eyes. "You have to look up at us."

"I'm fine, really. I probably just need like medicine or something — wait, listen!"

The four returned to their seats and listened when a final statement from Madam Bones had been announced by Umbridge. The silver sphere melted and descended in the air slowly as Sirius returned to his area, and the pentagonal booth sunk again to leave behind the central point. The liquid metal then shot several chains reaching seven points on the outermost ring on the lower ground, each of the chains holding his neck securely and his legs and hands fastened respectively.

Madam Bones summoned the last parchment roll and began. "Peter Farris Pettigrew, you have been accused of committing several war crimes within the wizarding and Muggle communities in Britain. Treason against your Ministry, the murders of twelve innocent Muggles, falsely incriminating innocents by faking your demise, involvement of involuntary memory tampering and extreme torture, and the attempted murders of schoolchildren. How do you plead?"

"Not — not guilty," sobbed Pettigrew.

"Of course. May the Members of the Wizengamot stand?" Fudge boomed across the courtroom. They all did. "Members of the Wizengamot, you have discussed your opinions, justifications… thoughts of conviction with one another, but now we must come to a show of hands. Consider our final statement and the witnesses as well. The decision is yours, and the final verdict will be all of ours."

"To those in favour of extending the defendant's case until further notice?"

Theodore forced himself to look up to see not a single hand raised at all. Just as he expected. Not even Umbridge lifted a finger from her area of space —

"Wait! Wa-wait! I can give you something!"

"You dare speak out when the verdict is commencing?" Lestrange spoke out with disgust in his voice. "Have you lost all respect for yourself in this court?!"

"Theodore, please. Now, those against —"

"I know the child of the Dark Lord! I can give their name to you!"

Theodore froze. Nothing went through his mind. Nothing…

Dumbledore shot up from his seat with a serious look across his face, but he said in a loud, clear yet gentle voice, "This information has no relevance to this court, Cornelius. This cannot be allowed."

"I second this," declared Lestrange, also standing upright.

Theodore was trembling. Spaced out and unconnected from what was happening. Nothing. Just nothing…

"Very well, the court demands that the defendant remains silent until —"

"He's right here!" Pettigrew screamed to the top of his lungs. "The Dark Lord's child, his _son_ is right here!"

"Why isn't anybody shutting him up?!" Harry raged.

"They can't! Courtrooms are supposed to nullify Silencing Charms, but —" Hermione looked over at Theodore's blank face and placed a hand on a shoulder to break him out of it. "Theo! Theo!"

"We will not condone this!" shouted Lestrange. "The court demands that the defendant must be silent —!"

"NO! I won't be silent," bellowed Pettigrew. He twisted his stiff neck and pointed at Theodore with shaking arms and purely cowardly eyes. "It's him! Right there! THEODORE RIDDLE IS THE SON OF THE DARK LORD! THE SON… OF LORD VOLDEMORT!"

Silence. Theodore didn't look up. Why bother? It was all over… he'd been exposed, and they all knew. He tried so hard to keep it under wraps but look how it turned out. His mouth hung open a little bit, and his eyes were dead as they looked down on his feet. He felt limp, and he wanted to go limp. They were staring at him, he knew it. Knowing his father as an absolute monster, his mother nearly as monstrous as her master… All over…

…

Fudge covered his mouth and began to snort. Madam Bones couldn't resist and began to laugh in her palms as Fudge did the same.

' _What… the fuck…?'_

Their laughter quickly became infectious as it carried on over row after row as witches and wizards held their stomachs in laughter; Theodore concluded that he had gone mad. Yes, in that split moment of Pettigrew exposing him, he became so insane that it was just his own mind protecting him what was to come. Of course. But if he really was insane, then why wasn't Dumbledore and Professor Snape laughing as well?

"It-it's the truth! Theodore is the Dark Lord's child!"

"Really? And how did you come to that conclusion?" Fudge asked mockingly.

"They — they both have the same eyes! Yes, him and Valerie! I-if you look at them, then you'll see that they're the same, you have to believe me!"

Lestrange stood up again. "If we are honestly going to consider _eye colour_ , then we can't take this lowlife seriously. Cornelius…"

Madam Bones coughed and silenced the laughter. "Excuse me for my unprofessionalism. _You_ would sink so low to target a child just to guarantee your freedom, going so far as to accuse Theodore of being the Dark Lord's child."

" _Supposed_ ," added Fudge.

"He is! He — he's a Parselmouth, just like his father! The snake! That snake that he has as a pet! He always talks to it! How do you think he controls it?! Parseltongue!"

"That's enough!" shouted Madam Bones, red in the face. "How dare you?! To throw something so serious onto a boy!" She calmed herself down and asked Theodore to come out in front for everybody to see him.

Hermione and Ron shook him and guided him by the shoulders out of the booth as he carried on by himself. OK, maybe he was half-mad if that were possible. His shock smothered a contemptuous look for Pettigrew, and he looked up at the interrogators, trembling.

"I'm sorry if this is sensitive information, Theodore, but I must ask: do you know who your parents are?"

Theodore felt his heart sink. This was the worst question to ask right there. If Pettigrew wasn't dumb enough and Theodore said no, he could easily make it out as him being abandoned before his mother died, the absolute truth. No, he definitely was mad. "I don't know anything about my parents. I only have my name, and that's it…"

Mutters of approving Theodore's claim without hesitation came here and there. _'No… they don't actually believe me, do they?'_

But Pettigrew swung his head around, screaming so loud that his throat became hoarser. "He's lying, he's the Dark Lord's son! He's a Parselmouth, the Heir of Slytherin! He took his father's wand and he has it with him! Theodore is Valerie's son, I heard him say it —!"

Madam Bones flicked her wand, sending the central point upwards at the same time Fudge used his wand to separate the flares above. Pettigrew's chains became extended, and the Dementors were dangerously close, edging on their pedestals to suck his soul straight out.

"The members of the Wizengamot have admitted requests that the verdict is to come down between the interrogators, given that the Chief Warlock permits this."

Dumbledore raised his palm.

Fudge, Madam Bones and Umbridge closed in on each other, whispering so low that it looked like they weren't speaking at all. Theodore was leaning back in his chair and couldn't believe if it was his luck or reputation that managed to fool an entire court. Hermione was tapping her knees nervously and kept on glancing at Theodore, who returned each one. This is not how he expected the day to go.

Fudge stood up gingerly and wore a harsh look to look intimidating; his double-chin wobbled. "Cornelius Oswald Fudge; Amelia Susan Bones, and Dolores Jane Umbridge, interrogators of Peter Ferris Pettigrew have come to a final verdict. We have found the defendant guilty of all charges —"

"No!" whimpered the traitor.

"— and we sentence him to carry out twelve life sentences for each of the Muggles murdered by your hand, each life equating for fifty years, and the court, therefore, declares that Sirius Arcturus Black will officially be cleared as a free man and will receive reparations from the Ministry."

"I beg of you, please…"

Fudge, Madam Bones and Umbridge all lifted their wands and produced blue, red and green sparks that flew into the air and sprinkled on Pettigrew's head. "You have evaded justice but did not escape from it. You will serve your six hundred years in Azkaban, Pettigrew, I promise it. You will be escorted to the Azkaban Detention Station where you'll be inducted to Azkaban promptly today. This court is now terminated. Good day."

The seven wizards sunk the central point with Pettigrew, weeping, going down with it and fell back as the Dementors' pedestals lowered until they were at ground level. All four of them glided and vanished into the hole until they were all gone, and the wizards shifted the rings back into the uneven formation from the beginning.

And that was that. Sirius was free. They actually did it. The four of them didn't even wait to leave the courtroom to run up to Sirius and hold him tighter than they ever did. Tears streamed down his face as he thanked them over and over again, squeezing them like his own children. Once they finally released Sirius, they all walked out through the doors where half of the attendees were leaving down the stairs and the other half remained behind to congratulate them.

"Fourteen, you say? I'll be honoured to see you soon, Mr Riddle."

"Good luck, Theodore! A great wizard in the making!"

"My daughter's told me all about you! I guess she was right, you are handsome fella!"

People shook his hand and clapped his back, telling him how he was more than what they pictured. Just a moment ago he was outed as Voldemort's boy, yet they didn't even bring it up at all. It started to become tedious to the Parselmouth — like he was really in the mood for praise — that Theodore luckily managed to slip away with Ron's help, who was entertaining a crowd about how he escaped the beasts in the Forbidden Forest.

"… and you saw the way he acted. He needs help, Severus." Theodore looked over near the stairs to see Dumbledore and Professor Snape secluded to one corner. "You know that you're the only one to help him."

"Aren't you also an accomplished Occlumens?" Professor Snape whispered back bitterly. "Why don't _you_ help the boy?"

"If I help Theodore, and I see what he feels, I'll — ah! Good evening, Theodore!"

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," said Theodore when he decided to walk into their conversation. Professor Snape's face was facing a little to the side of the hallway like he didn't want to make any eye contact.

"I want to congratulate you on keeping a calm head throughout, young man, especially the end when you could've easily fallen into anger."

"I don't think I would've been angry," the Parselmouth muttered, "but thank you, Professor." _'He had the same symbol as the one on your wand, remember?'_

Dumbledore placed a hand on Theodore's shoulder, giving him the cheerful smile that he was always known for as he said, "I understand how it must've felt with so many eyes on you. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I received similar praise when I was your age. Attention from so young can change you; so I only hope that you'll be far more humbled than I ever was."

Theodore curled his lip and then watched the old man spring away when Fudge called him over with Dolores shooting a glare at Theodore before turning away. He then sighed, knowing who was standing behind him. It had been so long since they last saw each other face to face — Theodore felt a little taller this time. "So… how come you came?"

"I was _strongly_ recommended by Professor Dumbledore to see y— to see what the outcome would be."

"Did you get any of my letters about my headaches?" Theodore squeezed his wrist in changing the subject so drastically.

Professor Snape crossed his arms and simply nodded. It fell into ungraceful silence before he quietly added, "These headaches… it happens when you look into somebody's eyes?"

"Severus, we must get going now. I'm so terribly sorry to interrupt this conversation, Theodore."

"No problem. So — So I'll see you both soon at school?"

Dumbledore held out his thin hand and shook Theodore's. "Another year to prosper. Goodbye, Theodore. Severus."

Professor Snape gave a soft grunt that could've been "Bye," and he followed Dumbledore away down the stairs. Theodore was tapping his fingertips together and thought what on Earth was Occlumency when Rita jumped in front of him out of nowhere with Bozo beside her, clicking away. Resorting into promising her an exclusive interview during any of his Hogsmeade trips just to escape, Theodore scurried off and joined the others gathered around Sirius, who was still in tears.

"You still have to stay at St Mungo's?" Harry asked his godfather downheartedly.

Sirius held him by the shoulders, doing his best to reassure Harry. "I'm making this choice, Harry. They still don't know how to get these words out of my head, and I can't be around you for too long if that's the case."

"We'll visit you, right, guys?" Theodore, Hermione and Ron firmly nodded. "You won't have to be alone. We'll even come during Christmas!"

"How about I visit _you_ down in Hogsmeade. Since there are no more Dementors down there, and you have the greatest escapist as a cousin over," Sirius pointed at Theodore, "sneaking out won't be that bad around that time of year. How about it?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Sirius gave them all one last hug before a witch and a wizard in lime-green robes, apparently waiting for Sirius, escorted him away. It felt sad for Theodore that even though he was free, Sirius may never recover from his damaged mind. Theodore didn't know much about Healing magic, but he knew that the mind was nearly impossible to mend, even more, when broken by magic. Maybe he'd never recover…

"Well done, well done, well done, well done, kids," chimed in Mr Weasley as he found the four staring over at the stairs. "Sirius will pull through, OK? If you can stay in Azkaban for twelve years and endure the Dementors yet still wear a smile of true joy, then you must be one of the strongest people in the world. Be strong for him, eh?"

Theodore nudged Harry's elbow. They looked at each other, knowing how they both had family which they could never really truly be with. But they had each other, Theodore and Harry, and for them, it was more than enough.

"Yeah… not doing that ever again," mumbled a nauseated Theodore as he woozily pushed his trolley through the busy King's Cross. Both he and Ron were at the back of everybody else as the last ones to exit the Ford Anglia, which was spacious enough to fit everyone. Unfortunately, the traffic going all the way to London forced them to fly, something that Theodore couldn't escape from.

Ron patted his back underneath where Viripin was wrapped around his neck and said, "But you will. I'm making it my duty that by the end of this year, you'll be able to fly a broomstick like a pro, then the car."

Three Muggle women screamed at Theodore, and the two boys hurried up to catch up with the others to avoid gaining even more attention. "If you can do that, then I'll owe you the biggest favour, but don't start anytime soon — I won't try."

"Sure thing," grinned Ron as they were in line with the hidden magical barrier. The guard had grown a beard over the summer and tipped his hat to the both of them. "So what did you think? This summer was all right, huh?"

The dizziness had been purged from his body as the Parselmouth perked up with a smile reaching into his cheeks. "Loved it! I'm definitely trying to go back there again! That way, if I haven't splattered on the ground, I'll be trained up to finally play Quidditch with you guys."

"Just put your faith in me, young one. We can be like those guys in that Muggle movie, you know, the one with the long glowing wand and his green old elf…"

…

"What? It's one of Dad's favourites!"

Theodore put his hands up and smirked at the taller boy before they discretely passed through the barrier and arrived at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. And oh, how Theodore missed this place!

"Look over there, Dennis! It's Theodore Riddle and Ron Weasley!"

"Astoria, stop pulling my arm! Yes, I know that's Theodore Riddle — Astoria, shut up!"

Although they were not so subtle with it, not many people were pointing and whispering to both the boys. Yes, it was _a lot_ , but the reaction that Theodore was expecting was akin to that at Diagon Alley. Perhaps he presumed too much.

Theodore looked around his shoulders for any of the other Weasleys, Harry or Hermione, but could not find red hair anywhere above the cautious parents and staring people. The Malfoys were all in one corner of the station; Luna was getting on the train with a large moving flower in her hair and waving at her father. Draco caught Theodore's eye and had given him a scornful glare that did absolutely nothing. Why would it?

Just by the door of the train were a family of five, the father being small and thin with greying hair, a thick beard that would've worked if he were taller, and a meek smile upon his face. Next to him stood his wife who was taller than the average woman. A very pretty woman, sharp-faced and thin like her husband. She had long deep-red hair styled elegantly down her back, and her hands were holding two little children, both a boy and girl with red hair like their mother. And the third child who was standing in front of her parents was —

"Elvira!" Ron blurted before shutting his mouth. Elvira turned to the two boys and waved before she spoke in rapid French with her parents, kissed each of them including her siblings and entered the train. "Wow. I can see why she's so pretty… you didn't hear me say that."

Theodore actually didn't hear him, for his attention was brought on Nott standing by a different door being lectured by Lestrange about something. It wasn't long before Lestrange patted him on the shoulders and left him to board the train. He still didn't know why Nott came to the trial, or how the two even knew each other.

"Theo, Harry and Hermione are already on! Let's go!"

"Coming!" the Parselmouth called back as his belongings disappeared the moment his fingers released the trolley. Theodore found Mr and Mrs Weasley quickly and said goodbye and thanks for letting him stay over, then hopped onto the train right after Ron.

Several first-years ran up and down the corridor and slammed their compartment doors shut as Ron and Theodore aimed to find Harry and Hermione. People were still boarding the train, so there was no fear in thinking that they'd move at any second, but they still couldn't find any sign of — Harry left a compartment and explained that it smelt a little funny inside there.

"All right, we'll find another, after we find — hey! Hermione, where are you going?"

Hermione squirmed through the three boys and was followed by Elvira whose hair was just the same as the first time she arrived at the common room. She turned around and said, "I'll see you guys soon. We're just going to… talk. Isn't that right, Elvira?"

"Yes, that is right," Elvira added, obviously hiding something with Hermione. "Hermione, you wanted to tell me something?"

"Of course! See you later!" Hermione and Elvira sped off down the corridor and squeezed through the tight crowds, and they disappeared soon enough.

"That was weird," said Theodore, slightly on his tiptoes. "We should find another compartment before they get full —"

"Ron!" Parvati slid open the door that the three boys were standing right outside of with a large smile on her face. "We were wondering — hey, Theeoo — if you could tell us about when you ran Pettigrew over with a car!"

"We — we?"

Parvati pushed the door a little wider and revealed her sister, Lavender, Susan Bones, Sally — Theodore avoided looking at her — and Tracey Davis. Ron went red in the face and sheepishly lifted his shoulders. Parvati grabbed his arm and pulled him inside, briefly winking at Theodore before closing the compartment door, leaving Harry and Theodore outside.

…

"Did Ron just ditch us for girls?"

…

They both began to guffaw and throw their arms around each other's shoulders, trudging away to find a free compartment which was done easily. Viripin curled up on Theodore's lap, and Theodore gave out the heartiest sigh that he possibly could. "You know, I've got a great feeling about this year, Harry, I can feel it."

"What makes you say that?"

"Nothing bad has happened in the holidays, see?" Theodore wagged his finger at his cousin. "Think about it: there was the break-in at Gringotts before the first year, I ran away from home and so did you — it was good for _you_ — on our second, and Dementors were let loose before the third. But what happened this summer? Nothing, except that we freed Sirius."

"That's very optimistic, especially for you," teased Harry as he put his feet up on the seat, "but I get what you mean. I am no rush, and I mean _no rush_ , to poke into other people's business this year."

"But it's so fun," said Theodore dryly.

"I'm serious, man. I'm not going to try to look for trouble, even though it finds me."

Theodore raised his eyebrow at the obvious lie but suggested that they'd shake on not trying to break any rules and act like normal students for once. The two cousins shook on it eagerly the moment Hermione, Ron and Elvira walked straight in: Ron sat next to Harry, looking red in the face; Hermione sat closely to Theodore and Elvira next to Hermione.

As the train started to move off and pick up speed, Theodore reached into his pocket with an audacious grin on his face. "Now, time to pick up where I last left off: my hidden Patronus!"

Hermione moved her hand on his and pushed it down, saying, "Theo, you're not allowed to use magic on the train until we're halfway there."

"It's a Patronus, nobody's going to flip out. Well, except for you guys when it'll be something you never thought of."

Elvira's eyes glowed as she looked over at Theodore. "A Patronus Charm?! I've been wanting to do that ever since I was little! Wait, can you do it? I know that Harry can, but what about you?"

"I —"

Draco did his yearly tradition of scrunching his face up through the compartment door and was followed by both Crabbe and Goyle. A little while longer was Pansy passing by, and Theodore caught the slightest smile that seemed a little too friendly. Just then did he feel Hermione pushing up closer against him and her hands digging in between her thighs, and like that was Pansy out of Theodore's mind.

' _Is Hermione…? No, she can't be.'_

The inside of the compartment turned its attention to Elvira, who told them all about how her father was in the courtroom during the trial and saw the four of them. She explained that her father worked under Crouch in their Department, and how she was told of something exciting soon to appear at Hogwarts. When asked what by Ron, she merely shrugged.

"If I knew, I would've said something. Unless my father would want me to keep it a secret, which he obviously did."

Elvira exchanged stories about her holiday with theirs and told them how she and Neville were abroad in France in the exact same town; how they surprisingly had a good time before they left back for Britain. Theodore tilted his head when he saw her becoming a little spaced out when mentioning Neville's name, but she shook her head and acted as if the conversation had never emerged — she was an odd girl for sure.

The five teens carried on speaking throughout the rest of the journey until Theodore couldn't help himself from falling asleep. Viripin's hisses were serene and calming as she had fallen asleep a long time before he did — he wasn't even that bothered when the others all bought things off the trolley.

…

…

 _What does that mean?_

 _You may be on a path where you'll be awed and adored for your power… or horribly feared because of it…_

 _You are destined for great things… things, I dare say… are impossible…_

 _A powerful wand will only choose the most powerful, after all… never forget that…_

…

"Come on, Theo, wake up."

Theodore cracked one eye open and saw that the compartment was illuminated by the hanging lamps and was quite empty. He opened both eyes properly and was met with Hermione's face so close, her nose brushed against his before she pulled away quickly.

"Sorry! I just wanted to see if you were actually sleeping," she squeaked adorably. "We're almost there, and everyone else went off to change. I'm the first one back." Hermione was in her uniform robes, tie, skirt, socks and shoes, always so perfect.

Theodore looked out of the window where the fields were running past and, in the background, saw dark shapes like the mountains surrounding the castle. "All right, I'll be back soon then."

Hermione smiled nervously and picked up the sleeping Viripin while Theodore walked out to retrieve his uniform and find a place to change. _'Was she watching me sleep…?'_

Theodore returned to the compartment with his brand-new uniform and saw that the others had gotten back before him. Viripin was awake and laying flat across Harry's shoulders, who was hissing to her right in front of Elvira. The Metamorphmagus was not uncomfortable at all by the Parseltongue which confused Theodore greatly. While it was common knowledge now that Harry was a Parselmouth, most people were still a little wary of him because of it. Oh well.

The Hogwarts Express finally arrived at Hogsmeade Station in its darkness, and all the students flooded outside and separated where they had to go, first-years to Hagrid; the rest to the Thestral carriages.

Theodore was waiting for Hermione, Ron and Harry to climb into a carriage as Elvira went to find another one. He had his arms crossed and stared up into the cool night sky, then yelped when he felt something nip against his backside where his wand was. A Thestral sniffed apologetically at his waist and hand, searching to be petted which Theodore happily did by stroking between its white eyes.

Hogwarts was truly a sight to be marvelled at. Theodore felt like a first-year again, seeing the torches beside the numerous windows along the walls, the towers attached to bigger towers and right before them all, the front gates with the statues of winged boars on either side that they passed through. The Thestrals all then stopped in front of the oak doors that the moon brightened before they were swung open.

Everybody bundled up in their own groups of friends and hurried up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall. Theodore felt somebody brush lightly against his arm and saw Nott with his head low walking up the marble staircase, alone and apparently friendless.

Nobody wasted any time and all rushed up the staircase and entered the magnificent Great Hall with plates and goblets gleaming up and down the four long tables, the candles floating just below the enchanted ceiling, and the teachers' table that was full of all the familiar teachers except for one seat: obviously for the new Defence Professor.

"Hello, children!" Nearly Headless Nick greeted the Gryffindors as they filled their tables. "How was your summer?"

Seamus was snickering around the back, and Dean just rolled his eyes at him. "Very — very productive and… _rewarding_."

"Oh my God…"

Theodore sat down between an unimpressed Dean next to a choking Seamus — both, especially Seamus, had gotten taller — and next to Hermione. Harry and Ron were in front of him with Colin trying to worm himself between the two.

"They're sure getting a lot of attention," Theodore spoke under his breath, resisting not to laugh at Harry trying not to be annoyed at Colin.

"They're not the only ones getting attention," whispered Hermione. "Look behind us at the other tables."

Theodore only peeked behind his shoulder and saw inconspicuous stares of interest guided at him from all three tables. Justin and Ernie both nodded when they caught his eye, and Pansy was ignoring Draco's rambling by keeping her eyes on —

Hermione cleared her throat. "This year's going to be an interesting one, isn't it?"

"Right…"

" _She's jealous."_

The Parselmouth stomached his squeal and slowly patted his body until he felt a lump in his shirt pocket and opened it up to see Viripin transformed as a golden bunny rabbit. "I could've sworn that you went back to sleep. And what do you mean that she's jealous?" Theodore hissed very quietly. "Hermione doesn't get jealous."

" _She obviously did. Did you not see the way she acted when Pansy walked past in the train?"_

"Again, you should've been asleep — what's up, Dean?" Theodore lifted his head from the table and opened up his pocket as wide as possible.

"What were you two talking about?" Hermione nudged.

Theodore told her that it was nothing and aimed his attention at the new first-years coming into the Great Hall, marching behind Professor McGonagall like a little army. Once the stool had been set up and the Sorting Hat sang its song, the first-years began their sorting, none of which, like the rest of them, interested Theodore, none except one near the end.

"McDonald, Natalie!" called McGonagall — Natalie went to Gryffindor, "Ollivander, Gervaise!"

A small, timid-looking boy with jet-black hair and the same silvery eyes that belonged to the older Ollivander walked through the crowds of first-years and sat on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on his head.

…

…

"Gryffindor!"

Gervaise lifted the hat from his head and looked over to the Ravenclaw table. His disappointed gaze met another boy that Theodore couldn't believe that he never saw in his life before: he had to be about his age, jet-black hair like his seemingly younger brother, looked to be tall, and had only one silvery eye as his left while the other was the average brown. The older boy gave his younger brother a sympathetic smile as Gervaise trudged over to Gryffindor table to sit next to Natalie.

Theodore was surprised that nobody made this connection with the wandmaker, or that there was another boy who had to be related to him that was in their year. Hermione was talking with Elvira; Ron and Harry were speaking with Nick, and everybody else was engaged in conversation except for him and Gervaise.

When the last of the first-years were finally sorted, Dumbledore raised his hands in the air, and the overwhelming amounts of food magically appeared along the tables, causing everybody to grab their share. Nobody seemed to be in the mood for talking as they all scoffed their food down without looking up, except to take more, of course.

Theodore had put the last of his ice cream topped treacle tarts in his mouth before he became full and wiped his mouth. He missed this so much.

Clapping his hands together, Dumbledore stood and smiled to everybody, saying, "Now! I hope that you have fed yourselves to your hearts' content! A few notices before we all head off for our beds: as you are well aware of the trial of Sirius Black, there are four students here who were a part of it —"

Theodore ducked his head just a little bit.

"I only ask that you do not harass these four students into answering your every question in the hallways and classes and that you treat them like they are: your classmates.

"The next notice is that our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will not be present for the next two weeks, as well as Professor Trelawney. Until they arrive, I will take the responsibilities as your substitute for both Defence and Divination."

"YES!"

Dumbledore held in his laugh while everybody else didn't at the combined excitement of Harry, Ron, Theodore, Fred and George, and some of the others on the other tables.

"I am glad to see that you are excited. But remember that I am your Headmaster and that your teachers will both arrive shortly.

"My third and final notice is that we will be announcing something next Saturday in the morning. However, as of now, our beds are calling to us. Pip pip, off you go!"

"Who makes an announcement for an announcement?" Seamus said out loud incredulously as everybody began to clear from the Great Hall and up the stairs. "Whatchu reckon it's going to be? My uncle told me about a Triwizard Tournament held between three schools was a thing."

"Could be, could be," said Fred with a hand on his chin. "Or they could be bringing the Quidditch World Cup here instead!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Sure, but I don't hear you saying anything better than that, eh?"

Theodore was the first up on the platform that led to the Fat Lady and turned around to ask, "What about our new Defence teacher? He hasn't kicked the bucket that early, has he?"

"Could be a she. Perhaps Dumbledore tried to change it up because he's been hiring too many blokes in a row. All I know is that I can't wait to have Divination without —" Ron stopped himself when Lavender and Parvati gave him venomous stares.

The conversation about the new teacher carried on as Fred spoke the password for the portrait to swing open. Theodore climbed after Harry and felt the warmth from the crackling fireplace that he missed so much. There were more red squashy armchairs, and the sofa had been removed to be replaced by a massive blob that simply looked like the armchairs, only stretched out further.

Most of the House walked up to their respective stairways, yawning and bidding each other goodnight while some of the older years stayed back to lounge around before they too would jump into their beds.

Theodore was sitting at the back tables with Harry and Ron, still talking about their future lessons with Dumbledore. The three boys were overly excited, thinking that any lesson with Dumbledore could be amazing. Just then did Seamus with a duffle bag over his shoulder come bursting down the stairs and called the 'lads' to come up to their dorm.

"He's got loads of his dad's magazines with…" Dean couldn't finish as he facepalmed hard. "He showed them to me and Neville on the train. Please, just don't encourage him."

Theodore, Ron and Harry gave awkward laughs and contemplated whether going up now was the best option. In the corner of the common room, Theodore could make out Hermione and Elvira chatting away happily with the both of them, especially Elvira, blushing madly.

' _Hermione can't be jealous. I mean, I'm never jealous — why would you be jealous anyway, when she's not even your… girlfriend…'_

"Yeah, he's completely out of it," said Ron boorishly to Harry. "We'll see you upstairs and leave you to… whatever you're thinking about."

"Yeah…" Theodore nodded, "see you guys later…" Theodore couldn't look away from Hermione at all. He didn't notice Harry and Ron exchanging smirks as he looked onto her secretly giggling with Elvira as the Metamorphmagus left upstairs. A rush hit him again when Hermione turned to see him gazing at her, and he sprung to his feet to leave for the dorm. They were all the last ones down there, and Theodore didn't —

"You're going to go up without saying goodnight?" Hermione quietly called from beneath the stairs.

Theodore saw Ron's legs vanishing into the fourth-year dorm, and he trotted back down the stairs, undeniably red in his cheeks. "Viripin's sort of tired, so I…"

" _No, I'm not."_

"Well, before you two go to bed, I wanted to ask you something."

Theodore's heart jumped but fell again. She was going to ask him about the day of the trial, when they were both on the lift and they were so, so close to each other. From that day up until now, they never really had a chance to be alone at all, so she had to —

 _Snap_. "Theodore, are you even listening?" Hermione asked a little frustratingly. "I asked you if you wanted to put the wager back on."

"The wager… oh, yeah! Yeah, of course! No way am I backing down! I just hope that you'll be ready for me this year, 'cause I'm not holding back at all."

Hermione brought up a shaky hand and brushed lightly against his cheek to rid the crumbs stuck on. "You're on," she whispered finally with a slightly uneasy smile on her face. She then went on her tiptoes and kissed his left cheek and held his other with her hand, quickly saying goodnight before she ran up the girls' stairway without another word.

And Theodore was just there, left alone in the comforting common room that felt cold against his burning skin. He felt his pocket grow heavier as Viripin slid out, coiled around his arm and around his neck, pointing her snout to the direction he was looking at.

…

" _She likes you a lot, doesn't she…? Do you like her?"_

…

"Absolutely…" hissed the Parselmouth in a soft voice so quietly.

" _So what are you going to do?"_

…

' _Mine… she's mine…"_

 **Still sick, but I'm pushing and killing this sickness. I just pumped this one in under six hours straight, I haven't got that good of a grasp on how trials work, but it's Harry freaking Potter. I hope you like the change up of the courtroom as well, and everything else that popped up in this chap. How do you guys feel about Peter and Umbridge in this chap, huh? I'll leave you guys to it, but for now I say, later.**


	45. Chapter 45: Back Where We Belong

Theodore smacked the side of his face with his hand as he slowly lifted himself from under his duvet cover, completely unaware of where he was at that moment. He squinted at the beaming light coming through the window in the corner and rubbed his eyes to see clearer. As he panned his eyes across the fourth-year dormitory where his roommates where sleeping soundly, Theodore was trying to recount the dream that he had during the night, something that made him feel 'buzzy' and nice inside. Falling asleep the night before was so easy, especially after Hermione kissed him on the cheek right there…

He pressed his palm against his chest and breathed out heavily before he got out of bed. Seamus was squirming around in his own, while Dean had his long legs sticking out from the side as he snored loudly.

Theodore ruffled his messy hair and grabbed his wand from underneath his pillow, then he knelt down to open up his trunk near the bottom of the bed to take out his uniform.

' _OK, Theodore, this year is not going to be about chasing Death Eaters or terrorising the school. You're just going to get through this year by beating everyone else; finding out about that symbol; do that stupid apprenticeship; at least be able to talk properly with Professor Snape, and especially beat Hermione at the wager. And also see if she would…'_

Theodore looked down at his bare ankle to see Viripin sliding next to it and curling herself over his thigh and around his back until she rested her head on his shoulder, seemingly happy at a time like this.

"Since when do you wake up at this time?" asked Theodore with a grin as he threw his robes on his bed, followed by his wand.

" _I could barely sleep last night,"_ admitted the Maibian Adder cheerfully. _"I was thinking about both of you!"_

"Both of us…?"

Viripin flicked her tongue in his ear and hissed, _"You and Hermione! Come on, don't you play dumb! You told me yesterday that you really like her, didn't you?"_

"I know what I said," he responded quietly.

" _Well…? Now that you finally admitted to liking her — you took an extremely long time to do so — there's only one thing to do now: ask her out."_

Theodore's insides squeezed tightly, and his face began to burn up. "I-I can't ask her out! I mean — I mean like… like not now… we've only just got back, you know…"

" _So you're waiting until the moment is right,"_ said Viripin as she stretched herself to directly face the blushing Parselmouth, _"probably after a hardcore study session between the both of you in the library, or when you're both down here in the dead of the night — ooo! When you're both down at Hogsmeade together! The possibilities are endless —!"_

Theodore clamped her mouth shut when Seamus began to lift his head from his pillow before flopping back down again. He released his grip on her and muttered, "Let's just calm down and get through the first day of school, OK? I haven't even left the dorm yet."

" _I'm sorry. I'm just so happy right now — you don't know how much stress is leaving me when you're actually talking to me about girls. I'm so proud of you —!"_

The Parselmouth closed her mouth again and grabbed his uniform to get clean. As he left the quiet dormitory, Theodore's heart was still pounding in his chest, all because he couldn't take his mind off of Hermione. She was becoming less of a competitor and more of a distraction to him — the good sort of distraction that isn't really even a distraction at all if he thought hard about it.

' _Stop drooling, you idiot. Get a hold of yourself. At the moment, you're both just friends. Just friends… sure…'_

Theodore checked the time and saw that he was ridiculously early according to when everybody had to wake up: he was somewhere around two hours early — it wasn't like he had never done that before. The common room was warm and empty, save for three boys that were sitting near the fireplace. Colin and Dennis immediately sprung up from the squashy blob and leapt in front of him to ask a barrage of questions, only for Theodore to shut them down mercilessly when 'reminding' (almost-threatening was the appropriate term) them of Dumbledore's words at yesterday's feast.

The Creevey brothers both slunk off back to the squashy blob while Theodore decided to head straight down to the Great Hall since he would rather be moving than sitting still. Gervaise was sitting in the corner at the tables, struggling to do his tie until he brought his wand out and gave it a mere flick, which made it perfect. Theodore raised his eyebrow, feeling a little impressed before climbing out of the portrait hole and to the Great Hall.

"Took you guys long enough," said Theodore when Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down at Gryffindor table once the Great Hall started to fill up. "I've been trying to get people off my back ever since I got here."

"They'll still be on your back, regardless if we're here or not, and good morning to you too." Hermione sat on Theodore's right side and forced him to budge up against Neville on his left when Elvira planted herself next to Hermione. "Sorry, Theodore. Thanks, George."

Theodore wriggled his arms from their tight space and took his timetable from George's hand and wriggled once more to get closer to the table. Setting it aside for the time being, he filled his plate with the usual as his mind drifted away from the brewing conversations around him and to what he amassed over the past few months. The rune underneath his wand that was the exact same as the pendant Dumbledore was wearing in the photo — he had to know what that was.

' _I wonder if Dumbledore will tell me anything if I ask him. Obviously, I shouldn't ask him outright: he always knows whatever I'm up to. But this isn't anything bad, right? I'm just learning about my… my dad's wand… I have to give it to him…'_

"… can't believe it. Theodore, you haven't checked your timetable yet," said Hermione as the Parselmouth wiped the grease off his mouth.

Theodore picked his timetable up and read, "Herbology in the morning… huh. I've got a free period after that. Double Divination." He groaned. "Kill me now…"

"Should've taken the same subjects as me," murmured Hermione through pursed lips.

"Not a lunatic, remember?" Theodore shot back similarly. He suddenly lifted his head at the army of owls swooping down above the tables dropping parcels for everyone below to catch. Hedwig came flying down next to an eager Harry as he unwrapped a brown box from, presumably, Sirius while several other birds circled beneath the enchanted sky. "Ron, what happened to your eagle? Isn't it getting better?"

Ron carefully reached inside his robes and brought out the Golden Eagle that was pecking delicately at his fingers before shrinking away from the numerous gazes. "It's all right, Aquilina. Here, I'll put you back inside. She's still really shy, but she likes me a lot. After I fed her and opened her cage, she wasn't snappy anymore. I mean, she still is but not with me."

"Aquilina?" said Hermione with a hand on her chin. "Like… like the Greek witch, the one who summoned thousands of eagles to fight an army to protect her home?"

"Jesus, Hermione, I just thought it was a cool name. Where did you even find that out?"

"Is that a serious question?" Theodore asked a little teasingly, pushing his plate forward and opting to go to the greenhouses, before asking Harry about his package. Harry decided to open it for later and stuffed it in his bag before they left the Great Hall for their first lesson of the year.

Just before they left for Herbology, Theodore pressed against his temples tightly as the sudden rush came flooding in from everybody around him, then coming to a sudden stop. "How much longer is this going to go on for…?"

The fourth-years all made their way to greenhouse three where Professor Sprout had prepared Bubotubers for them to squeeze. Theodore had managed to occupy himself with squeezing the pus out of the revolting-looking plant for a short before he was put off when it accidentally missed his bottle and splashed onto his shoes.

"Don't worry, Riddle, it won't eat through your foot," assured Professor Sprout as she quickly waved her wand to clear away the pus, "it'll just discolour your skin, maybe even grow on it as well. Mostly harmless."

Taking her reassurance with a grain of salt, Theodore made sure to burst the Bubotubers far away from his body and carefully poured the pus in the bottles for the rest of the lesson.

"It gets worse every year," complained Ron as he attempted to cover up a stain on his leg. "Actually, can you get any worse than Devil's Snare? The stuff nearly killed us in our first year. There you are, Aquilina, get some fresh air…"

The four briskly left the greenhouses as they put their dragon-hide gloves away and headed for Hagrid's cabin with the rest of the Gryffindors, including Theodore.

"You don't take Care for Magical Creatures, do you?" asked Seamus as he spotted Theodore trotting down behind the group.

"Nah. I've got a free period right about now. Just want to see what you guys are going to be up to," Theodore replied, going on his tiptoes to see Hagrid holding Fang, surrounded by open wooden crates.

As soon as they reached Hagrid's home, everybody immediately leapt backwards from the violent shaking and explosions that emanated from the boxes themselves. Hagrid, being completely oblivious to the boxes, rocked on his ankles happily and greeted everybody until he saw Theodore standing cautiously behind Harry.

"Mornin' all! Hope yeh all had a great summer and all — Theo? I don' think tha' yeh're on me register…" Theodore told him that he had a free period and was merely curious to see his class. Hagrid grinned even wider and said, "Well, yeh're all in fer a real trea'! Take a look, all o' yeh!"

They all took a step forward and leaned over the box, then they moved back, much further than where they were standing before. Theodore had seen possibly one of the worst things about the magical world, one of them being a naked troll, but this was certainly up there.

"They're called Blast-Ended Skrewts, and they — hey, Theo? Where are yeh goin'?"

Theodore spun around on his feet and awkwardly scratched his arm. "I just remembered that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see me right after my first lesson. Yeah, that's it." _'Like hell am I ever going near those things again.'_

Hagrid shrugged his shoulders and called the rest of the class to come in closer as they all glared at Theodore with envy as he walked away from the cabin. Hermione gave him a small wave which he returned with a sarcastic thumbs up for good luck during the lesson, earning a pout from her that made him smile.

As he returned to the castle and butted shoulders with Draco, who didn't apologise at all, Theodore casually ignored it, taking in a deep breath and sighing as he stared around the Entrance Hall that was slowly starting to diminish in numbers of students. Some gave him a quick pat on the back and waves from afar, others, especially girls at the most a year or two above, winked and 'lightly' brushed past him before going to their lessons.

He avoided a large group of second-years trying to follow him up the marble steps when they were caught by Professor McGonagall outside her door, and he settled somewhere near the entrance of the library where he could see a few stragglers getting into their classrooms.

' _OK, so it's decided: give the wand to Dumbledore — maybe try and worm out anything about that symbol, then use the rest of your free time to get that Patronus down —'_

Theodore hissed when he felt somebody painfully smacking into his face and nearly sending him backwards. "Look where you're walking, for fuck sakes! What's wrong with you?!"

"Sorry! I — sorry!" stammered the boy who bumped into him, who Theodore recognised as Gervaise's older brother. He was just a little shorter than Theodore, and his hair was styled in a similar way: acceptably messy.

The boy had a large bag slung over his back, most likely that he had a free period in the library and a book at his feet which he scrambled to pick up. "I wasn't looking to where I was going — I'm sorry," he said meekly from the floor.

"You already apologised," said Theodore flatly as he rubbed the area where it hurt the most. "I haven't seen you before, you know —"

The Ravenclaw boy's cheeks went red as he tucked his book underneath his armpit and quickly excused himself into the library where Theodore could see his entire face burning with redness for some reason. The Parselmouth stared at the library door, unable to come up with another reason for the Ravenclaw's odd behaviour other than him having some sort of fever.

' _Weird…'_

He then snapped back to what he planned to do and made his way up to the common room to grab what he needed. Once he reached the dorm room, Theodore quickly took his father's wand, said goodbye again to Viripin and then left for Dumbledore's office. Theodore didn't worry so much that he didn't have the password, seeing as how they were always related to the previous one somehow, or that they never changed.

He steadily walked down the corridor which ended with the gargoyle, and before he could open his mouth to speak the first password on his mind, the gargoyle opened up its mouth and muttered, "The Headmaster is not in his office."

"But what if I have the password?" Theodore questioned. "Can't I still go in?"

"The Headmaster is not in his office," repeated the gargoyle in a similar, dead tone. "He's teaching classes at the moment, so if — _speak of the devil…_ "

"Ahh, Theodore! What brings you up here?" Dumbledore was casually strolling along the hallway towards the Parselmouth and gargoyle with a curious smile on his face and a book titled _Divine Divination_ in his hands.

"I just wanted to talk about something since I've got a free period. But Professor, I thought that you have to teach classes right now — two, in fact."

"Let's discuss this inside, shall we? I've done an awful amount of walking recently," said Dumbledore cheerfully before saying 'Apple Twisters' to the gargoyle.

Theodore scratched his head at what he said about Dumbledore teaching two classes, knowing that it was impossible for him to be at Defence and Divination at the same time. He continued to remain confused as he followed Dumbledore into his office, said a brief hello to a sickly-looking Fawkes and sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"You had quite the interesting summer, haven't you? A lot of moving around, so I've heard."

"Yeah, I went to a lot of places, more than I ever have during any summer. It was good to get out of Stuggle's for a while."

Dumbledore raised the book in the air, and it zoomed off into his personal library where it slotted in perfectly, whilst saying, "Your summer sounded a lot more active than my own, that's for sure. Anyway, back to you, Theodore. Is there a reason you decided to visit me today?"

Wasting no time at all, Theodore reached into his robes and took out his father's wand which he placed on the desk. Dumbledore squinted his eyes just a little at the wand before his head slowly pulled away with very, _very_ minor shock in his eyes.

"I got it from Pettigrew when he dropped it in Hogsmeade," Theodore answered the question that was sure to come out of Dumbledore. "You recognise it, don't you? It's my father's wand."

"And you're sure of this?" Dumbledore took it up in his hand and eyed it carefully in an identical manner to Ollivander. "Theodore, no trace of Voldemort that night was found, not even his wand. Unless you're saying that Peter kept the wand for safekeeping."

"That's exactly what I'm saying. And look at it, Professor! It — it suits him perfectly! How could this _not_ be his —?"

"I believe you, Theodore. The only time I ever saw your father's wand was at school, and it never looked a thing like this," interrupted the old man before placing it on the table. "Have you used this wand before?"

Theodore nodded and told him about the times where it worked a little too well for him, vibrating, nearly jumping in his hands whenever he'd touch it. He asked what it could mean by that, and Dumbledore took longer than usual to answer his question. Almost as if he didn't want to.

…

"Do you know the relationship between Harry's wand and your father's?" asked Dumbledore finally.

"They both have a phoenix feather as a core. That's as much as it goes for what I know about it."

"So he hasn't told you. That's understandable. A little-known fact only shared between Harry, Garrick, me and now you is that the feather from your father's wand was taken from the same phoenix that gave the feather in Harry's own," Dumbledore revealed casually.

Theodore raised his eyebrows in curiosity and shock. "So… that's why they were acting weird with each other? Because they both have feathers from the same bird?"

" _That_ bird in particular," pointed the old man to Fawkes plucking away at his withering feathers. "You see, Theodore, wands with cores coming from the same animal gives those wands, and the owners by extension, a deeper connection than most other wizards. The wands are technically brothers in some sense."

"But why was this wand working so well for me when it's not mine? I've never used a different one before, and I don't have a deeper connection with Harry, other than the fact that we're cousins," Theodore added, thinking back to the time where golden threads appeared between the two wands before breaking off. "How was I able to use it?"

…

"It'll come as a shock to you for what I've thought in mind."

"You can tell me."

Dumbledore positioned his beard off his lap and slid his chair closer to the desk, his face tightening a little to show that he was serious. "Perhaps the reason why the wand worked so well for you is that it could sense traces of your father inside of you. After all —"

"Magic leaves traces," whispered Theodore. "Especially Dark magic…"

Dumbledore looked at the teen a little uneasily before carrying on. "Naturally. And when you held it in your hand, it thought of you as its old master returning to a body once again, yet it must've recognised that it wasn't all Tom. Now your father's wand must've recognised Harry's wand as its twin, and Harry himself as its master's enemy. With you holding it in hand, and Harry possibly being beside you, old actions are possibly forced out because of these odd circumstances."

"Old actions? What, of the wand? What old actions?"

"Theodore, what despicable act has this wand tried to perform that involved its master's enemy?" Dumbledore asked almost gravely.

…

"It wanted to kill him?"

The old man's eye twitched as he twisted his head just a little as if to say it could be a theory. Theodore sat back and swallowed uneasily: it only made holding the wand even worse when it harboured his father's murderous tendencies. To think that it wanted Harry dead when it was _he_ who had in his hand…

"Professor," spoke the Parselmouth after the silence became too unsettling for him to remain quiet, "how long have you known Mr Ollivander for?"

"Why do you ask?"

Theodore simply shrugged his shoulders. "Just wanted to know. I mean, we talked a little bit over the summer when I went to Diagon Alley about my wand and some of the stuff it did last year. And… I saw a picture — I think it was you, Mr Ollivander and someone else."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed just a bit, and Theodore felt something blunt pushing against his mind, like a hand swishing inside a pool of water. Theodore tensed up and sharply drove the sensation away then stood up from his chair. "Actually, Professor, I think I'm just going to go back to the common room to enjoy the rest of my free period."

Theodore turned around and aimed for the door whilst pressing against his temples. Of course, he wasn't going to get anything from Dumbledore. What was he expecting? He guessed that it was up to him to find out about that symbol and about Dumbledore himself. _'And here I was promising myself that I wouldn't look for trouble…'_

After Dumbledore courteously said that he'd see him later in Divination, Theodore returned to the common room alone, secluding himself into the dorm with Viripin for the rest of his free period. When it finally came for lunch which was quickly spent in the Great Hall after the rest of the Gryffindors complained about the Skrewts, the bell for the final lesson rang through the school, telling Theodore that it was time for Divination with Dumbledore*.

"This lesson's going to blow away anything that Professor Trelawney has ever taught us," exclaimed Seamus excitedly as they began their way up to the North Tower.

Ron snorted and remarked, "Sure, if you call that teaching — oh, come off it, Parvati, I've been insulting her since last year. You better get used to it because I'm not going to stop now. It's all right, Aquilina, I'm just proving a point."

Hermione broke from the group as she left for Arithmancy, and she was given a small nudge from Theodore who teased that she shouldn't have stormed out from the lesson.

"Theodore, you know that what she was talking about in that lesson was complete… _bullshit_!" Hermione whispered when Theodore held back as the last one on the stairs.

"There she goes again with the curse words! Hermione, what she said about you being slow and close-minded is obviously not true."

"Well, I was actually talking about her predicting the Grim and all that rubbish," said Hermione with pink cheeks, "but thanks."

Theodore rubbed his arm, feeling himself becoming warm quickly from remembering his conversation with Viripin in the morning. He gave out a small goodbye and hurried up the stairs to catch up with Harry and Ron and felt himself being at ease from forgetting that moment and being filled to the brim with the excitement of their first fun Divination lesson.

"Good afternoon, class!" Dumbledore had opened the windows which the Gryffindors had no idea existed, releasing all the fumes that made them doze off in a normal lesson with Trelawney. The air was fresh and the room was cool, just like how it should've been. "Sit wherever you like!"

Theodore, Harry and Ron immediately jumped on the squashy chairs that replaced the armchairs surrounding the tables, and they chose the ones closest to where Fawkes was perched, still peaky and now shivering.

"Looks like he's about to explode any minute, isn't he?" whispered Ron.

Dumbledore flicked a finger in the air and conjured a notebook and quill once everybody took a squashy chair to sit on and slowly weaved around the tables, checking the names off.

"And that seems to be everybody. This is the fourth-year Gryffindors, correct? Good, good. Now, seeing as this is quite figuratively and literally the most distant subject in this castle, I must be frank that I haven't got that much of a clue as to what I should be doing."

The whole class laughed; even Parvati and Lavender couldn't keep it inside themselves.

"But I'm sure that I'm able to recall upon my memory of taking Divination in my fourth year. And yes, I was a young man at some point." Dumbledore cracked a smile when the class fell into laughter again. "Now what did I learn from that dear old Professor Krugle…? Ah, yes! Planetary Symbols and Movement! Everybody please lay back and look up at the ceiling!"

Theodore looked at Harry and Ron and shrugged in sync as they did as they were told. He comfortably dug into his squashy chair and rolled his shoulders, staring at the horribly decorated ceiling with millions of useless things hanging down.

But from the corner of his eye, he saw Dumbledore pull out his wand and silently swish it above their heads, releasing glittery smoke from its tip as if it were a hose. The smoke swirled and swirled around the ceiling until it slowly rained down and filled the classroom. It was difficult to see one another, almost impossible. But Harry and Ron suddenly came into his view when the smoke changed, and it was then he knew what Dumbledore did, or at least understood what he did.

It was like they were all thrown into space, floating through the dark abyss as planets, comets and stars drifted by like lazy insects. Dumbledore looked up proudly at his work and sat down in his own squashy chair as he explained the 'wonders' of the meaning of planets and how they were connected to wizardkind.

And oddly enough, Theodore was hanging onto every single word as he stared at the Earth spinning around the Sun quicker than in reality until it aligned with the other planets and shone brightly until —

"Oh goodness! I think Fawkes has reached his end. Do not worry, Miss Brown, he's quite all right. It was just his Burning Day: a day of reincarnation if you will," explained Dumbledore as he scooped up the ashes and blew them away to reveal the featherless baby Fawkes in his hand.

Somehow, the lesson went on from learning about Uranus — Ron had a fun time playing around with that — to stories about Fawkes and his very first Burning Day. Elvira was the first to hold the baby phoenix and passed him around the class, listening eagerly to Dumbledore telling them how his beard used to be much longer before Fawkes incinerated half of it.

"There's the bell. Now, what good will I be as a temporary replacement if I don't give you any homework? Your assignment for your next lesson is to see which planet is aligned with you and what do you think of their names. Off you go now."

"Best. Divination. Lesson. EVER!" shouted Seamus and Ron when they left the trapdoor and started to make their way to the Great Hall. "How was _that_ the best but shortest Divination lesson we had? _Divination_! If only Snape was off sick — we'd be making ourselves fly and stuff outside."

"Face it, Seamus," said Theodore, "you'd still be blowing things up."

"Fucking cheeky git…" muttered Seamus under his breath.

The Gryffindors arrived at the Great Hall, high in spirits as their collective positive aura seemingly infected the rest of the Hall with their smiles. Theodore was telling Seamus to be careful with his scab and sat down to start eating.

"Whoa, Hermione! The food's not going anywhere!" said Harry with half a smile on his face as Hermione squirmed her way between Theodore and Dean.

"I've got to eat quickly so I can get to the library before it closes. How was Divination?"

"Um, bloody fantastic! Dumbledore made a spell like the enchanted ceiling which made the entire room feel like we were in space," Ron divulged with crumbs of bread in his hand. "Shame he couldn't make us float around. Dad showed me something about Muggles going up to the Moon. How crazy is that?"

Harry asked Hermione why she was going to the library — he changed it to why she was even more determined to go, to which she said, "I just wanted to look up something I heard about during the summer. Professor Vector has already given us a lot of homework, and it's the first day, so I want to get in as much time as possible."

"Is it about Sirius's trial?"

She shook her head and eagerly started on the lamb slapped upon her plate. Meanwhile, Theodore had suddenly stopped eating when his line of sight was stuck for a while on the Ravenclaw boy that had to be an Ollivander: Gervaise's brother. No, he couldn't have been there at the beginning when they were all sorted. A name like Ollivander would've never slipped by him, not even on his laziest day.

' _Then again, that was the day I realised that my mum and Harry had the same surname after knowing that for months beforehand. That's beside the point, Theodore. Ollivander… they're probably a really old wizarding family, especially since Dumbledore knew 'a' Ollivander.'_

He shook his head and swirled his fork around the pool of gravy and peas on his plate, then subtly stared at Hermione nearly choking herself as she ate rapidly. _'Why do you find her nearly stuffing her face so… cute, Theo? You're going soft, why deny that? Oh well, it is what it is.'_

Theodore gave one final glance at the Ollivander boy and stuck his fork in his mashed potatoes. _'I wonder what family was crazy enough to make my own father. Marvolo, his grandfather, and Tom, his father. Marvolo… it won't hurt if I do a little bit of digging over there, right? All I need is something — a book about old wizarding families and I'm set. It won't hurt to look —'_

"Argh…!" winced the Parselmouth when he felt the rush slicing against his mind as it felt sharper these days. "One of these days, I swear I'm going to bash my head in…"

"Still having your headaches?" whispered Hermione, nudging his elbow.

Theodore rubbed his forehead and muttered, "Nothing to worry about. I'm sure they'll go away soon."

"If it's anything like Harry's scar, then you should go to Dumbledore, or to…" She motioned her head towards Professor Snape at the teachers' table, who had his head hung low like always. "Remember, he's going to have to listen to you."

"How could you possibly know that?" smirked the Parselmouth as Hermione pushed her plate away and threw her heavy bag around her back whilst squeezing her way out between the two boys.

"I saw you two talking on the day of Sirius's trial. You guys looked… fairly 'casual', and I use the word loosely." Hermione twisted her fingers and lowered her head a little to his level and said in a quieter voice, "Or we could both figure it out if you don't want to talk. You know, together…"

Theodore felt a stupid grin growing and couldn't stop it at all. "T-together? Sure — I mean, I'm still going to ask him, but yeah! I — yeah!"

Hermione brushed her hair behind her ear and said goodbye before quickly leaving the Great Hall to the library. Theodore watched her hair bounce as his insides felt twisty and warm like he downed a pint of the best Butterbeer ever produced. It was getting more and more intense, and he cared less and less whenever it came over him —

Theodore seethed again in pain and held his temples tightly. He told Ron and Harry that he was all right, but the moment the pain left him he turned over to see his godfather walking through the door near the teacher's table and going directly to the dungeons. He and Dumbledore spoke about him needing his help specifically, something to do with Occlumens, whatever that was. Theodore didn't care if it was Dumbledore or his godfather to help: he couldn't handle another week living with this, let alone the rest of the year.

' _Marvolo…'_

* * *

Theodore tried his best to search for anything during the following day at the times which he had to himself to recover anything about 'Occlumens' and whoever Marvolo was. As usual, they were dead ends, but he had barely devoted any time to looking at all. Potions ran quickly in the morning with Professor Snape still being the same albeit a little more reserved than usual — he only took away five points from Neville when he dropped an empty cauldron instead of the usual twenty. By the time the lesson was finished, Theodore had no time to stay back to talk to him about 'Occlumens'. And not only did he have to find what that is and who Marvolo was, but there was the symbol worn by Dumbledore. So many things to look for.

"Did you know that we're going to be learning about dead languages and texts this year? Gosh, I'm so excited! I was hoping that we could learn more about the things from last year when we had to decipher those hieroglyphics with hidden incantations in them…" Hermione rattled on as she walked next to Theodore towards Ancient Runes.

She held her two new books to her chest as she rambled on some more, not noticing that Theodore had his eyebrow lifted from how much talking she could manage without letting somebody else get a word in. Some things would never change he guessed.

"… but I'm sure it'll prepare us for our OWLs next year, and then it'll be NEWTs as well. You are taking Ancient Runes for NEWTs, right?"

"Forgot I was here, did you? Sure, I'm taking it for NEWTs; Divination not so much. Unless Trelawney somehow never comes back, and we keep Dumbledore forever." He couldn't believe that he was already past the halfway point from finishing Hogwarts.

"Are you going to Potions today?" Hermione asked quietly when a couple of Ravenclaw first-years flooded the corridors after a flying lesson outside. When Theodore nodded yes, she brushed her hair back and asked if she could come with him.

"But, Hermione, you've never asked before," Theodore clarified with a grin. "You don't have to start now. It's not like I'm…" The Ollivander Ravenclaw boy was at the very far end of the corridor and turned left into where only one classroom could be: Professor Babbling's.

"Hello?" Hermione shook him slightly by the shoulder. "You were about to say something."

"Yeah. Yeah, come with me — I mean, I want you to come with me. Come on, we're going to be late," said the Parselmouth, striding forward to Ancient Runes as Hermione matched his pace with an unusually stupid smile on her face.

They both entered the class as the second to last ones and sat down in the same seats from the previous year, right near the back. Nott closed the door firmly behind him and nearly glided through the classroom to his desk two seats in front of Theodore by himself, and Theodore saw the Ollivander boy sat on the far right of the classroom: two boys who have piqued his interest.

Professor Babbling flicked her wand and charmed the stack of parchment booklets on her desk to fly to each person and said, "All right, did everybody have a nice summer? Good, good. Now, the register: Terry!"

"Here."

"Mandy!"

"Here, Professor."

"Stephan!"

"Here."

"Anthony!"

"Here."

"Hermione!"

"Here, Professor Babbling!"

"Daphne!"

"Here."

The register went on and on as Theodore listened carefully when it went further along the —

"Gioveri — oh! We have a new one, and it seems like you're from somewhere familiar! An Ollivander, is it?"

The Ollivander boy lifted his head and nodded stiffly before hanging it down again.

Professor Babbling finished the rest of the register and began with the class, starting off with telling them what they were to expect throughout the year and the current lesson. "Now, understand that there are multiple languages that are dead or otherwise dying due to many factors within the wizarding world across the globe. The most common reason is that it will literally die out with those who understand the language being unable to pass it on to family for example.

"The revival of some dead languages have dark and forbidden techniques which I'm afraid that you'll have to wait until NEWTs, if you decide to take this. Some of these dark languages are well known in a sense of them existing but not actually understanding. One extremely rare case being, as you know, Parseltongue."

Theodore's eyes lit up. They were going to learn about Parseltongue? In detail, and how it related to Ancient Runes?

"The origins of Parseltongue is very much unknown. One of our very founders, Salazar Slytherin, was a Parselmouth himself, and some say that he left many things to his supposed heir: The Chamber of Secrets; an heirloom; possibly scriptures of… well, wouldn't we like to know? Some have speculated that acquiring Parseltongue requires sacrificial ritual upon ritual, but we won't get into that."

Theodore fell back in his chair a little disappointedly that they barely touched upon Parseltongue. It was one of the only things that he inherited from his father that he didn't hate at all at the moment because of Viripin, and he barely knew a thing about it. Then again, he had a lot on his plate during the past three years.

"Oh my God," Hermione nearly retched next to him. "It's one thing to make a single sacrifice, but multiple ones for one thing? It's sickening that people would do that! Gosh, it reminds me of those Inheritance Tests Ron talked about during the summer."

Hermione saw Theodore tapping the table with his eyes focused on the window to their left. "It's that why you were in the library? Because of the Inheritance Tests?"

She nodded and continued, "Did you know that fifteen Muggleborns suffered from them last year? Seven of them died, three went missing, and five currently have curses which I wished I never read about. They're all in the History Bank in the library. Couldn't believe that nobody has done a thing about it." A glint of madness in her eyes, the same one Theodore was sure that he got from times to times told him that a crazy idea was brewing in her mind.

The lesson carried on until the bells rang loudly for the end of classes. Professor Babbling assigned them all to pick a language that they mentioned in the class and write a double-sided summary of what they could find about it. Theodore waited for everybody else to leave the room until it was just him and Professor Babbling together.

' _Should've gone to her first instead of Dumbledore. What a reckless move.'_ "Professor, can I ask you something, please?"

"Go ahead, but you have to be quick. My quarters are on the other side of the castle. What is it?"

Theodore took a piece of parchment from his bag and his quill, and he carefully drew the triangle with the circle and line going down the middle. He lifted it up and asked, "Do you recognise this symbol or seen it before?"

She took it with curiosity and gazed upon the strange symbol, tracing her finger along the dried ink as if she'd grab the answer quicker that way. A few more seconds of silence. "There's not much that I can tell you. I haven't seen this symbol anywhere, Mr Riddle, but… my best guess is that it could belong to an ancient, most likely dead family. Back then, family crests were very simplistic compared to now. Satisfied?"

"Very much. Thank you, Professor," said the Parselmouth truthfully as he took the parchment away and left the classroom. Hermione was standing by the door with her books still in her hands, staring out through the windows until he walked out into the corridor and started their way to the dungeons.

They parted ways at the Entrance Hall when Hermione told him that she needed to be at the library again. Theodore barely got out a goodbye as she rushed to the corridor that led to the library. She was definitely up to something; that was for sure. But Theodore turned and aimed to the dungeons, now focusing on what was about to happen and — he had no clue on how to say it.

"OK, so my head is hurting, only that it's not really my head but my mind. I heard you and Dumbledore talking about me and… this sounds shit. Just ask what's an Occlumens and see if it'll help you, right… now." Professor Snape's door was right in front of him. Not wanting to dwell on what words he should say any further, he pressed his palm against it and felt it swing open.

Theodore peeked his head inside, but he didn't see a single thing move. He slowly entered the empty classroom and closed the door behind him, just in case somebody for some reason decided to scare him. He walked further into the class, staring over at the hidden portrait where Professor Snape came in as an Animagus, half-expecting a greasy raven to come fluttering through. Nothing. Charmed quills were scribbling and signing parchments that were being stacked on the other side of the desk, and a large cauldron was frothing with pink bubbles dripping down the sides at the back.

"Guess I'll wait then. I wonder what he's doing wherever he is." Theodore sat down at his usual place and threw his bag on the ground; he took out his wand and closed his eyes. His mind slowly fell into what made him happy… his mother's face… _"Expecto Patronum!"_

Bright, nearly overwhelming silver vapour burst from the tip of his wand as it filled the entire classroom. Theodore's eyes lingered in the air in search of any animal, but… nothing… He tried it again, thinking about his mother alive with him. All silver vapour, but no animal. Again and again, nothing more than mist escaping from his wand.

"How the hell did Harry do it so easily? I'm sure that I'm missing something over here." He looked up at the clock to see that he spent the past thirty minutes perfecting his Patronus instead of finding out what an Occlumens was with Professor Snape. There was no point in waiting any further: he wasn't coming, and Theodore was tired. He stashed his wand away, picked his bag up and left the dungeons.

' _Why does it feel like it's halfway through the year already? I haven't gotten anywhere except for Professor Babbling's answer. If it is a family crest then —"_

"Oh, hello! I didn't see you there," spoke an airy voice behind Theodore as he was halfway up the marble stairway. Luna was just at the bottom of the steps with three large rings made up of thin wood in her hand, all linked together like a chain. Her eyes were still as wide, and her hair was still the exact same.

"Hi, Luna."

"I don't think I've told you my name before, have I?"

"Well… I remembered when you were sorted, and when you were…"

"Attacked, yes," she finished casually as she went up a few steps with Theodore walking alongside her. "We never actually found out who was the Heir of Slytherin after all. I've got a few ideas, but it's too late now."

Theodore just nodded his head and turned left into a corridor. Luna did the same. "So how was it catching a Death Eater? Daddy wrote about you in his paper, you know. It's called the _Quibbler_. He said that he tried to speak with you, but you ignored him."

"What?" spluttered the Parselmouth. "I didn't ignore anyone! He must've — I didn't see him at all, even if I could remember his face. There were loads of people trying to talk to me, so it wasn't my fault."

Luna threw the rings in the air, and they drifted above her head like halos as she said, "Daddy thought that too and didn't feel bad at all. He said that he read you just like that and knew instantly what you were."

Theodore's insides twisted. He was almost outed as Voldemort's son and as a Parselmouth, and Luna was attacked by the Basilisk under his command. He only read the _Quibbler_ once and knew how little attention it garnered compared to the _Daily Prophet_ , but he could've said anything —

"You're part-Veela," Luna finally said, smiling with a raised eyebrow.

…

"What?"

"Part-Veela, that's what you are, right? I've seen a lot of people giving you cards and presents when it's your birthday, especially the girls in my House. You can't do that if you haven't got some Veela blood inside you —"

"Hold on just a minute," Theodore interjected, completely dumbfounded, "let me think about this for a moment. You think that I, _I_ , am part Veela? In what world would that make any sense? Seriously, I mean — what?"

The rings sprinkled something that looked like snow in Luna's hair. "Aren't Veelas supposed to be unrealistically attractive?"

…

"Did you just call me — no, Luna, I am _not_ part-Veela. Wait, did your dad write that in his paper —?" Theodore held back his rant when he saw Gioveri brushing between the both of them and hopping onto a moving staircase with an owl perched on his shoulder. He didn't look back at all, keeping his stare firmly up at all the other staircases moving around.

"Wrigwall Powder is very good for your thoughts," offered Luna, catching the rings and handing them over to Theodore. "It could help relax you if you become too stressed from your uncontrollable entrancing of —"

" _I am not part-Veela_ ," frowned the aggravated Parselmouth before he jumped onto a moving staircase, leaving Luna humming behind him. He knew from his very brief conversation with Luna that she was odd, but this was something else. He, part-Veela? He'd laugh in her face if he didn't find the idea ridiculous.

Theodore reached the Fat Lady's portrait and climbed through, holding his head tightly when he felt the overwhelming rush coming from the rest of the Gryffindors. Ginny came over and asked if he was OK, then told him that Ron went looking for him. Theodore said that he was all right and walked up to the dormitory, still resisting the emotions and thoughts that were drilling into his mind.

"Fucking hell," he gritted as he kicked his shoes off and threw his robes on the bed. "I can't deal with this anymore…"

"You all right?" asked Harry from his bed. Viripin was draped around his shoulders and lifted her head in concern when she heard Theodore hiss in pain.

Theodore rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, yeah. It's just these stupid headaches. I can't seem to get rid of them."

" _Go to Madam Pomfrey,"_ hissed Viripin. She grew wings on her back and flapped her way across to Theodore's lap to nuzzle against his chin. _"You should've done that this morning."_

"The thing is that I don't think it's a normal headache. It comes and goes at random times, and it's getting worse the more it happens." Harry didn't say anything and looked away through the window right above his bed. Theodore stroked Viripin without looking at her, still being able to feel the lingering pain of the rush from before. Why couldn't he do anything about it? "Harry, is your scar still hurting?"

"Not really," Harry responded as he climbed out of his bed to stretch. "Had a weird dream yesterday about… walking somewhere near a forest. There was a — a dog, then there was a family of people, and then after that was a graveyard and a manor which looked all dirty and stuff. I don't know, man, it was hard to make out."

…

"Do you think he's moving?" Theodore finally asked. "The last time we both saw him was when he didn't have a body, but maybe he does have one. Could be why you're getting all these dreams."

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt like the last time. And if he did have a body, then why isn't he blowing the place up, trying to kill me?"

Theodore shrugged. He only technically met his father once in his life. He knew that when Death Eaters were strong and powerful, they operated in secrecy: his mother being an example. She was a spy, not a kidnapper. If his father did have a body, then he was being quiet and secretive, waiting for the perfect moment to strike…

The door swung open, and Ron briskly walked inside with a red face, huffing and puffing with a finger pointed at Theodore. "You — where were — you?"

"I already told you that he was with Snape in the dungeons," said Hermione, rolling her eyes as she walked inside the room.

"You know you can't keep on walking in here like this," mentioned Theodore when he let Viripin down in her enlarged basket with a pile of mice inside. "It's called the _boys' dorm_ for a reason."

"I just came to give you guys this." She handed out silver coins that had nothing on them except for two crosses on each side. "Hold onto them; you'll understand later."

"Sometimes, I just don't understand her," murmured Ron, shaking his head as Hermione disappeared down the stairway. He pocketed the coin and took Aquilina out to treat her wing with a small vial of a potion, which he dripped in her beak.

"Ron, is there a book about wizarding families? To be more specific: pure-bloods?"

Ron looked over his shoulder and looked at Theodore confusingly. Theodore, however, didn't twitch. "I think there's a book about it. Something to do with the Sacred Twenty-Nine? Apparently, it's supposed to record the last 'pure' families left in Britain. Made by this guy called… Nott, I think?"

The excitement was filling the Parselmouth up, but he contained himself. "Nott, you say? Like the one in Slytherin?"

"Yeah… why so interested?"

Theodore shrugged and kicked back on his pillow. "I don't know. I've been thinking a lot about what family I come from. The _other_ family. It doesn't hurt to search for something, right?"

"But I thought you didn't want to know anything about them," Harry spoke up in a lowered voice.

"I know what I said, it's just… good or bad, it shouldn't stop you from finding more about where you came from. If my dad's a half-blood, then obviously his mum had to be a witch, right? From a wizarding family. I just want to know, that's all."

One leg was on top of the other as he wagged his right foot around whilst staring up at the tapestries. A book about pure-blooded families that was made by somebody called Nott. Surely, the other Theodore would know everything about the 'Sacred Twenty-Nine'. If he couldn't find it in the library, then maybe he'd have it on him. _'I'm sure he'll have it on him. Maybe I'll see if he'll be friendly enough to let me borrow it for a while so that I can see if there's anything to do with that symbol and Marvolo._ '

He heard Ron scream with joy as he jumped up and down at the sight of Aquilina zooming across the ceiling and smacking right into his face. He hissed in pain but didn't lose his happiness as he cradled the baby eagle in his hand and dropped seeds on his hand for her to eat.

' _On second thought, I'll just do this all on the weekend. No need to rush this time, Theo. You've got all the time in the world.'_

The three boys then went down for dinner and hurried back up when the weight in their stomachs told them that it was time for bed. Seamus chucked a Muggle magazine of naked women posing, which he seemed to have charmed quite effectively, onto Theodore's bed, apparently still having spares after Dean 'lost' them at the Great Lake.

"The one time he doesn't blow things up it comes to this," whispered Dean disappointedly in Theodore's ear when the girl on the front cover blew a kiss at them.

Theodore threw the magazine back at Seamus's face and got himself changed for bed. Dean, Seamus and Neville then gathered around the middle of the room and demanded that they tell the whole story in detail from the beginning till end. Ron was eager to speak his part, but Theodore insisted that he wanted to go bed.

"Of course the Veela wants to go to sleep," teased Ron when Theodore threw the covers over his head. He chuckled when he saw Theodore lift his middle finger up at him and began the story with Harry, who didn't seem all that excited to speak, unlike Ron.

Theodore closed his eyes, thinking vaguely about the Riddles and their 'tragedy', whatever it was. How could somebody who utterly despised Muggles come from a family of them? Be named by them? Theodore tried to keep his diminishing thoughts from slipping away, hanging onto the name Marvolo, his great-grandfather, but it drifted away, only to be replaced by the image of bushy hair, wonderful brown eyes and lips that he wished that he could just…

* * *

Finally… it had been weeks since he could feel something again. The air licking against 'his' skin, the damp stones pressing on the soles of 'his' feet. He looked down at his hands and observed them properly, checking the childlike softness and appearance of his fingers and bare feet. Then again, he always preferred children: they lasted longer than adults from personal experience. He looked up at the obscured sky from the overhanging trees and squinted: his senses were usually out of control with each new body that he took hold of, but he always got used to it.

There, a few yards from him was the carcass of a Dalmatian, stiff and on its side. Muggle children were so easy to take when they saw a lost mutt hanging by the outskirts of a forest. Although they were most 'unfavourable' to possess, he did commend them on how effective they were. But now wasn't the time. The boy's family were sure to realise by now that he was missing. He closed his eyes firmly and pictured the image from where he wanted to go and…

Everything twisted and turned, widened and thinned, stretched and squashed. Maybe he anticipated too early about his strength. Disapparating was something he did so rarely — he hadn't done it in three years. But he didn't feel anything ripping off him, nothing at all. Good. For a moment there, he was anxious.

The smells of pungent rain and rotting leaves smacked into his face. He leaned back and felt his chest nearly about to explode; he coughed violently and dispelled thick clumps of bloody flesh-like mass from his mouth, spewing them on the concrete ground littered with cigarettes and rubbish. He shook it off. No, he had to shake it off. Some many years in isolation — he couldn't take it anymore.

He leaned against the grimy wall of the inside of a darkened alleyway and breathed heavily. If his sense of direction was correct, then he would be close to the north of France. Some of his notable followers talked about taking refuge over there, should they have failed him. Those were the ones too cowardly to face prison for him. Luckily, if they begged for his mercy, then they would see it as a blessing for his return.

' _Geridoeur… another one of my traitorous bunch… he'll be of some use to me when I'll rise again… such tenacity wasted for — no…'_

He wasn't in France. He wasn't anywhere close to France. This street… he remembered this street from a lifetime ago. The winding road that led to the junction with an oak tree right in front of the bakery at the corner, and a cul-de-sac that had a pathway leading far, far down to the graveyard… he couldn't be back here. Back where his mother had come from, back where his wretched father and his family had lived… Little Hangleton.

He tried to Disapparate, but it was like his body was refusing to do so. A non-magical body housing the most powerful wizard alive. What was he expecting? He gave up and slid down the wall, hiding in between two mounds of rubbish where rats lazily scoured for food, not even bothering to scurry away from him. His feet had become blistered, his right foot even bleeding from his awkward landing in the alleyway.

Thirteen years it had been. So many years alone and tired. He had failed to destroy a mere baby, living with the shame of his soul, the one thing he held above everything else in this world, drifting aimlessly without a goal in mind. No followers to find him, for they all thought he was dead; that they were in prison waiting for him to liberate them, or most likely dead.

And that old fool has his son under his wing, how he must've twisted his mind against him. If it weren't for him, he would've had him right by his side. Theodore, the one thing that he needed most in the world, taken from him… he needed him, for without him he'd remain as nothing.

Tom laid his weak, small head on a pile of discarded clothes and closed his eyes, feeling the toll of damaging his new body reaching his mind so quickly. The Dark Lord, the one who instilled such raw fear into so many wizards' hearts, forced to remain in a child's body like a parasite, truly alone in this world with nobody to help him… to save him. Nobody…

 **All right, your boy is feeling better (a bit)! I'm sorry that it took so so long for this chap, but you know… sickness. Anyway, this felt like a little slice of life type chapter to right, and it's a little short. But hey, we're back at school, guys!**

 **Also, what do you think of these little scenes of Voldemort being alone with nobody to help him since a certain rat is in Azkaban?**

 **Anyway, gonna keep it short, hope you liked the chap, make sure you look out for the next one. Later.**

 **P.S: 200 FAVOURITES!**

 **PSplinter09: Let's just say she has** _ **definitely**_ **not forgotten their faces:)**


	46. Chapter 46: Mind Games

_Dear Louise,_

 _The first week of school has already gone past, and I'm sure it's the same for you. Nothing too exciting happening up here, but that's always how the year starts._

 _Christmas isn't that far away that we can't think about it, right? I know that the chances of us seeing each other is extremely slim, so I wanted to know if you wanted anything — there's honestly no point in surprising you from how far we are from each other._

 _Anyway, there could be a chance that I might stay a little longer at Stuggle's next summer, so that'll be cool, right? And about that 'thing' that I was going to tell you, I —_

Theodore sneezed and dipped his quill back inside his ink bottle as he rubbed his nose. The owls above fluttered and nestled in their own specific spots from their various journeys away from the school, and Theodore had to make sure that he found a place that had the least droppings on top of the straw flooring.

The early Saturday morning was, as he thought, the perfect time for him to write to Louise, for it was the first time he ever faced difficulty when it came to her specifically. Before it was so easy to lie through the ink, telling her all these false things that he got up to during the previous years, but now it was like something was holding him back. Was it because he promised that he'd tell her the truth about him? No, it couldn't be that.

' _But I can just tell her. I could just write that I'm a wizard and that I can do magic, right here… what the hell are you thinking, Theodore? You can't tell her the truth unless you want to lose everything you have here.'_

Theodore took his dipped quill and ignored the draft coming through the open windows, bringing his scarlet and golden-striped scarf to cover his nose as he scribbled the rest of his letter and folded it into an envelope. "Sawer, are you up there? Where are you?" the Parselmouth called out to the owls above.

As Sawer peeked his head out from his perch and began his descent to his master, Theodore's attention was suddenly drawn to the door opening noisily and somebody nearly stumbling inside. Gioveri was holding a large stack of envelopes in his hand and looked up at the Parselmouth, who looked at him with confusion, before quickly scurrying over to an area near Theodore.

"Oh no!" groaned Gioveri as he slipped on the loose flooring and spilt his letters all over the floor. Most of them dropped to Theodore's feet as Gioveri scrambled to his knees, clumsily collecting them like they were too slippery to hold.

Theodore simply waved his hand across the spilt letters, causing them all to float from the ground and neatly arrange in a perfect pile on his right palm. "Here," he said, sticking the letter stack out in front of him for Gioveri to take.

Gioveri croaked something that resembled a thank you and took the letters in hand before stepping up on the circular platform in the room to call down several owls from their resting places. His face remained hidden, and his letters held tightly between his fingers — Theodore could tell that he didn't want to talk at all. Oh well, like that was going to stop him.

"I've never seen you before," spoke the Parselmouth casually out loud as he punctured the letter and fitted a piece of string through it. "Like in the sorting three years ago. I don't remember seeing you there."

"I, uh… I was homeschooled," stammered Gioveri without looking at Theodore. "My — my family thought about moving somewhere out of Britain… and we did for a while until… Professor Dumbledore said that I could join in the fourth year, so… I did."

' _Another person joining after the first year? What's going on with people not coming when they have to?'_ Theodore finished tying the knot through the letter and gently lifted Sawer's leg as he continued, "So you're Ollivander's grandson, huh? Must be nice to be in a wandmaker family, you and your brother."

Facing the Parselmouth with confusion etched upon his face, Gioveri said a little more loudly, "Brother? I don't have a brother…"

"But that boy who's in Gryffindor, Gervaise. I thought that you two were brothers. Aren't you?"

"Gervaise is my cousin, who is my aunt's son on my father's side." Gioveri blinked so suddenly when he saw his letters rustling against a large gust of wind and continued to attach them to the owls that flocked around him.

Theodore eyed him with suspicion, wondering just why the grandson of Ollivander wouldn't go to Hogwarts when he was eleven like everybody else when he felt a sharp pinch on the back of his hand. He quickly apologised to Sawer as he wrapped the string around his leg too tight, loosened it then told him to fly to Louise to deliver it. "Well, it was good talking to you. See you in… class, I guess."

Gioveri's cheeks became flushed as he returned the goodbye as Theodore left the owlery. To be quite honest, Theodore had no clue why Gioveri was so nervous to be around him. He never thought of himself as intimidating — well, not intensely intimidating — and his reactions towards him did not indicate that. Another speculation came to mind that he simply lacked social skills due to being homeschooled. It wasn't like there were any primary schools for wizards that Theodore knew about.

Theodore eventually forgot about him and started his way down to the Great Hall where now most people would be awake, namely Harry, Ron and Hermione. His popularity hadn't dwindled for a moment during the past week as people still attempted to hi-five him in the corridors or give him suggestive looks as he'd go into lessons. Of course, he'd expect some attention to come his way, but this, especially the latter, not so much.

Chatter rang across the Great Hall as students began to fill it up steadily. Theodore sat down next to Harry and said good morning to them all, all who were particularly curious about what was going to happen.

"Dumbledore's going to tell us the thing, right?" said Theodore. "I've been wondering what it was for a while now."

"Triwizard Tournament, I'm telling you. I'll bet you ten Galleons that it will be."

Ron leaned over to Seamus and shook his hand with a determined look upon his face. "Done. I'm betting that it's something else. The Triwizard Tournament is a little outdated, Seamus, you know that."

"It's on, Weasley."

Fred and George hushed everybody down along the table and sat oppositely to each other, both wearing irremovable grins of anticipation as Dumbledore stood up from his chair — several paper birds made by his hand fluttered around his pointy scarlet hat, but nobody paid attention to them at all.

He cleared his throat to silence the entire hall and remained silent for a few seconds, then he said cheerfully, "My announcement will be revealed at dinner time for you all. Please, enjoy your breakfast. Thank you."

"Is that it?" spluttered George as Fred's face scrunched up whilst squeezing his goblet. "I woke up this early on a Saturday for this? It's the only day that we give ourselves free time!"

"Calm down," said Angelina, rolling her eyes at the boys' exaggerated displays of frustration. "You still got the whole day ahead."

"Yeah, but we've been waiting the entire week until this moment. I'm feeling teased right now."

"Please don't put the idea of Dumbledore and 'teasing' together, _ever_."

Theodore held his head gently, facing the table with him squinting from the pain in his head. The conversations around him seemed to be fading into the background as his mind was being mercilessly stuffed with emotions and thoughts that were not of his own.

He gritted his teeth to the pain and didn't display any sign of it at all, not wanting the others to carry on worrying about him all the time. Hermione and Ron were discussing the history of Inheritance Tests with Ron trying to worm himself around the worked-up Hermione; Harry elbowed him to see if he was all right before being roped into a conversation with Seamus about what Dumbledore's announcement could be.

' _No. I can't take it anymore. I have to find out how to get rid of this thing in my head! He has to help me like Dumbledore said he should. Fuck, it hurts so bad…'_

Theodore poked at his plate throughout the rest of breakfast and barely ate what would be considered a 'normal' amount for him. Five minutes until breakfast would come to an end. He couldn't see Professor Snape at the teachers' table, so that meant that he was in his office or classroom — he was never there during the weekdays for some reason.

Theodore ran his fingers through his hair and looked over his shoulder as somebody barely brushed past his back and towards the doors. Nott was walking at a fast pace out of the Great Hall, possibly wanting to be anywhere else than there. But seeing him walking away urged Theodore to leave the table and tell the others that he'd see them in the common room, then follow the lonely boy outside the Hall, and he did just that.

Nott hadn't noticed him tailing behind when he trotted down the marble staircase and to the left towards the dungeons. He stopped only for a moment to flap his clothes and brush at his shoulders before continuing to the archway of the dungeons, but by the time he reached there, Theodore had already caught up to him.

"Hello there," greeted the Parselmouth with a relaxed smile, as if they were already friendly to begin with. "It's Theodore, isn't it? Theodore Nott?"

"Yeah," replied Nott with a little bit of scepticism in his voice. "Any reason why you just stopped me here out of the blue, Riddle?"

"Just… stopping for some normal conversation. I saw you at the trial with… _Mr_ Lestrange."

"So?"

Theodore could see that he was blatantly unbothered with furthering the 'stirring' conversation. Seeing that trying to get on his good side wouldn't work now, Theodore got straight to the point and said, "Actually, I wanted to ask you about something else. You know a book called the 'Sacred Twenty-Nine', right? The one about the remaining pure-blooded families?"

Nott's face twisted into a mocking smile as he lifted his chin and crossed his arms. "Oh, I see now. You're a half-blood, aren't you? Trying to hang on to whatever 'pure' side that you have, eh? That's just sad, and it's a shame quite frankly," he added deridingly.

"As if I'd give two shits about how pure I am," scoffed Theodore — he was clearly annoyed that Nott was somewhat exactly how he expected. "I've got Muggle blood in me, yet I'm still better than any pure-blood in our year."

Nott bit his tongue at Theodore's retort and furrowed his eyebrows. Theodore thought for a moment that he lost his chance in retrieving the book until Nott said after the silence between them passed, "If you're looking for a copy, then I've got one with me right now —"

' _Great! Now all I have to do is see if he'll —'_

"— which is the original copy that was left with me after my mother died a few years ago."

The Parselmouth mentally cursed — no doubt that this book was some sort of family heirloom, especially when it was given to him after his own mother had died. Asking to give something like that up to somebody he didn't know had the obvious outcome of refusal, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. "Would there be any chance that you could… let me borrow it for a while?"

…

Nott's fit of laughter was drowned by the sounds of the students flooding out from the Great Hall and dispersing around the school. Some of the Slytherins came walking down the marble steps and towards the archway with Draco leading at the front. Nott ceased his laughing when he passed by with Crabbe and Goyle and returned the glares of contempt, given to both of the Theodores.

The two waited for the rest of the Slytherins to pass until the Entrance Hall was fairly empty to speak up again. "I'm not giving it to you," said Nott flatly.

"I'll only need it for a day and that's it. Not a second more."

Nott narrowed his eyes at Theodore: what was he thinking about? Theodore actively avoided eye contact, in fear that his mind would go haywire at any moment and possibly ruin whatever decision was running through Nott's mind. Nott sighed and rubbed the side of his cheek and said, "I'll think about it. Probably would've given it to you if you said please, but oh well. Don't blame me if I say no, Riddle."

Theodore watched him walk further into the dungeons, having the last word like he trumped him somehow. His chances of getting that book seemed extremely slim at this point, and that was with Nott considering it. The library didn't have any records of a book like that entering the school, so it was safe to say that his options were _very_ limited, and that —

"Oh right, Professor Snape!" he said to himself when he realised where he was standing. Theodore took off through the archway and knocked on Professor Snape's classroom door. No response. He knocked again, only harder this time. Still no response. Theodore then moved to his office door and rapped his knuckles against the door.

…

The door's lock twisted from the inside and the door swiftly opened as Professor Snape's face stuck out between the doorframe, looking particularly aggravated by something. "What is it?! If you keep on slamming so hard on my door, then I'll —" He halted when he saw Theodore standing alone behind the door. "Yes?" he said in a stern but noticeably calmer voice.

"Professor, it won't go away," Theodore muttered with the suppressed pain returning for some reason. "The headaches that I told you about — they're getting worse and worse, and I can't handle it anymore! I — I need help, please…"

Professor Snape briefly looked up and down the empty corridor and told Theodore to come inside. As he closed the door behind him, he then swooped over to his desk and sat down, hair curtaining his eyes as he said, "They're getting worse?"

Theodore nodded. "Can't you help me with that 'Occlumens' thing you were talking about with Professor Dumbledore? I heard you both on the day of the trial."

Professor Snape had his hands clasped together, and he was deep in thought. Did he not think that this was important enough and that whatever else he was doing during the week made Theodore insignificant? Theodore took a small step forward and began, "So? Can't you —?"

"Not today," interjected Professor Snape in a muffled voice. "I can't help you today, but tomorrow — make sure that you're able to come down here tomorrow night at ten o'clock sharp."

"Ten o'clock? I can't go through the castle at that time; I wouldn't be allowed to —"

"If you want my help, then you'll come at this time. Is that clear?"

One more day? He had to endure one more day of his brain being bombarded with unwanted thoughts drilling right through him? What was he supposed to do in the meantime: lock himself away from everybody else until it was time for him to come down?

"I… guess so," said the Parselmouth finally as he scratched his head. Professor Snape ended the conversation there and excused himself to the connected room on the left of his desk, prompting Theodore to leave for the common room without saying anything.

As he passed by several people greeting him along the corridors and up the stairs, his head was pulsing with pain that was growing sharper and sharper. His teeth latched onto the inside of his cheeks that was sure to be bleeding — he was surprised that he made it to Gryffindor Tower without falling off the stairs at all. Theodore spoke the password and stumbled through the portrait with clumsy footing. Luckily, nobody saw him almost tripping over except for one person, who came to his side rather quickly.

Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly, "Are you feeling OK? I just saw you nearly smashing your face in on the floor."

"Yeah… yeah, I'm all right, Ginny, thanks." Theodore rubbed his temples and looked at her. "Are _you_ all right? Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

"No! Of course not!" Ginny forced a smile and offered that they should sit down instead of standing directly by the portrait. But as soon as they sat down, Ginny became at unease as she lowered her head to whisper. "I don't really have too many nightmares, but sometimes I wake up not even speaking English anymore. Like my brain just forgets how to speak it."

"Oh… maybe I could… look for a book about Parseltongue? I was already going to do that for my Ancient Runes class — look, Ginny, I'm going to help you, OK? But I don't know if I can…"

"Get rid of it," Ginny finished before sighing loudly. "I know. I just wish that I could… forget it."

Ginny leaned back on her chair and looked away at the other Gryffindors gathering in groups, some consulting with Fred and George near the shadier parts of the circular room; others jumping onto the squashy chairs like a game.

Unbeknownst to her, Theodore could tell how she felt exactly: she felt like a freak for not being able to drive Parseltongue out of her system, and — Theodore never even thought about this — rising anxiety whenever she'd look at his face. The obvious question came out of his mouth before he could even think it over. "Ginny, how come you don't ever freak out when you see my face?"

Ginny looked back at him and blinked, slightly puzzled. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"You must've seen my dad coming out from the diary before, so you know that I look exactly like him. But you don't ever try to avoid looking at my face — I know that sounds weird, but still. You of all people should…"

Pulling her chair a little closer to the table, Ginny gave it some time for her thoughts to process before she answered, "It's not really to do with his face; it's more with his voice. All I mostly heard was him whispering to me before he somehow came out from the diary."

…

"But you want to know the real reason why I don't hate your face, which is a ridiculous assumption on your part," Ginny asked, smiling just a little bit.

"Why?"

"All I've got to do is look at your eyes. I do that, then Tom just —" she slid a palm across her other one "— vanishes. Like he never existed. That's how I can tell that it's really you."

Happiness was creeping up inside him; only Ms Padalin had ever said something like this, that his eyes were separate from his face. "I'm glad to hear that, Ginny. Thanks."

Her usual demeanour returned as she waved it aside and widened her smile. Although the rush in his head intensified as time went on, Theodore was glad that he managed to find that out from her from whatever was going on in his head. He only hoped that he could force it down or control it soon. Soon.

"Hey, Theo? Can Viripin stay with me tonight instead?"

"Can Viripin — no. She stays with me."

"Oh, come off it! Please? Please? Pleasssee!"

* * *

Theodore spent the rest of the day in the common room in fear that his mind would cause him to collapse, should he have left — to be more specific, he was in his bed with Viripin, talking about anything that came across their minds. As usual, the conversation would always steer towards Hermione being the main subject from the Maibian Adder's efforts, but Theodore was becoming more tolerant whenever she'd bring her up. It's not like he could do anything to steer them to anything else these days.

When it was finally time for dinner, Theodore forced himself away from the dorm room and left Viripin behind with her own pile of bat wings, frogs and mice, then joined his fellow Gryffindors down to the Great Hall as the last one out. Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting for him outside the portrait and left with each other as the anticipation for Dumbledore's revelation was growing extremely fast.

Everybody gathered in the Great Hall as normal and took their seats along the tables with the empty golden plates and goblets. Theodore was gritting his teeth as he took a seat in between Seamus and Harry, and he tried to dull the pain away with Seamus's voice chattering away beside him.

"… and that was brilliant with those hexes he showed us. He even said that Duelling Club might return when our new Defence teacher gets here," spoke Seamus quickly to Ron and Neville. "Wait — do you think he'll tell us anything about his duel with Grindelwald?!"

"Shut it, Seamus," hissed Dean. "Dumbledore's making the announcement right now!"

Conversations died instantly when Dumbledore stood up from his seat and walked around and in front of the teachers' table — he only ever did this when it was the start and end of the year. Just then, the Great Hall doors swung wide open and allowed five people through to walk in the middle of the Hall as if they were royalty.

Theodore recognised Crouch, Lestrange, Umbridge — her smile towards him made his skin crawl a little — Proudfoot and Savage. Neither of them seemed to have seen Theodore, and he was glad for that. If this announcement required five Ministry officials to be present, then this had to be _big_.

Dumbledore waved his wand and conjured five wooden stools for them all. "I'm pleased that you have arrived early, Barty; Theodore; Dolores. Now, children! I know that you have been waiting patiently for this day — I know I have. I just wanted to thank you all for that. But as you all know, we are not the only wizarding institution in the world. Several others are scattered across the globe with their own set of remarkable students, such as the ones we have right here."

"Triwizard Tournament, I'm telling you!" whispered Seamus to everybody.

"This year, we have the privilege of reviving an event that has almost been lost to time to reconnect with our sister schools around the world. We are proud to present that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are participating in the Trials of Doomspell!"

It didn't take Theodore long to realise the divide in the reactions across the Hall. All the Muggle-borns that he knew and some of the half-bloods looked completely baffled by what the 'Trials of Doomspell' even was, including Theodore himself. The pure-bloods, however, were grabbing each other by the sleeves with pure excitement on their faces. This had to be _really_ big.

"Oh my fucking gosh!" shouted Ron so loudly, Professor McGonagall turned her head towards the table. "The Trials of Doomspell?! Th-this hasn't been done in over five hundred years — it's basically a tournament when —"

"Sshh, he's going to explain!" said Hermione with intent ears.

Once the noise level dropped and vanished, Dumbledore then carried on with his announcement. "The Trials of Doomspell are, as it says in the title itself, trials within a specially-made tournament between five different wizarding schools, including our own, in a competition to see who will prevail. Each champion chosen from each school are known to be its most formidable student that will compete against the other schools' best and brightest. Barty, will you like to continue?"

"Thank you, Dumbledore." Crouch patted his chest and stood up from his chair as he announced, "The Trials of Doomspell will involve four other schools, as previously mentioned, and will be set in arenas all across Europe. Magical governments across the world have agreed to push back the starting date for the Quidditch World Cup to prepare for this event of a lifetime."

"So that's why the World Cup never started in spring," said Theodore to Harry. "Shit's must be massive to interfere with the World Cup."

"I know, right? It's a shame we never got to go, though. I would've liked to see some professional Seekers to help improve on myself."

"And know this, dear children," Umbridge spoke up sweetly, "this competition will push you to your absolute limits. This will show you what kind of wizard or witch you will grow up to be. So if chosen, make sure that you give it your all and represent Hogwarts in the greatest light possible!"

Ron pretended to retch under the table as Hermione suppressed a smile. A girl with silky, long, blonde hair that was sitting on the Slytherin table stood up with her hand raised — Daphne Greengrass, one of Pansy's friends who had given Theodore one too many looks since their very first day. "Isn't there an age limit to who can participate? I'm sure there is."

"Thank you, Miss… Greengrass," Crouch took over from Umbridge. "While since its birth, the Trials of Doomspell always had students participating to be of age from seventeen years old, the process of choosing a champion is rather simple: every single student has been put through as a candidate, but our 'judge' will only choose the student with the greatest magical potential and prowess of their respective school. But we can assume that it would most likely fall onto a seventh-year; a sixth at least."

"Who are we up against?" shouted a Hufflepuff girl.

"Yeah, who are the other schools? Is Durmstrang one of them?"

"Calm down, please," Dumbledore said in a louder voice. "Further details of the Trials will be revealed at the end of the term, including the participating schools alongside us. I ask one more time that you should be patient when the time arrives. Theodore, Dolores, Barty, please follow me through here. Children, _eat away_!"

The tables filled up with the vast amounts of food that were of the norm as Dumbledore and the Ministry officials left through the door near the teachers' table to presumably talk in private with each other. Theodore turned his head away from there and was sucked into the conversations that were buzzing around him.

"Ahhh, such a shame, isn't it, Georgie?"

"Why's that, Freddie?"

"Well, it's just that the little ones have less of a chance of being picked than us sixth- and seventh-years," smirked Fred, stabbing his ham with his fork and knife. "You kids won't have anything fun to do for the rest of the year — how sad!"

"It's obvious that they pick the older kids for a good show," said Ron from down the table. "They're honestly not going to let any first-year compete with the stuff that they know. It's all about entertainment, not about who's the best."

"I think our chances are going to be pretty high. If we win this, then Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes would go global! We'd drop out of here as the big bucks start coming in!"

"Mum wouldn't like hearing you saying that, you know," smiled Ginny next to her brother.

"But if it happens, she won't care, would she? Not after we buy her all the sets of silky robes that she wants. Anyway, if they really wanted good entertainment, they'd throw a shit person in the mix. Imagine them against snobby, first-grade wizards. That'd be hilarious!"

Everybody spoke about the Trials all throughout dinner, talking about what could possibly come up and who was the best student around to win it for Hogwarts. Theodore heard the Hufflepuffs saying Cedric Diggory's name from along the table and lifted his head a little to see them shaking him by the shoulders before the rush pained him again.

The time came for dinner to come to an end, and everybody streamed through the Great Hall to split to their respective common rooms. Theodore fell behind a little bit to avoid being so close with the other Gryffindors but was accompanied by Hermione, who noticed him holding his head in pain.

"I've heard about Doomspell before," said Elvira further up ahead to Neville and Ron. "My family back in France have ancestors that have won the competition many years ago when they were in Beauxbatons."

"They always got in, that school. My mum said a Weasley was a champion but got her legs bitten off by a dragon. I hope history won't repeat itself this time."

"It won't with you —" remarked Fred.

"— since you've got little chance to be chosen," finished George as he spoke the password to the Fat Lady.

Ron frowned and kept the frown all the way up to the fourth-year dormitory where he, Theodore and Harry were gathered around Harry's bed to talk further about the Trials of Doomspell. "Dickheads, the pair of them. What makes them so great that they'll have a better chance than me of getting picked? I was a part of taking Pettigrew down, wasn't I?"

"We know, Ron," said Theodore with a smile. "Running people over with magical cars is on a level they'll never reach."

Harry grinned as well and said, "Yeah. Even _I'm_ jealous of you. I mean, flattening Pettigrew with a car? That's just fucking amazing!"

"Stop it; I know what you guys are trying to do," muttered Ron — he couldn't stop the smile from growing on his face. "But in all seriousness, who do you actually think will be chosen out of everyone?"

"Obviously, it's the main man himself, Theodore Riddle," teased Seamus from his bed. "You've got your name plastered on every single copy of the _Prophet_ out so far. You're the Golden Boy, Riddle."

Theodore laughed. "As if. If it's anybody in this school, it'll be Harry. Who else here can make a proper Patronus? Not me. Although, another person I can see being picked would be…"

Ron and Harry looked at each other, then grabbed a shoulder of Theodore to tease the Parselmouth with wide smiles. Theodore instantly knew what they were insinuating and left for his bed. "One day, you're going to admit it, Theo. One day."

"Admit what?"

"Nothing, Neville," said Theodore quickly. "It's nothing. Anyway, I hope I'm not picked for this thing. I don't have any time to fight other schools when I've got plenty of other stuff to focus on."

"Like Hermione?" said Dean casually as he slipped under his duvet.

"What?! I — no! W-why would you think that?! That's crazy — that's…"

"Oh my God," mumbled Seamus. "Did you actually think we haven't noticed? Well, I only did at the end of last year, but come on, Theo. You two are _so_ obvious."

Ron widened his arms and said, "See? See? Everyone knows!"

"Shut up, Ron!" gritted Theodore before his scowl changed into disbelief. "Wait. So… everyone?"

They all nodded at him and blew out their own lamps by their beds, darkening the room. Theodore struggled to swallow and pulled at his collar — he was burning up intensely. It wasn't possible. No, not everyone. Sure, he had an idea that Harry and Ron knew something was up, but everybody else? That couldn't be true. Unless… unless he wasn't as inconspicuous as he thought he was…

Theodore waved his hand over his lamp, putting it out, and flopped his head onto his pillow, unable to close his eyes. If everybody knew, then… what was stopping him from doing it? From actually asking her…?

" _You better ask her out soon, Theodore. She's probably waiting for you to say it to her, sitting in her bed awake…"_

"Be quiet, Viripin," hissed the Parselmouth ever so softly as he peeked underneath his bed.

" _If you can jump off a tower, then you can ask a girl out. Nothing is stopping you…"_ Viripin dozed off before it was evident that she went to sleep.

Theodore then laid flat on his bed and looked up. _'She's right… nothing's stopping you…'_

* * *

On the next morning, Theodore decided to wake up earlier than his roommates to avoid any embarrassment from the night before. It was several hours into the night before he went to bed, and all his thoughts during that time were because of Hermione. He still couldn't believe that he made it so obvious to other people — he was always known for how secretive he was. It was like he noted before: he was getting soft.

Theodore quickly left the common room after getting changed and found Professor McGonagall passing by on the second floor. Seeing the chance to do something about looking for his family on his father's side, as well as helping Ginny, Theodore asked her if he could have a signed note to enter the Restricted Section of the library.

After multiple questions, which he answered expertly, she finally gave in and handed him a note before saying, "If I find that you're attempting to become an Animagus, Riddle…"

"Don't worry, Professor, I promise," thanked the Parselmouth as he headed off to the library.

"You better."

Theodore entered the library and showed Madam Pince his note — she took quite a while to let him inside — and finally entered the Restricted Section. He thought to himself how he has never tried to enter there during his time at Hogwarts but put that out of his mind when he began looking up and down.

He took to some of the shelves and passed by them quickly, sometimes stopping once or twice when something caught his eye. Several books regarding Dark magic from around the world; rituals with dead runes; magic to do with time; elemental magic and many more were stacked in the shelves filled to the brim, collecting dust as it seemed that not too many people took them out.

Theodore hated passing the chance up of learning magic outside the normal curriculum, but he did have a motive that he was going to stick to. He looked high and low for anything that had to do with Parseltongue, even Salazar Slytherin, but it seemed unattainable as the early morning rode on. Theodore grabbed onto the rolling ladder nearby and climbed all the way up to the highest shelf in the absolute corner. The entire library looked like a maze from above with so many zigzagged pathways between the towering shelves.

' _Not even one book about a Founder in here? You can't tell me that useless book from before is the only thing about Slytherin. I can't — hello…'_

He reached out for the thick but small book that was squashed in between two others that were about the magic of souls, and about Merlin himself. Theodore used both hands to yank it out and would've plummeted to the ground backwards if he hadn't latched onto a bar at the last second.

' _Shit, that was close! All right, let's get down before I kill myself.'_ When Theodore made it to the ground, he turned the book over and brushed his hand over its skin, noting how odd this book looked and felt. It was like it had snakeskin stretched all over but had grown pale over the years from the lack of sunlight. It was dry, _extremely_ dry and cracked.

Theodore turned it around in his hands and tried to open the book, but it did not budge. He thought the Unlocking Charm would work and tried just that, but the book remained tightly shut. Theodore took the book out of the Restricted Section and found an area to himself and laid it flat on the table. Snakeskin and — with a final check of the outside of the book, he found something that could barely be seen in the light.

Theodore cupped his hands around it and squinted until he recognised the emblem that was etched onto the skin, almost completely faded away. An outline of a shield with the shape of a serpent winding in front of it. Theodore struck gold with this — how lucky could he get?

' _OK, OK, OK! This book looks old, terribly old. I wonder if it was Slytherin's… wait, maybe the reason why it can't open is the same reason for the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. I've got to speak Parseltongue to it. Of course!'_

"Op—" Theodore began to hiss.

"Thought I might find you here, Riddle."

Theodore stashed the book instantly at his side and looked up to see Nott leaning against a shelf before approaching him. "So? What are you even doing here, Nott? Come to decide yet? I thought that you would've taken longer than a day."

"Yes, well, rather give you the disappointing news now than later. I'm not going to give it to you —"

"Why am I not fucking surprised?" muttered the Parselmouth sarcastically.

"— but," continued Nott with a frown, "I'll let you read what you want to know for a limited time in front of me."

"Great! So where's the —?"

"Only on one condition."

…

"Go on…" said Theodore in a lowered voice, careful to hide his frustration.

Nott crossed his arms and began to grin smugly. That didn't seem at all good for Theodore. "I'll let you read it if you're up for a little rule-breaking. Our Golden Boy can't be too perfect, right? If you find a way into our common room _without_ asking anybody the password, then I'll let you read it."

"That's stupidly extra for wanting to read a book," Theodore retorted. "Why would I ever want to do that?"

"Because you want to know more about your family, obviously. Unless you're scared…" Nott raised an eyebrow and stuck his hand out. Theodore bit his lip and thought on it for just a moment, then shook Nott's hand firmly before quickly letting go. "Don't even bother with trying to ask anyone, because I'll know."

"But you wouldn't if I did." Nott opened his mouth to say something, but the Parselmouth said quickly, "I won't ask anybody for the password, I promise. This challenge is already stupid as it is."

"But you're still doing it," remarked Nott as he walked away. "I'll be waiting for you, Riddle. Take as much time as you need."

Theodore watched him walk away, trying to figure out what could he possibly gain from him breaking into the Slytherin Common Room. It could be a setup to humiliate him in front of the rest of his House, but there was still a chance that he would stick to his word. A small chance at that. Theodore picked up Slytherin's book and laid it out on the table, forgetting about Nott as he began to hiss again —

He swiped the book away when something loud slammed in front of him, causing him to jump and swear out loud. Madam Pince reprimanded him from afar, and he apologised before turning to whoever thought that it was a good idea to scare him.

Hermione was sat in front of him with her hair tied back in a messy, thick French braid and a wide, almost mad grin on her face. In front of her was a small box with several things rattling inside and an acronym written on top of it. Theodore was completely puzzled.

…

"Um… good morning, Hermione…?" was all that he could say.

"It's finally decided, the idea!" she squealed, shaking the box. "I've finally got it! It took me a while to look for the accurate sources in the library, which isn't _too_ reliable with these topics, but it's a pretty decent start!"

"Hermione, what the hell are you talking about?"

"This!" She pushed the box in front of him and told him to read the acronym written in neat, golden handwriting.

"Justice for Inhumane Muggle-born Prejudice of Inheritance Curses and Killings, and Elvish and Non-Human Societies… wait, does this spell JIM —"

"I know what it spells," interrupted Hermione as she took the box back, "but it's what I've been working towards for the past week — I've even been planning this before we came to Hogwarts. It's a movement against Inheritance Tests in wizarding society and getting equal rights for non-wizards as well."

"Wow… that's… wow," nodded Theodore with his hands clasped together. "Wait a minute — where did you even get this idea from?"

Hermione waved her wand over the box whilst replying, "Don't you remember? You're the one who said to start a club, so I'm doing that."

"I didn't think you'd take me seriously, though."

"Of course I take you seriously. Why wouldn't I?"

"No reason," said Theodore quietly as he sat back in his seat. Hermione was busy reading off of a sheet of parchment, then looked up to see him staring at her. Theodore quickly looked away at the shelves and brought his mind to how he was going to enter the Slytherin Common Room.

"Do you want me to give you an overview of what it's about?" asked Hermione before patting her chest to read off of her thick stack of parchments.

Theodore tucked the book under his armpit and stood up. "How about you tell me on the way back to the common room?"

"But you haven't eaten yet. Breakfast has already passed."

"I missed — fuck… I guess I'll have to wait until lunch then. Are you going to stay here?"

Hermione shook her head and grabbed the box, along with the parchments and books that she collected as well, all in a rather clumsy manner. She kindly refused Theodore's help and followed him to the front desk where it took a whole five minutes for him to get the book checked out.

After they left the library and walked up the stairs, Theodore was suddenly reminded of Viripin's words echoing in his ear as if it was alerting him that he had to say something to Hermione right there. She was still struggling with her belongings and stopped several times on the stairs to quickly rearrange them before moving on. Theodore's lip curled just a bit before he noticed that there was something about her, something that he never really took notice of before.

"Hermione, there's something different about you."

Hermione looked over at him and lifted her eyebrow. "Different? What do you mean?"

"Your hair is up," continued Theodore, feeling himself growing warmer.

"Theo, you've seen me with my hair up at least a thousand times."

"Yeah, but… I've never seen you wear earrings before."

"Oh!" she mouthed before blushing a little bit, "these? I — I always had these since the first day of school, but I never really liked wearing them. Elvira found them when I must've dropped them near her bed so…"

Theodore rubbed his elbow and murmured just loud enough so that she could hear, "Well… you look really pretty with them —"

Parchments, books, plain badges and coins all spilt onto the floor as Hermione hastily dove to the ground to collect them. Theodore had never seen her face grow any redder, and he knew it had to be the same for him. He picked up the badges and poured them into the box, slapping himself mentally for saying that out of nowhere.

"Hermione, I —"

"No!" Hermione squeaked, hiding her face under her hair as she picked her books and parchments up. "I-it's fine, I-I don't… Professor Snape!"

Theodore spun around and saw his godfather standing on the edge of a still stairway, apparently coming down from the upper levels that could've only led to Dumbledore's office. "Ten o'clock. Make sure that you're on time, or I won't do this for you again."

"Yes, Professor," Theodore quietly replied before Professor Snape swept away down the stairs and out of sight. The Parselmouth scratched his head and turned back to Hermione, whose face was still red and partially hidden.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked softly.

"Um… just talking about 'bonding time'. Anyway, let's just get back to the common room…"

Theodore followed her up the stairs and through the portrait hole, and he saw that not many Gryffindors had returned. Good. That meant that he could read the book in peace. Hermione quickly secluded herself to the tables on her own and faced downwards for the whole time that Theodore walked across and up the stairway.

' _Why did you say that? Why, why, why, Riddle?'_

Viripin was curled up on his bed and lifted her head when she saw him approaching. When asked why she was there instead, she told him that ever since the middle of the third year, she always liked to get any of the remaining heat that he'd leave behind when going off to lessons.

Theodore allowed her to rest on his lap as he took the book in his hand. It seriously looked so old. It was a wonder how it didn't immediately crumble between his fingers. "Open," he hissed at the book. Nothing. "Are you being serious? Open."

It didn't move or open at all.

" _What's that?"_ asked Viripin.

"It's a book that belonged to Slytherin, but it's not opening up. I thought Parseltongue would open it, but it doesn't, for some reason."

" _Maybe there's a specific password, like a key phrase to open it."_

Theodore scoffed and said, "What, like 'I'm the Heir of Slytherin, open to me now'? No, Salazar Slytherin doesn't do passwords, otherwise the Chamber of Secrets would've been harder to open."

" _Pretty sure that being a Parselmouth was all that he thought was important to get in. It was a rare thing after all,"_ she claimed, snuggling into her folds. _"I'm sure that there's a password, Theodore, you just have to find it."_

Theodore sat back and tucked it under his pillow. He could only keep it for a week, and the supposed password could've been anything. How was he going to find it: did he already know but had forgotten it; was it something completely different? Who knew?

The day pressed on as Theodore went down for lunch, eating extra for his missed breakfast. Hermione was sat opposite to him and still avoided his gaze, and it was even worse when at dinner time, the two sat right next to each other. However, Theodore managed to ease the situation when he asked her about her movement, which made her more talkative than at lunch.

When he came back upstairs, Theodore decided to stay down in the common room with everybody else to wait until ten o'clock would hit. Fred and George still paraded around the fact that one of them was sure to be chosen, irking Ron who grumbled under his breath. The common room soon began to clear away as it was a school night, gradually leaving less and fewer people downstairs until only a few remained.

Ten minutes until ten o'clock. Theodore looked around and saw Gervaise in the far corner, scribbling on several parchments; Parvati comforting a first-year girl who had been silently crying in the corner, and Hermione behind him, still swishing her wand and scribbling at her parchments.

"Theo!" he heard somebody call out when he started to walk to the portrait. Hermione waved him over and whispered, "Good luck," smiling that made him feel fuzzy inside.

"Thanks, Hermione. And you shouldn't stay up so late working on those: it's a school night, you know."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just go."

He grinned then climbed through the portrait, welcoming the darkness that had but some light shining through the windows all around. Taking a deep breath, Theodore stepped onto the moving staircase nearest to him and started his way down to the dungeons. But it was an odd journey for him — nothing went wrong. No Peeves jumping out from the corner, no Filch or Mrs Norris, or even any of the teachers. A perfect path down to the dungeons.

' _Where was this sort of peace during the last few years, eh?'_

Theodore then found himself standing outside Professor Snape's door that was set ajar. Since when did he leave his door open this wide? Nevertheless, he pushed through gently and entered the office, noting how well lit it was, despite having one source of light coming from the back of the room. Professor Snape, however, was not present.

"Not this shit again. Professor? Professor, are you here —?"

The hidden portrait swung open, and a greasy-feathered raven fluttered inside and landed on the ground in front of the desk. Suddenly, it grew in size, its wings shifting to form arms draped in black clothes, and its hooked beak morphed into a similarly shaped nose. Feathers changed into greasy hair, and Professor Snape stood where the raven did, dusting off his shoulders before sitting down at his desk.

"You don't need to know where I've been," he drawled when Theodore opened his mouth to ask the obvious question. "Two minutes to ten. Well done. Now, sit down."

Theodore took a chair and sat.

"Now, these headaches. Describe them to me and tell me what sensations you are experiencing through them."

"Well, before they started to hurt like now, it was like I could only feel what other people were feeling if that makes sense," Theodore began. "I mean, sometimes when the person that I'm looking at is feeling something _really_ strong, then it'd feel overwhelming. But in the summer when I was with my friends, that's when it started to hurt, and it's even worse now.

"Every time I'm entering a room full of people, it's like they're flooding my brain, like I can hear all their thoughts and feel what they're feeling. But it's just too much. It's too painful, and I can't control it."

Professor Snape closed his eyes and clicked his tongue, then he asked, "And this started last year — not the headaches, but you being able to dive into other people's minds. Was this recent?"

Theodore scratched his temple. "Actually… I think I could always do this, even before I even knew what magic was. I could tell when somebody was lying, or when they felt sad… wait, what do you mean by 'diving into other people's minds'?"

Professor Snape got up from his seat and glided to his shelves of books, strumming his fingers against the spines.

"Do you have any idea about what's happening, or…?"

"It appears that you are a Legilimens," said Professor Snape flatly.

…

"A what?"

"A Legilimens. Somebody who has the magical ability to peel away at another's mind, to venture through their thoughts and emotions and accurately interpret them."

Theodore had his mouth open, not in shock but in befuddlement. "Wait… I've been doing this since I was at least four or five years old. What, is that normal for someone like me?"

Professor Snape muttered something about giving a book away and shook his head at Theodore. "No, not at all. Legilimency, which is the art of unravelling the mind, is a branch of magic which has to be learned extensively to master. You are an extreme rarity to be gifted with a natural aptitude for this type of magic, especially at such a young age."

"Really…? But what can you exactly do with Legilimency except the stuff that you mentioned?"

Professor Snape summoned a chair with a snap of his fingers and sat down with a stern look on his face. "You can do more than read the mind, feel it even… you can invade it, control it if you wanted to… rip it apart. A dangerous skill is Legilimency, and a terrible weapon at that."

' _I could do all of that…?'_

"Only the most skilled can perform such feats," said Professor Snape, crossing his arms — Theodore didn't doubt that he just used Legilimency on him right there, "and refine their skills to such a level."

"This is… this is amazing!" exclaimed Theodore with excitement. "So I'm going to learn about Legilimency and how to control it? Ahh, this is —"

"No," Professor Snape stated firmly. "I won't teach you an ounce of Legilimency until you've properly grasped Occlumency to shield your own thoughts, and to stop your Legilimency from spilling into others."

He explained to the Parselmouth what Occlumency was, which was essentially the opposite of Legilimency, closing the mind against Legilimency from the outside and possibly from himself as well. "But why can't I learn about Legilimency instead? That's the main problem here — I should be focusing on how to control that instead."

"You might be a natural, but you lack control. It's easy to tell after what you told me with your mind being an open book for everyone to easy flood into. You must learn to close it before trying to fully control it, otherwise you'll run the risk of permanently damaging it. And it would be much worse, given your age. However, you do show remarkable power and untapped potential just waiting to be released."

"Like my father?" Theodore blurted out.

"Yes," Professor Snape said almost immediately, almost shocking Theodore. He then stood up from his chair and brought out his wand. "With my guidance, you'll master the obscure arts of Legilimency and Occlumency, _only_ under my instructions. Is that clear?"

"Yes…?"

"Good —" he lifted his wand towards Theodore "— now I'm going to attempt to enter your mind using Legilimency, and you will attempt to block me out."

Theodore gripped the sides of his chair and started to breathe quickly. "Wait, right now?! I-I don't know what to do! I — what do I do?!"

"Clear your mind," said Professor Snape, wand still raised. "Rid yourself of your emotions and suppress everything. Leave it blank. Can you do that? Now, prepare yourself. _Legilimente!_ "

Theodore had no time to think or clear his mind. A hand was violently thrashing in his head, clawing everywhere as images and memories burst from deep inside. Six years old, Louise was crying under a tree at his old school because somebody said that her dad didn't love her… he sat with her, telling her to stop crying which oddly made her laugh and…

A sharp sting was throbbing at the back of his head as it was clear that he had fallen over, terribly in fact. Theodore winced in pain and held his head tightly before he felt himself being pulled up from the ground rather gently. He swayed side to side and found his chair again, sitting down when his vision cleared.

"The hell just happened?" grumbled Theodore. "I hadn't thought about that in years."

"You did better than I expected, but it was not good enough. You were still tied to your emotions and didn't clear your mind quickly enough," noted Professor Snape. "We'll try again. Get ready."

"It would be better if I just learnt —"

"No. Now ready yourself."

Theodore retained his sulky mood and held on tightly to the chair before he heard' _"Legilimente!"_ and felt the hand thrashing through his mind again. Seven years old on the first day back to school, and he was already being shoved around… that pencil didn't just find itself lodged deep into Ryan Douglas's backside, did it…?

He fell onto the ground again, still letting him reach too far inside. Theodore grudgingly got back onto his feet and tried to clear his mind as Professor Snape muttered the spell again and again and again. Memories when he was angry and nobody could cheer him up except for Louise; that day when he made his desk light on fire without anything on it burn to a crisp, or that day he and Louise decided to walk off from that school trip and go near a cliff where she —

Theodore's chest tightened. He didn't know which way was up until he could see clearly again. He was barely rocking off two legs on his chair, almost about to topple over until he found balance again. Theodore breathed heavily and looked down on the ground. No, no way was he ever going to see that. _Ever_.

"A fond memory?" asked Professor Snape as he stashed his wand away.

Theodore looked at him and said nothing. Professor Snape squinted his eyes and saw something in him — Theodore could tell. He knew that Theodore was hiding something from him.

"Whatever it was, you managed to conceal it from me. The potential is there, I can see that. But we cannot continue tonight anymore, it's late."

Theodore groggily stood up and wiped his sweaty forehead, then aimed to the door — that was excessively exhausting.

"Be here next week at the same time," Professor Snape called out, "and make sure that you practice eliminating your emotions and thoughts every night between. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," said Theodore quietly in a tired voice. He opened the door but looked back to see him putting his face in his hands and signing loudly. Theodore then left the office quietly and made his way back to the common room. His limbs felt like jelly, but his mind felt even worse. He was desperate for his bed and was scared that he'd accidentally sleep on a stairway if he wasn't fast enough to the Tower.

' _What were you expecting? New magic means hard work, right? I can't believe he almost saw that… I could've sworn I made myself forget that…'_

The Parselmouth detracted from his slip up and spoke the password to the Fat Lady. The warmness of the room hit him in the face, almost persuading him to drop to the ground and sleep. Theodore yawned and rubbed his eyes — just a little further, he told himself. Then maybe — he looked over at the tables. Hermione was still there, swishing her wand, quill in the other hand as she yawned loudly. Gervaise slipped up the stairway, leaving just the two of them alone. Great.

"Oh, hey, Theo," Hermione yawned again when Theodore took a seat next to her. Theodore looked down at the badges in the box and saw that they were flashing green, red, yellow and blue with the words 'JIM PICKENS' flashing in a sequence. "You guys took your time. How did it go?"

"Great, just great. But I'm feeling _stupidly_ tired right now, so I'm going to bed."

Hermione nodded, put her wand down and stretched. "Well, goodnight. I'm going to see if I can squeeze in any Transfiguration and Ancient Runes homework in the next two hours or so —"

"Hermione, stop. Just go to bed. I know that you're tired, and you know that you're tired. You've been working on that for the whole day, and we've got school tomorrow," mumbled Theodore rubbing his eyes again. "You know you want to go sleep."

"But I… I can still fit some more… it's not like I haven't… all right, I'll go sleep."

"Look at that, I've finally managed to convince you to do something," Theodore retorted through a lazy smile as they both stood up from the table and walked to the stairways. "Next thing you know, I'll — why d'you stop?"

Hermione spun around slowly, and she bit her lip which Theodore couldn't help but resist — wait… "Um… you know when you said… when you said that I was…" Her voice was trembling and so was she.

"Yeah…?" Theodore finished for her — his breathing felt out of control.

"Did… did you mean it…?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't… right?"

…

Theodore's insides felt like they would explode at any moment. And her face, her face that refused to leave his mind came closer and closer. Hermione blinked rapidly before her eyes closed, and her nose barely brushed against the tip of his own. Every part of him was telling him to push forward, to do what he wanted, what he now craved from her. Both of them were breathing loudly, but neither of them cared. Theodore neared his lips closer to hers and instinctively opened his eyes to see hers, brown and beautiful with —

"Argh…!" Theodore winced as he pulled back. That rush was stronger than anything he ever felt from her. So much care, and too much… no, not that…

"It's your headaches again, isn't it?" she asked before setting her things on the bottom step of the girls' stairway and gently pulling Theodore's hand away to look at him.

 _Control your emotions, control your emotions, control your…_

Hermione kissed him on the cheek, but just barely next to his mouth, just an inch away. She then pulled away and patted his chest, eyes just glimmering with what Louise's were filled with when she saw him again. Was she…?

"Goodnight, Theo," said Hermione before walking back over to the stairway.

"'Night..."

' _Kiss her…'_

 _Control your emotions…_

…

"How can I…?"

 **Damn it, Theo, you were so close! So close! Happy New Year, guys (I know I'm late, ok?). So this is where stuff is going to get wild! More schools, more people from different places, and Umbridge being a part of the story much earlier than in canon (god…)!**

 **And we've also got Nott and Gioveri talking to Theo, who may be of some use to him in the future — who knows? Hope you've absorbed everything in this chap and will look out for the next. Later!**

 **P.S: I've also changed the incantation of the Legilimency spell so to differentiate between the spell and the actual person using the Legilimency, since they're the same in canon**


	47. Chapter 47: The Chosen Champion

"… and by the sixteenth century, wizards had made sure of the restriction of wands for the non-human magical community, thus sparking the first major rebellion from goblins, which was then led by none other than Bloodjaw the Barbarian, a notorious goblin who delved into Dark magic, such as blood maledictions and other insignificant methods to battle wizardkind, then leading to…"

Theodore lifted his head just a bit from being sunken in his crossed arms on the desk to see Hermione scowling at Professor Binns two desks to his right. It was a wonder how she even managed to keep upright when it was just ten minutes into the lesson, and he was shocked with how he still managed to retain anything Professor Binns had to drone on about.

But trying to stay focused in his History of Magic class was the least of Theodore's concerns when they were measured to each other. It had only been three days since he learned that the pain in his head was just a branch of magic that he couldn't control — Legilimency. How he couldn't tell that was the case, he didn't know at all. And somehow it wasn't all that easy grasping Legilimency like he did with everything else. Theodore tried to clear his mind of emotions and thoughts, but they'd always return with the intent of sticking and showing no sign of bending to his will. Sure, the pain lessened as he walked through the school, but it was still there — and he wanted it gone.

"… I don't think she does," whispered Parvati on his immediate left to Lavender on the desk to his right. "Padma says that she won't consider coming to the common room at all for any reason."

Lavender pouted and put her quill in her ink bottle. "Well, we can't go to Ravenclaw Common Room, wherever that is. We'll get outed by everybody there!"

"Believe that. I'm sure that she'll come around soon, after all, I don't think Padma talks to too many people in her dorm — but that's just me."

Theodore had his eyes trained on the board, even if his mind was entirely somewhere else, and just ignored the two girls whispering next to him. It was unlucky for him to anticipate that being early would get him a decent seat without considering Parvati being right behind him — it was an 'oh well' moment in his —

"Do you have a girlfriend, Theo?"

Theodore lazily blinked and turned his head to Parvati. "Huh?"

"I asked if you have a girlfriend," said Parvati in a lowered voice with a teasing smile. "Well, do you?"

"No, I — what? I don't have a girlfriend!" spluttered Theodore before noticing that his voice had grown a little too loud. "Why do you keep on asking me this question? Since Monday —"

"I thought that you would've gotten the hint right now, but I guess I wasn't clear enough."

"Um… Parvati…?"

Before she could speak any further, the bell for lunch saved the Parselmouth from what he knew to be Parvati's next words. Parvati huffed but shook it off as she reached for her bag and happily walked away with Lavender as if nothing happened. The class soon cleared out with Theodore as the last one through the blackboard, clearly stuck in his own thoughts once again.

' _It's been how many days since Nott gave me this stupid challenge! How the hell am I supposed to get into Slytherin Common Room when no Slytherin wants to talk to me? He's got them all under his thumb — sort of impressive, to be honest…'_

He walked away from the classroom when everybody had left and made his way to the Great Hall. Once he arrived, Theodore then sat down next to Neville and Ron, claiming a plate of his own until everybody began to break out in fits of laughter.

"Elvira, you've got her spot on!" cackled Seamus with a pointed finger to Neville. "I-I can't stop —!"

"Wha's 'oing on?" asked Theodore and Ron with stuffed mouths, leaning forward to see what the cause of everybody laughing was.

Theodore widened his eyes in shock before remembering the apparent gift that Elvira held among everybody in Hogwarts — sat next to Neville was, who Theodore barely remembered seeing in the past, was Neville's grandmother in the typical uniform, grinning at the heavily blushing Neville.

"Neville, do you remember when you accidentally pushed the short man on stilts into the fountain, and your grandmother made this face?" said Elvira before twisting her wrinkly face into a haunting scowl, then changing back to her usual self to laugh out loud.

"Y-yeah," stammered Neville with a small smile. "She was pretty mad when that happened…"

Elvira elbowed him softly and started on her food. "I thought it was funny, and I'll never forget that!"

Laughter turned into chuckles as Seamus, Dean and the twins ceased their wheezing to eat. Meanwhile, Theodore's mind was still everywhere — he was having one of his 'moments' as Hermione would put it, and it was mostly because of her. Because of her, he couldn't truly eliminate his emotions to control his mind from going haywire again. He didn't at all forget when they were in the common room alone together, lips so close that if he had moved forward, he could've had her right there.

' _And she hasn't said anything about it. She hasn't said anything about… anything! The elevator, the train, now the common room.'_ He lifted his eyes to Hermione right in front of him. She was intently listening to Ron and Harry saying something… something that maybe he too should've been listening to…

"All right, he's not listening," muttered Ron before snapping his fingers in front of the dazed Parselmouth's face. "You with us now, or are you going to keep gawking at He—?"

"So you were saying, Harry," Hermione expertly cut off Ron. "Sirius sent you a letter with some stuff he found in his room at his old house?"

Harry nodded and brought out a letter from his robes. He folded it open and said, "He sent it last night, which is why I didn't show it earlier. You're not going to believe what it's about."

"What?"

"You know how the Ministry was supposed to help Sirius get back on track since it was technically their fault for him being in Azkaban? Just two days ago, he was at the Ministry to make sure that he wasn't being conned or anything —"

"Makes sense for him not to trust them," Ron interrupted before letting Harry speak on.

"Well, Sirius did a bit of 'wondering' and wound up finding something that we should've known would come after the trial was finished," Harry continued in a lowered voice before bringing his head closer. Theodore, Hermione and Ron did the same as he said, "It's about Umbridge: Sirius said that Umbridge might be looking into making anti-werewolf movements and legalisation of hunting all werewolves, not just insane ones."

Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. "But — but that means that Professor Lupin —"

"Is in danger from the Ministry if this is made legal," finished Harry, handing the letter around for them to read. "This can't be good at all."

"You think?" Theodore returned darkly, pressing his thumbs into the letter harshly with Umbridge in his mind. "The worse thing about this is that she'll probably keep it under wraps if it's allowed. Professor Lupin wouldn't see it coming before it's too late."

"They won't do that, though. I mean, Fudge isn't paranoid enough to allow this. Dad said that there's already a unit dedicated to capturing werewolves — only the _nasty_ ones. There've been loads of laws about werewolves over the years to change it again now suddenly."

"Whatever happens, I hope he'll be OK," Hermione sighed, looking over to the empty chair that should've been occupied by their new Defence teacher. "Do you ever wonder where he could be right now?"

The boys shrugged but were sure to have their own ideas on where their former teacher could be hiding. Theodore guessed somewhere that had a relatively small population, just to avoid hurting anybody. Seemed like the best speculation so far.

Behind Hermione could Theodore see Nott getting up from his seat and leaving the Great Hall, once again, on his own. But the urge to go up to him as he did before wasn't present in Theodore as he carried on eating, slowly going back to glancing at Hermione again.

When lunch finally finished, the Gryffindor fourth-years then set off for Transfigurations as their final lesson of the day, the perfect way to end it off — for Theodore and Hermione anyway.

"Five people," scolded Professor McGonagall at her desk, "only five people have handed in decent Cross-Species Switch Spell homework, the topic that we'll be focusing on for the whole term!"

Nobody said a word in fear of causing any more trouble. Sticking to her code of conduct, Professor McGonagall then began to hand out several detentions to everybody except Theodore, Hermione, Elvira, Ron and Dean, leaving Harry perplexed by what was wrong with his own.

"Don't blame me," snapped Hermione on the same desk as Harry. "You shouldn't be copying my homework in the first place! Now, look at you!"

"So how come Ron is off the hook? He looked at your work as well!"

Professor McGonagall hushed them before Ron could come up with a retort at his shared desk with Theodore. The lesson then started with changing bats into mice and back again, a lesson that half of the class struggled to deal with. As Lavender shrieked from Seamus essentially murdering his own mouse, Theodore effortlessly turned his mouse into a bat, then he decided to change it into a white rabbit with no lingering tail; then he transformed it into a small snake and back into a mouse before clattering his wand on the desk in boredom.

"Showoff," smirked Ron before he tried to catch the mice flailing on its side with a single bat-wing.

Theodore hadn't touched the Slytherin book in days and knew that it was a matter of time before Madam Pince would hunt him down for it. Sure, he could ask for another note to get it back or even sneak in during the night to take it like Harry attempted to do during the first year with the Flamel situation. But there was also Nott's 'quest' on the side as well. One clearly outweighed the other, especially when one had a much better chance of opening to him when he wanted to.

"A little bit of help, o' great and wise Riddle?"

"OK, OK. Look, if you hold your wand this way and bend your wrist like this, then it'll be easier for you to do it."

Ron took three turns at waving his wand to the suffering mouse before it flapped around the room like the bat it was, desperate to escape from the embarrassed Ron. Theodore commended him and offered his mouse for Ron to practice on before the bell signalled the end of the unusually dull lesson.

As they left Professor McGonagall's classroom and walked up the staircase back to the common room, Elvira pointed out an owl that was flying too wildly for Theodore not to recognise him as his own. Sawer fluttered down to his master's arm and demanded a scratch above his beak, nipping slightly at Theodore's bicep when he wouldn't.

"I thought Viripin was supposed to be the attention-seeker between you two. And I don't suppose that you have a letter for me, do you? You've been gone for a while now." Theodore finished scratching the owl's head and took the attached envelope from his leg. "I wonder how Louise is doing…"

He slipped the letter in his pocket and turned back down to the first floor, briefly announcing to the others that he needed to have a chat with Professor Snape regarding of a previous 'encounter' when he was stopped by Hermione. "You said that you were going to help on charming pamphlets and honorary coins for JIM PICKENS, Theodore," she reminded him bluntly.

Theodore tilted his head at Harry and Ron, who both pretended that they couldn't see him at all. An awkward smile grew on his face as he replied with, "Right, I almost forgot… _stop pecking my ear, Sawer!_ "

"Great!" grinned Hermione before she trotted right past him and down the staircase.

Ron and Harry said they'll wait for the both of them to talk more about Sirius's letter and went up to the common room, leaving Theodore to turn around and follow Hermione to presumably the library grudgingly, and Sawer to race behind Ron and Harry.

' _I shouldn't be complaining at all: this is good, right? Just me and her alone… but… I have to get to the dungeons and at least find where Slytherin's common room is! But I don't want to do the same thing last year either…"_

Theodore was surprised to see Hermione keeping herself so close to him as they walked through the fairly busy corridors, chattering away about what they needed to do with something on the side as well. She suggested that they should try and look up anything on house-elves since there was nothing that she could find in her 'trusty' _Hogwarts: A History_. Agreeing with her to hide his disappointment, Theodore then scoured the library before taking multiple books and setting them on their table.

"Now, I was thinking that we should use the same spell that I did for the badges to make them display different things," started Hermione when she shoved her mountain of books to the side to bring out several, _several_ parchments, all empty except one, "but we could just imprint this one onto all of these instead! Isn't that a great idea?"

Theodore thought for a while before asking her, "Couldn't you find a spell that could multiply the pamphlets instead? We have to be a little bit realistic and think that not _everybody_ is going to keep their —"

He didn't finish his sentence when she frowned at what he was about to say. Hermione then cleared her throat and mentioned that she did find a Doubling Charm, but the copies would eventually rot away quicker than usual, leaving them useless in the end.

"Ah… got it. So, house-elves…" he said to himself as he opened the first book. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, boredom was attempting to drag Theodore by the neck, slowly forcing him to hold on a single page for several minutes as he blinked lifelessly at the book. If he had gotten lucky, he could've coerced a first- or second-year to let him in the common room without them uttering a word to Nott…

"Theo, do you really want to be here?"

"Hmm? Of course, I do. Why — d'you think I don't want to?"

Hermione dropped her wand on the table and crossed her arms. Her eyes were narrowed at the Parselmouth, who kept completely calm in the face. "You didn't seem all that happy when I reminded you earlier. Do you want to be here?"

"Yes, I do!" stressed Theodore with an odd smile creeping on his face. "You asked me to help you, so I am, Hermione."

…

"You seem distracted," Hermione commented as she picked her wand up again to wave it over the plain parchments, "like always."

"You know me, always thinking about something else…"

Silence returned as Theodore flicked through pages of elves fighting one another — but no mention of house-elves — without looking up at Hermione. He could see and hear her continuously flicking her wand over the stack, enchanting them so that they'd arrange themselves on her left. She still had her golden earrings in that complemented her tanned complexion, and although her hair was loose and free this time, her curls were more defined and a little less 'bushy' than before.

Theodore sighed and lowered his head onto the desk to look further down the aisle they were in, only seeing a few seventh-years collecting books, along with a lonesome first-year. By this rate, he'd never find out his wizarding family on his father's side with all these distractions —

"You can go if you want to," stated Hermione bluntly without looking at Theodore. "I won't stop you."

Theodore lifted his head, confused by the sudden coldness. "But I just said that I'm going to stay and help you. Unless you want me to go, that is."

…

"Do you want me to go?"

"Theodore, nobody's forcing you to stay, so leave if you want, I really don't mind."

"Do you want me to go?" Theodore asked again.

"If you want to go," she emphasised each syllable, eyebrows now scrunching, "then you can —"

"OK, but do you want me to go —"

"No!" Hermione then quickly covered her mouth when the seventh-years stared at them. She went back to charming the pamphlets as the silence once again filled their area; so did the awkward tension as well. "If… if I'm being a bore, then you can go if you want, Theo. I really don't mind, honestly."

"You're not a bore," Theodore returned softly, reaching for his bag until he stopped when he had the straps around his fingers. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

Hermione nodded her head, slid the books that he collected over to her side and started on the highest one. Theodore stood up and swung his bag around his back before walking off to the door, but he suddenly turned back and stood next to Hermione, both surprised and puzzled by why he was still there.

He then gently tilted her chin up with a finger, smiling down at her eyes that blinked in befuddlement before she couldn't resist a smile coming over — Theodore reassured her that he was not at all bored by her, gaining a roll of her eyes and a squeeze of the hand before he left her on her own.

Theodore crossed paths with Gioveri slipping through the library door, who seemed to be more sociable upon their last encounter — he still went red in his cheeks for some reason. The Parselmouth simply said hello and didn't waste any time in going down to the dungeons, just passing Professor Snape's office door in the cold hallway. Another part of the school that he never visited, Theodore had to be cautious, just in case his intuition was correct. He didn't want any random Slytherin catching him out.

He reached stone steps as the air grew colder and damp, and the corridor itself was losing light, despite the numerous torches on the sides. It felt as if he were going down to the Chamber of Secrets again. Theodore just stopped at a small archway where the steps came to an end and listened intently to the noises further down, for he could hear murmurs from three different people before it went quiet again.

' _OK, I think I remember this place from when I was inside the diary — lucky me, eh? I sort of had to go up through there, so if I come down here, then…'_

Theodore shimmied along the tight passage and turned right until he reached a dead end with a slimy stone wall in front of him. He touched the wall with his palm and twisted his head to face away from it, now remembering in vivid detail of him following the manifestation of his father within the diary, leaving the common room to kill in secret.

This was it. He found the entrance to Slytherin Common Room! Now it was just a matter of guessing a password out of nowhere.

"Pure-blood," he uttered quietly directly to the wall. Not even a single drop of water moved down. Theodore then blurted out, "Salazar," earning no results from the obvious answer.

Merlin was next, then it was purity, ambition and a few more others until it became apparent that Theodore was utterly stuck.

"I'm seriously underestimating the Slytherins right now. Come on, Theo, think! You've got a common room that's been here since Slytherin himself, and he was all pro-purity and that nonsense. The guy is obsessed with his bloodline, so…"

Without thinking at all, he perked up and hissed, "I'm the Heir of Slytherin…?" to the wall, waiting for something to happen. At first, the wall began to shake as if to judge whether his method of entering was acceptable. Fortunately, it was as a stone door concealed within the wall slid open, revealing the common room to him.

"You're too good at this, Theodore. Way too good," he said to himself smugly with a grin. "Now all I have to do is wait it out until —"

"— so I didn't have time for it at all," moaned a seventh-year Slytherin girl as she trotted down the stairs. "Flitwick is punishing us, isn't he? Never gave us this much work in the first-year…"

The boy next to her of a similar age scoffed and said, "Don't be stupid, Elisa. Of course, we won't get the same work from before, it's — hold on a second. Why is this still open?"

Elisa lazily lifted her shoulders and slipped inside, leaving the boy to stare around the area suspiciously before going through the open door. Just as it was about to slide back to its original position, Theodore leapt through from his hiding place behind a tight area of two statues of unknown wizards, biting his tongue when his heel was barely caught between the closing door.

But the pain didn't last long at all when his discovery of knowing how to enter the common room filled him up with incurable joy. Theodore ran up the steps and down the dungeon corridors, briefly running into Professor Snape — it still felt awkward from their Occlumency lesson — and going up to Gryffindor Tower before swerving to the library instead. If he was going to be secretly happy, then he might as well be with somebody who'd make him happier. Right?

* * *

Eleven fifty-seven. Theodore had gone up to the dorm after losing fantastically to Ron in wizard chess three times in a row and used that as an excuse to wait it out until later on in the night.

Once the rest of the fourth-year boys went to bed, Theodore waited it out some more until he hissed at Viripin to carefully retrieve Harry's Cloak and the Marauder's Map, covering his actions by saying that he was merely 'borrowing' it for the time being.

Viripin didn't question him and did as she was told, coming back with both items before she curled up in her basket. Theodore thanked her and crept out of the dorm; then common room and began his way down to the dungeons.

As he had the Cloak above his entire self, Theodore made sure to check the Map and his footing periodically, just so that he wouldn't accidentally fall off a moving staircase from following Filch's movements for too long — not that he would've died. The only obstacle that was a threat to him was Professor Snape drifting along the dungeon corridor, but his label on the Map soon moved away to where his quarters presumably were.

Theodore then hurried along the dungeons without slapping against the ground too hard and reached the stone wall. "I am the Heir of Slytherin…" he hissed softly again — he suddenly froze at the thought of anybody on the other side thinking that it was odd for the door to open with nobody behind it.

' _You're invisible, idiot.'_

Restfulness returned to him as he walked through the closing doorway and into what could've been (should've been?) his own common room. Long and low, much lower than the inside of Gryffindor Tower — lamps with green fire swung all over the place, giving off a greenish hue to the entire area, just like the Chamber of Secrets.

Theodore could recognise the fireplace underneath the still portrait of his ancestor and the sofas, chairs, the low stone arches that led to the dorms of Slytherin House. He remembered it all, but he couldn't quite put a finger on something that felt off right there — it was… homely. Unlike in his father's memory, it looked less tense and somewhere you'd kick back and relax. Or maybe it was just him.

His suspicions were right about one thing, and it was that people were still awake at this time. However, nobody seemed to realise that the door had been opened — good for him Theodore supposed. And it only got better when the person he'd been looking for was right there —

"— and all he ever talks about is Potter and Riddle," clucked Pansy on the table to Theodore's immediate right — he had to make sure to move as far away as possible as Pansy was gesticulating frantically. "You'd think he had a thing for either of them with the way he always mentions them."

Daphne had a silky beige dressing gown that complemented her hair, and she crossed her legs while boorishly staring over at the boy near the fireplace. "You think so? Potter is… whatever, but I honestly wouldn't blame him if he were secretly pining for Riddle."

"You know that he's a half-blood, right?" said Pansy with a mocking grin. "I don't think that 'Daddy dearest' would like you eyeing someone with Muggle blood inside them."

"Riddle's an exception," Daphne shot back cooly, flicking her hair before spitting it out of her mouth. "Compared to every pure-blooded boy in our year, he's got them beat. I wonder if he's really a half-blood… And it's a shame as well that he didn't get into Slytherin."

Pansy waved it off and said, "You'd be better off with… Blaise, or even Theodore — _Nott_. Even if neither of them are… you know…"

Daphne's face became neutral as she crossed her arms and leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling. "To be honest, I wouldn't care if he was a half-blood. Mother and Father always talk about getting a nice pure-blood boy, but here we are, stuck with Crabbe and Goyle. Vile…"

"I'll give you that. So then, Miss Greengrass, why is it that you've never tried to speak with the pretty boy? It must be because he's in that stupid House, right, or that h;e's friend with the Buck-Toothed Mudblood?"

Pansy was so invested in her snickering that she didn't realise Daphne's face not even twitching a little. She just carried on staring upwards towards the sky in deep musing, narrowing her eyes to focus on something until Daphne declared that she was going to sleep — Theodore didn't realise that she was considerably tall, just a few inches underneath his nose.

But he soon forgot about the two — Pansy a little harder after her comment — and drifted along the carpet that went up and down the circular stone floor, occupying himself at the same time dodging the remaining Slytherins that soon went to bed.

It finally came down to the final one, the person who had the ridiculous idea of him being there, sitting by himself on a chair at the fireplace and doing what seemed to be Ancient Runes homework. Theodore slowly walked up to Nott, but then he halted when he looked over at the portrait of Slytherin in his youth: sharp-faced; flowing, jet-black hair with a prominent widow's peak; deep-green and silver robes and laying on his chest was the oddity of the portrait, besides the fact that was still.

There was an indentation around his neck, something missing that could be fixed inside if found. Theodore thought that an oval locket was what it could've been, judging from the chain that led around Slytherin's neck.

' _That's weird. Someone obviously didn't do a good job with this one right here. It's almost like the portrait in our common room… where Gryffindor also doesn't move… and his sword is missing in the picture as well…'_

Theodore pushed portraits out of his mind and spun around one last time to make sure that the coast was clear. No, just him and Nott alone together. Now he could finally get over the stupidity of this challenge.

"Well, I'm here," said Theodore casually after taking off the Cloak and stuffing it under his shirt.

Nott yelped and hit his knee under the table, dropping his work all on the floor. Theodore quietly sat down and grinned with victory and contempt for being forced to do something risky (and nourishingly thrilling).

"Surprised? I thought you would be."

"How did — b-but you were —! That's impossible!" spluttered Nott on his knees. He threw his things back on the table and stood up with disbelief on his face, gawking at the relaxed Parselmouth. "How did you get in here?!"

"Theodore, what's with all the noise?"

Theodore immediately ducked behind a wide armchair and covered his mouth — that was Daphne's voice, but he heard another deeper voice saying, "You're always like this every night — just go to sleep!"

"Sorry for ruining your precious beauty sleep, Blaise. I thought… I thought I saw like a Murtlap or something running in the corner…"

Theodore looked around the corner of the chair and saw Blaise scowling at Nott and Daphne shaking her head as they both called him pathetic at the same time, turning back to their dorms. When they left, Theodore then stepped out from his hiding place and sat back in the seat — however, he kept his eyes trained on the arches instead.

"How about you don't go screaming your head off at nighttime, OK?" the Parselmouth mocked. "You didn't expect me to come in during the day with everybody here?"

"But how did you get in?" Nott asked incredulously. "I had to beg the prefects to make the password into a word you'd never guess — and I'm still not telling you what it is."

"Pfft. I wouldn't need it if I got in without it. All you had to do was… pretend to be a snake and hiss at the door. It's pretty simple, Nott."

…

"Are you mocking me?"

Theodore rolled his eyes and looked at Nott with seriousness. "Look, stop wasting my time. I did your stupid dare, so hold up your end of the deal. I want to see the book."

"Don't think that you can just command me —"

"Is… is that Riddle?" Both Theodores twisted their heads to look over at the dorm entrances to see Daphne with her hair tied up, looking incredibly confused. "Why is he here…? Did you give him the password, Nott? You know you're not allowed to do that."

Nott jumped up from his chair and clasped his fingers together as he said desperately, "Daphne, he got in on his own because I — look, I'm begging you, OK? Me, begging _you_. Don't say anything about this to any of the prefects! Please!"

A sly grin grew on her face as her eyes fell on the frozen Theodore, whose heart was clenched with anxiety. "You'll get into a lot of trouble if this were to get out. I can't just simply _forget_ that I saw some Gryffindor in our room, _especially_ Riddle…"

…

"I'll… I'll get you the thing that you wanted for your birthday…" sighed Nott in defeat.

Daphne clapped her hands, called it a deal and walked back over to the arch before she looked over her shoulder to look at the silent Parselmouth up and down. A curl of the lip was all that was shown when she left the two boys alone to whatever they were going to do.

"So…" started Theodore after the silence passed, "can I see the book, please?"

"Sure," Nott replied politely in a quiet voice. He went into the boys' dorm, then came back out three minutes later with a sturdy brown book with leaflike patterns everywhere except the spine, which was coated in scratched silver and gold.

He shoved it over to Theodore and leaned on his cheek with his eyes closed until Theodore asked him how much time did he have. "All night if you have to," Nott grumbled, "but you're not going anywhere with that book."

Theodore said nothing and turned the first page of the book titled _A Pure-Blood Directory_ , with no mention of a Cantankerous Nott, inside or out.

' _Abbot… Black — that was obvious — Crouch… Flint… Gaunt… wait, Gaunt?'_

Theodore's finger landed on the section belonging to the Gaunt family when it seemed like it was déjà vu of some sort. "Gaunt…?" he whispered to himself, forgetting that he was alone.

"Is that who you're related to?" asked Nott curiously, bringing his head closer.

"Uh… I'm not too sure yet; it's too early to make assumptions. It says here that…" Theodore didn't bother to read out loud as he'd rather read it himself: Nott thought the same way as well.

 _ **House of Gaunt**_

 _Hailing from the grand castles of Northern Ireland; carefully obscured from Muggles by deep magic in the unwelcoming mountains, the House of Gaunt was once a wizarding family of absolute status and wealth. Many believed that they were innately powerful from such a rich lineage of recognised wizards and witches._

 _As the prominent family made a name for itself through their notable members, such as Cervise Gaunt, who was believed to be the founding father of the title as he was described as 'gaunt' throughout his lifetime of sickness, the House of Gaunt had made several connections with other recognisable wizarding names as well: Sayre, Ollivander, Potter(excluded from the Sacred Twenty-Nine), and the two that they took absolute pride in, Peverall and of course, Salazar Slytherin himself._

 _Many believed that Cervise Gaunt and Sabina Slytherin, the famed Founder's youngest, and only daughter, who was beloved by her father, had grown together in the castle of early Hogwarts, later to fall for each other and carry on the bloodline that is the House of Gaunt. But it's unknown what happened to the couple after Salazar had disappeared from his school after disputes with his fellow Founders…_

Theodore stopped there. There was more, but he stopped. So much… so, so much more. This wasn't even half the information on his blatant family, for there were at least four more pages about the Gaunts. And the families that they were connected to: Sayre, like Elvira's name; Potter, which evidently belonged to Harry, and Ollivander. Somewhere, far across his father's side was he very distantly related to all the Ollivanders he met; Elvira, and —

"They can't be your family, can they?" Nott spoke up with furrowed eyebrows. "I mean, not only are you not a Parselmouth — because wouldn't that be the case if they were Slytherin's lot — but it says here that they've almost driven themselves into infertility."

"What? I — yeah! Right, of course! All that inbreeding and shit…but look here. It says that they're related to the Ollivanders and Potters. And also these Peveralls, do you have a clue about who they are?"

Nott crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, lifting an eyebrow which ended up with him doing the same to the other. "You seem awfully invested in a family that you claim isn't yours."

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it, now? Well, everything you need to know about the 'Peveralls' is right there in that book. Or you can just give the book back, thanks."

Theodore yawned loudly and slid the closed book to Nott. It was getting awfully late for the busy day ahead of him, and he wasn't looking to be caught off guard by any of his teachers — he was still at war with Hermione, after all.

"Well, thanks for letting me see the book," announced Theodore as he stood up from his seat and aimed for the entrance wall. "But never ask me to do that again next time, OK?"

Nott laughed. "Next time? There won't be a next time, Riddle, we're done. This is probably the last time we'll ever speak to each other anyway."

"Or so you think…"

The words Peverall and Gaunt rotated in his mind like a spinning top, never attempting to settle down to let him think. Theodore left Nott on his own and waited until the sliding door was firmly shut to throw the Cloak over his head and carry on to Gryffindor Tower to clear his head.

The Gaunts had to be his family, and he firmly believed that without question. Who's to say how far the name went until it came down to Riddle — obviously to his father; what about his grandmother, the mother of the Dark Lord? It was a frightening thought to think about who could give birth to such a monster.

' _And Marvolo,'_ he thought to himself when he opened the Fat Lady's portrait and climbed through, _'that's a wizarding name, so maybe it could be a Marvolo Gaunt…? Argh, I should've stayed and read the whole thing! Nott's probably not going to let me see it again as well. And Peverall. Who are the Peveralls…?'_

* * *

"'S not… working…" panted Theodore. He wiped his face and rubbed his eyes which stung a little from straining them too much.

Professor Snape slipped his wand back inside his robes and turned back to his desk to wave his hand over it. "Hmph. You're progressing faster than I would imagine — _I guess you were blessed with talent like your mother and father_ …"

"Huh…?"

"Nothing," said Professor Snape flatly before sitting down at his desk.

Theodore staggered on his feet until he found balance and held his head tightly. The pang in his brain was fresh, and he could barely get a full sentence out. "I… I can't fully protect my mind. I try pushing you out, but… but you're too strong —"

"There are people out there far more powerful than the likes of me," Professor Snape interrupted, his face without emotion. "If it ever comes to a point where you'll be cornered, your strength alone will be the only thing to save you."

"Yeah, but… nobody's going to try and destroy my mind. Right?"

Professor Snape huffed again and crossed his arms. A curl of the lip appeared on his face as he muttered, "I doubt that you'd lose time to defend yourself when your mind confuses them: especially when they see you trying to win the heart of Miss Granger."

Theodore choked on his words and grumbled as he looked away. Of course, he'd know about that — and he wasn't trying to win her heart! It was just really… He wiped his forehead again and said nothing, trying to pluck anything from his mind to smother his godfather's snide remark.

…

"So… the Trials of Doomspell," began Theodore, scratching his hair, "seems like it's a pretty big deal, especially if Hogwarts win. It's not that far from now, is it?"

Professor Snape's brow arched a little behind his hair, possibly because he wasn't expecting such a casual conversation between them. "It's just the Ministry flaunting the school's reputation after last year's fiasco. Nothing more, nothing less."

"But that was a _good_ thing. Pettigrew's in Azkaban so… well, aren't you happy about that?" Theodore saw no change in his face as the unpleasant tension filled the room.

…

"Why is your Patronus a doe?" Theodore asked off the top of his head when recalling the Dementor army in Hogsmeade. "Is it —?"

"Stop asking questions," Professor Snape cut in irritably as something glimmered in his hand, something small and silver.

"I'm — I'm sorry, but it's just that I've been trying to make a Patronus for months and nothing's working. I've asked around about how it works, so maybe if you could —"

"You have Potions first thing in the morning, and I won't give you a free pass if you're late or doze off during my lesson. Go back to your common room — we're finished for today."

Theodore wrinkled his forehead in disappointment and lifted himself from his chair to turn to the door. It was only one measly thing that he wanted to know, just one thing. And just when he thought that they were getting somewhere.

He sighed and thought that sleep would be best, seeing as how he barely got any during the past few nights. He decided to hold onto the Slytherin book a little longer than he was allowed to; he had to think of a way for Nott to lend him his book again, and Hermione had persuaded him to help her with charming the pamphlets. He'd just ask Harry and —

" _Hope…"_

He caught it just in time for him to stop with the door partially closed behind him. Professor Snape's head was hung low, and he was scribbling on sheets of parchments without looking up. Theodore then closed the door without slipping a word out, caught up in his own head with what possible significance hope could have with making a Patronus.

' _Hope? Why hope?'_

Unlike many of his nights, Theodore was restful and woke up the next morning feeling on top of the world — even Viripin was livelier today. After he had gotten ready for the day and Viripin was hidden in his pocket (she never went to lesson with him, so it was a first), he then entered the common room with Harry and Ron and was taken aback by what they saw — and heard.

"We all need to see the bigger picture and make a stand for the oppressed within our society!" announced Hermione from the middle of the common room. In her hand was a collecting tin labelled 'JIM PICKENS' and above her shoulder was the floating badge box, which seemed pretty full from the rustling noise that it made. "Inheritance Tests, people — more like Inheritance scams which purges families into oblivion — took you guys long enough to wake up."

Ron coughed and sunk his hands in his pockets and said, "So… any reason why you're being extra aggressive this morning?"

"I'm not aggressive, Ron," snapped Hermione before quickly regaining her composure. "Theodore and I are both cofounders of JIM PICKENS, which means Justice for Inhumane —"

"Hold on," Theodore broke in, " _I'm_ a cofounder? I thought I was just helping you to get you started, I didn't think I was actually a member."

"Well, you are. That's why I gave you the coins — to signify that you're a high-ranking member of JIM PICKENS. The same would go for you two _if you hadn't lost your coins_ ," seethed Hermione before fiercely waving her tin in front of a frightened Gervaise's face.

Both Harry and Ron looked offended as Harry said, "But Theo also —!"

"Shut up, Harry!"

"OK, but we helped you out with the pamphlets," continued Harry after narrowing his eyes at his cousin. "It's not really our fault that Peeves grabbed hold of half and decided to bomb first-years with flaming parchment balls."

"— only for two Sickles. Why, thank you — hey! These are ten pence coins! Don't think that I'm an idiot: I'm a Muggle-born!" A few of the fifth-years snickered as they walked away, leaving Hermione to scowl at them before turning back to the boys. "I don't get it! Why can't I get them to join? It's as if they're writing me off as a waste of time!"

"That's because they _are_ writing you off as a waste of time," Ron gibed. "There's no way that you'll ever get them to at least see what JIM THICKENS —"

"PICKENS," corrected Hermione.

"— is about when you're scaring people. I mean, look at Neville!"

Neville heard his name from afar and awkwardly waved his badge in the air as if to show that he hadn't been pressured at all to buy one — and it seemed as if Hermione was oblivious to this as she stood proudly, stating that Neville had more heart than anybody in the room.

After a petty squabble between Ron and Hermione arose, Harry and Theodore put it to a stop with the latter then suggesting that he would try to get some badges for her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted. "I'm sure that I can handle this, Theodore."

"Then that means I won't do as good as a job, right?" Theodore reached out for the collecting tin and badge box that she reluctantly gave up and went straight to Katie, McLaggen, Angelina and a few other elder Gryffindors. "Morning, everyone! May I interest you into something… _interesting_? Wait, I messed that up."

Angelina and Katie giggled; McLaggen didn't look impressed. "What do you want, Riddle? Your girlfriend already came around to us waving that thing in our faces, and we're not interested."

" _Hem hem_. Hermione is not my girlfriend," stated Theodore flatly before forcing a smile. "No, as cofounders of JIM PICKENS, we're raising awareness of Inheritance Tests that subject innocent Muggle-borns with blood curses. Surely, you must've heard about these."

One of the other girls called Victoria Ann gasped. "Uh huh! My grandmother died from a blood-curse when she was only forty-four, and she was a Muggle-born! Wait, could it happen to me as well?!"

"No! No, no, I'm not saying that at all! We just want to show that we won't stand for this injustice against Muggle-borns, who are just as magical as everyone else in the wizarding world — _and we're fighting for civil rights of house-elves and other non-humans_."

"What?"

"What?" said Theodore quickly before lifting the tin in front of them. "Just two Sickles is enough. By supporting JIM PICKENS… you'll be fighting for a greater cause," he appealed in a heartfelt tone. "So all we're asking is… is if you help. Please."

…

"Ah, what the hell…" grumbled McLaggen as he reached into his pockets and chucked two silver Sickles into the tin before opening his palm. "Well? Where's the stupid badge?"

Theodore's mouth refused to close until McLaggen threatened to take his Sickles back. "Yeah! I-I didn't think that you'd be first — I'm starting to waffle right now." He left the badge box floating and opened it up to hand one over to McLaggen, who muttered thanks before sticking it on his robes and going for breakfast.

' _Holy shit, I just convinced Conrad McLaggen of all people to join…'_

Angelina, Katie and Victoria threw in some Sickles as well (Victoria actually gave in a whole Galleon) and stuck their badges on proudly before walking off, along with the other Gryffindors who donated. Although it wasn't nearly half of the House, the tin was considerably fuller when he returned to the others.

"Look at him: what a people-person he is!" Ron clapped Theodore on the back and continued, "You chose the right partner, Hermione. Theo can be like your… spokesman or something, you know, to get the people flocking."

Theodore grinned and looked at Hermione for his smile to fade away quickly. Her arms were crossed, and her face was inexpressive and stony — a rush of emotions, not as painful as before could be felt as she briefly glanced straight at him before turning away.

Theodore could feel the jealousy and self-disappointment that was brewing inside of her from being bested by him. She didn't feel that way whenever he'd show her up before, did she — so why was he feeling guilty all of a sudden?

Hermione's mood seemed to stick for the entire day, even though she'd talk with the boys as if nothing happened — Theodore could sense that the jealousy had burned out, leaving her just dispirited. Lessons finally rolled over as they all went inside the Great Hall for dinner.

In between Ron and Ginny, Theodore tapped his finger on his empty golden plate as the Hall was beginning to fill up, staring up at the soothing, starry ceiling. _'This is good for the whole JIM PICKENS thing; so she shouldn't be that moody. And when the hell is our Defence teacher going to show up? It's been more than two weeks —'_

"When the hell is our real Defence teacher going to show up?" exclaimed Dean further up the table. "Don't get me wrong, Dumbledore's _amazing_ , but it's been more than two weeks!"

' _Huh. Weird…'_

The Great Hall filled up with the last of the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, and everybody seemed to be discussing Doomspell as the end of term felt like an eternity away. Hermione ceased her sulking and spoke across the table about the potential schools participating until she, and everyone else was silenced by Dumbledore clearing his throat.

"Thank you, thank you! Now, before we enjoy our lovely dinner, I would like to make an unexpected announcement that has only been directed from the Ministry to me, and now onto you regarding the Trials of Doomspell.

"I am proud, _and also excited_ , to announce that the entire school will be leaving the castle together to gather up with our fellow schools across the globe for the selection of champions… on this very day!"

The entire Hall exploded into absolute cheers. Fred and George roared with jubilation and violently shook Lee by the shoulders until he got dizzy and forced himself to sit down again. Ron had a similar reaction and tried to shake Theodore's shoulders as well, which would've worked if Theodore did not try to do the same thing to him.

After letting a pure minute of celebration pass, Dumbledore politely raised his hand, sending a hush across the students in an instant — what other delightful announcements could he possibly say to top this one?

"We have also decided — the school board, that is — that because such an event is so sacred among wizards and witches across the _entire_ world, Hogwarts students will temporarily present themselves dressed in our traditional robes from where our roots lie.

"Each and every one of you will find a set of a plain black robe on your bed after dinner, which will be worn together with your pointed hat. Your current uniform will not be required, as simple clothes underneath will do. Now, pip pip! Eat away!"

It seemed as if everybody's speed of eating matched Theodore's as they all scoffed down their food like wolves, eager to race back to their dorms to get dressed.

After the plates were polished off cleanly, everybody got up from their seats and squeezed past the Great Hall doors and separated to their common rooms. The four were all incredibly giddy, squealing at the thought of seeing other schools from the other side of the world. Harry, Ron and Theodore said bye quickly to Hermione before they leapt up the stairs and dove for their beds.

"Smells fresh," sniffed Neville before removing his tie. "We don't have to keep our uniform on, do we?"

"I'm not," said Theodore, already halfway through slipping on his Muggle clothing with his favourite green shirt. He tied his laces together, then pulled the robe over his head until it nearly hid his trainers. "It feels…"

"Light and freeing?"

"Exactly! That's perfect, Ron! You've worn these types of robes before, haven't you?"

Ron's ears went red, and he mumbled about going to a random wedding as the ring-boy before he threw his own robe on and stuck his hat on his head. Harry asked if they should take their wands, which all the boys agreed to do — anything could happen, right?

Theodore waited until it was just him, Harry and Ron in the room to lay Viripin down in her basket after refusing her request to go with him. The little garden snake grew into a sulky Maibian Adder that butted her nose against his temple to say goodbye before she curled up in her basket.

"You know what I don't get," said Harry when the Gryffindors waited for Professor McGonagall to collect them, "is that even though these robes used to be the normal uniform, the ones that we got now sorta looks like the Muggle uniform in secondary school."

"It was because of Nobby Leach, the first Muggle-born Minister for Magic," blurted out Hermione.

…

"Who?"

Hermione sighed condescendingly and explained, "When Leach was appointed as Minister, he was all for Muggle connections, seeing as how he was a victim of prejudice all his life. So he somehow managed to influence Hogwarts into changing the uniforms into something similar to Muggles in 1963, in a way to show wizards' 'appreciation' towards Muggles. Obviously, none of the 'cautious' wizarding families really liked that."

The boys and Elvira just stared at her with blank faces.

Hermione sighed even louder. "It's from —"

" _Hogwarts: A History,"_ they said in unison. "We know."

Professor McGonagall entered through the portrait and handed out registers to the prefects for each year, and she registered the fourth-years. "Just say yes so that we can go down quickly: Brown."

"Yes," chimed Lavender.

"Dunbar."

"Yes."

"Finnigan."

"Here."

"I said to say 'yes', not 'here'. Granger."

"Yes!"

Professor McGonagall carried on down the list as everybody seemed to be present, until… "Longbottom… Riddle."

"Yes."

"Riddle."

"… I said yes," said Theodore, confused.

Professor McGonagall frowned at him, crossed her arms and tapped her finger against it. "Riddle, why aren't you wearing your hat? The Headmaster specifically instructed you to do so!"

"It sort of… shrunk."

"Excuses. Hand it over." Theodore handed the evidently small hat over, and she snapped her fingers inside it until it grew in an instant. " _Wear it_ , and don't let me catch you trying to take it off."

"Yes, Professor," mumbled the Parselmouth. _'I shrunk it for nothing — I hate wearing this thing!'_

Everybody had been registered and was soon lined up in an orderly fashion. First-years went first, second-years went second, and so on. It was killing them to suppress the exhilaration building up inside when they marched down the stairs and… away from the Entrance Hall?

Theodore was confused. If they were supposedly all leaving the castle, then shouldn't they be outside instead? He'd have thought that they had several Thestral carriages out to accommodate the entire school — that would've been a lot of Thestrals, however.

Gryffindor was the second-to-last House, in front of Slytherin as Professor Snape glided into the Great Hall with his House following behind like soldiers as if they practised marching regularly. When everybody was seated, Dumbledore stood up from his chair and smiled… and then he started to giggle.

…

"What the fuck is going on —" whispered Ron to Theodore.

"I haven't got a fucking clue," he whispered back. He knew that Dumbledore was a little mad, but… not _this_ mad. Childish as well.

When the odd giggle died away, and people forced themselves to forget about it after seeing that it was beyond their comprehension, Dumbledore then simply asked, "Does anybody here suffer any unfortunate effects from forms of motion sickness?"

Ten shaky and confused hands went up in the air, including Theodore and Gioveri from Ravenclaws table. Dumbledore sighed and straightened his purple and yellow hat with regret in his voice. "Alas, this was a last-minute decision…"

He gave those who raised their hands a guilty smile and clapped his hands together. "Ahh, it should be time now — right on schedule! Everyone! Please hold on tightly to your respective tables!"

"Wait, why do we have to —?" Harry started to ask out loud before, suddenly, everything disappeared around him: the stain-glassed windows; the floating candles; the torches along the walls — all except everybody else on Gryffindor table, who were reduced to shrieking in complete fear.

Everything was spinning, and everybody was scared out of their minds — it was like Floo Powder, but ten times worse. Ron's face was distorted like a powerful fan was right in front of him, and he could barely see Harry or Hermione when his own vision was utterly unfocused.

They were flying through the air, as if they were dragged by the shoulders until the table came to a complete stop, slamming onto the ground without breaking any legs — not even a creak. Some of the Gryffindors panted; some shivered in fear, and Theodore almost fainted and fell backwards until Ron and Ginny caught him in the nick of time.

But they weren't the only ones that had arrived at the unfamiliar area, which was merely the middle of nowhere. Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seemed to have arrived at the exact time as Gryffindor, judging from how they also had their own people crumple to the ground.

"Breathe, just breathe," said Ginny quietly to Theodore as she patted his back. "You've got this, just don't throw up like Goyle over there. Urgh…"

"W-What was that…?" stammered Hermione. She frantically looked around the area, which was clearly outside in a field in the early evening. "Does anyone know what happened?"

Harry said, "We thought you would," but his attention was then brought to the sounds of multiple car engines exploding around the front of the tables.

Dumbledore and the four Head of Houses Apparated on the spot and walked over to their respective House to retake the registers once again while Dumbledore casually explained the rapid change of environment. "I'm so sorry for anybody who is uneasy with such methods of transportation: I had no time to explain back at the castle. What just happened is that you all travelled by Portkey, which I'm sure most of you have heard about.

"Seeing as how the Ministry could not give us enough carriages in time, I charmed the tables into Portkeys while you prepared to travel — actually, I don't think 'prepared to travel' should be used here —"

Professor McGonagall coughed.

"Yes, of course. Again, I apologise for the inconvenience, but it was the fastest way to travel in such little time. And we'll be going back the same way, just to let you all know," Dumbledore added when wincing at Goyle throwing up again. "Heads of Houses! Please lead your students and follow me this way, if you will."

Theodore burped into his hand and suppressed the disgusting urge to vomit all in front of him as everybody around scrambled out of their seats. The best that he could make out of the scene were slopes of orange fields in the distance, and further down could Theodore see small shapes that could've been a village.

But what was in the distance didn't matter or compare to what stood nearby just a few yards from the displaced tables. An ancient colosseum of dirtied-grey and white that stood tall shadowed everybody as Professor Flitwick led Ravenclaw through the crumbling entrance first.

"I didn't even see this," said Theodore quietly to himself — his balance returned, and so did his vision. He followed behind Ginny when Gryffindor entered last and lifted his head up so high, he could topple backwards.

At first, there was complete darkness through the entrance that felt buzzy and sent chills down Theodore's spine. It didn't last long, however, as light quickly returned — but it wasn't the same as the outside. Almost as if they jumped a few hours forward in time, the entire sky above them was of a rich black-blue with massive stars flashing and the moon itself providing the only source of light.

The inside of the colosseum was grand and wide, maybe even five times the size of the Quidditch pitch back at the castle. Rows upon rows elevated up to a point where Theodore couldn't see, as they disappeared into the surely false sky.

The other three houses had already found their seats well above the ground level and were meticulously seated without a single person looking out of place — Crabbe and Goyle even displayed their best act of decency, a rarity among the two.

Professor McGonagall waved the year groups of Gryffindor in ascending order (she didn't notice that nobody bothered to line up in alphabetical order) and sat down at the end of the curved row where all the other Heads were — Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, however.

Ginny elbowed Theodore's left side and began pointing on the entire of Hogwarts' left, prompting him and several others to see what she noticed. "I can't believe nobody saw them," she hissed with a look of awe. "It's another school!"

Everybody soon turned their heads to the left and didn't look away when they saw the collection of students sitting in prim order, not giving any attention to Hogwarts at all. Having a similar number of students to Hogwarts, they all wore uniforms of pale-blue silk, white flowing capes that dropped around their shoulders, and short, pointy blue hats that completed the look. They made Hogwarts' robes look mundane and simple; nobody seemed to care, anyway.

"They are Beauxbatons Academy of Magic," whispered Elvira from down the row for all the fourth-years to hear. "I was almost admitted in there, had it not been for… something else."

Parvati whispered back, "So they're French, right — or they're at least in France? No wonder they look so fancy and — wait a second… doesn't that girl over there sorta look like you, Elvira…?"

Parvati's question went unanswered when somebody from Slytherin pointed out the next school that appeared out of nowhere on Hogwarts' right — Professor Snape hissed at them to be quiet as they were "making a fool out of us!".

The new school also had a comparable size to Hogwarts, but unlike Beauxbatons, they did seem to notice them — in fact, Theodore dared say that they were very much interested in them as well. Robes of blue and cranberry, all noticeably fastened by looping golden knots. But underneath were black waistcoats and golden patterns on them, closely resembling what Muggles would wear instead — it was a shame that Theodore couldn't tell what school it could be from first glance. Oh well.

Theodore didn't even need anybody to tell him that another school had just arrived, just further down right to the school with red and blue robes. Like Beauxbatons, this school simply dimmed Hogwarts from the sheer colour of their robes — a sea of silky pink robes with a considerable amount of shimmering golden robes in every row. Not only was their scheme of clothing unique and different; so was each student and teacher, who were all evidently of Asian descent (Theodore was guessing maybe Japanese?).

Nobody spoke about the school in pink — Michael Corner waved over to a gorgeous girl from Beauxbatons with silvery-blond hair, earning a glower of disgust before she looked away. Theodore counted four schools present, including Hogwarts, and spun his head side to side with Ron to look for the fifth.

Suddenly, the sounds of rumbling feet from the opposite end to Hogwarts echoed through the colosseum until the fifth and final school popped up under the moonlight's whelming beam. They were easily the largest school of them all, having at least five times the number of students in Hogwarts. Faces couldn't be made out at all from a distance between them, but Theodore could tell that the vast majority of them were black and were all wearing deep yellow robes that stopped at their shoulders and divided at their fronts to reveal underclothing of colours scarlet red, mundane brown, light blue and bright silver.

' _Wow… I couldn't even imagine that there'd be these many people our age learning magic as well, and there's probably even more schools out there…'_

Once the final school settled down in their seats, the moonlight then focused all of its light down to the centre of the colosseum, sparking something in the back of Theodore's head when he made the connection — Hermione beat him to it. "Guys, isn't it just like the courtroom with all the spinning rings?" she whispered across to Harry, Ron and Theodore.

The boys nodded and watched intently to the giant rings that made up the ground, noticing how Crouch, Dumbledore and four other wizards and witches (presumably the other headmasters) walk into the centre and each pointing a wand into the ground, circling around Crouch.

Just like in Courtroom Seven, the rings rotated in different directions and slowly raised the wide circular platform that they were all standing on. It soon came to a sudden halt when it reached a considerable height for everyone to see clearly as the light fell upon the Headmasters and Crouch.

Crouch pointed his wand to his neck and mouthed something inaudible before his voice amplified several times louder, possibly even being able to reach the outside of the colosseum without too much effort. "It has finally come! I want to thank each and every single one of you for arriving on this day to take part in something sacred among all of us, and I'd like to apologise for the late notice, Hogwarts."

Nobody dared to speak — not even to squeak just a little.

"Here we are as fellow schools, coming together to make history once again: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry —!" Crouch shouted as he pointed at them, somehow guiding the moonlight to shine upon them —

"Beauxbatons Academy of Magic —!" the moon fell upon them, brightening their robes so much that it dazzled everyone else before it moved away to —

"Uagadou Magical Institution —!" Crouch exclaimed, spinning on his heels to guide the light onto the possibly African school.

The light then roamed over to the Asian school as Crouch said, "Mahoutokoro School of Enchantment and Sorcery, and last but not least — Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Theodore looked over to the school on their right and heard just a few whispers from them before they were silenced by one of their teachers.

Crouch hastened at fixing his hair before he spoke again, producing his wand and flicking it towards the empty sky. "Now that we have all learned our fellow schools and rivals of the competition, we shall now proceed. The selection of each champion will be based on their magical potential, judging on whose hidden magical strength is the highest amongst your respective school. And this…"

Everybody lifted their heads as something big came out from the dark and descended slowly in midair, becoming more discernible in shape once it touched upon the centre of the platform as Crouch moved out of its way. "This right here is our judge: The Ring of Judgment!"

A man-sized, thick spinning ring that was composed of withered, black wood came into vision for all to see. Theodore blinked again to see if it wasn't a false image — it looked completely ridiculous than to what he had in mind. He was expecting to see something that would cause things to explode in flames or something, not an ancient loop of wood.

Dumbledore, along with the other Headmasters, lifted their wands again and chanted an incantation between them, moving their hands in mirrored fashion without a single mistake being noticed by Theodore. He leaned forward and stared at the giant witch, who towered everybody else, but he sat back when the ring suddenly burst into flames.

' _You got your wish, Theo. But it's not going to burn for long — wait…'_

The deep-blue flames licked the wood gently without any smouldering bits falling to the ground beneath it. Magic fire, of course! How could he be so stupid? The ring spun and spun until it stopped at Crouch's command with a wave of the hand.

"The Ring of Judgement will donate a single flame to a Headmaster of a school, which will be flung over to their students," explained Crouch without displaying any change in his demeanour. "The flame will then cast itself above the entire school and seek the greatest potential hidden among you all.

"Once the champion has been chosen, the flame will burn red and will be safe to hold in one's hands — you'll then wait on the pedestal at your location and return the flame to the Ring. When all five champions have been chosen, the flames will be given back all at once. Understood?"

Crouch didn't care for any reply to his question. He tapped the Japanese teacher on the shoulder, an old short wizard in black and golden robes, buttoned up his middle and to his neck. Mahoutokoro's Headmaster then brought out his wand and tapped the edge of the Ring and caught a blue flame at its end before flicking it behind his shoulder.

The flame instantly whisked in the air above their heads, not stopping for a single moment — it finally did. Remaining still in front of a girl with golden robes in the lower rows of Mahoutokoro, the blue shifted into red as the entire school applauded for her. She quickly clasped the flame and held it in her palm before shuffling out her row and onto the pedestal nearby — her face was inexpressive, but Theodore could barely tell from how far away they were.

The Asian girl's pedestal then broke off and lifted her all the way up to the central platform where she bowed to her headmaster, who looked up to her with extreme pride. She stood in front of her headmaster and kept upright and stiff like a complete statue.

Crouch leaned in on her and heard her mutter something in his ear before his voice boomed across the colosseum, "May I present Mahoutokoro's champion: Shizuka Watanabe!"

Next was the giant witch who flicked her wand onto the Ring before sending a flame over to Beauxbatons. Just like at Mahoutokoro, it swirled above their heads without stopping until it burned bright red in front of a girl sitting right next to the pretty girl Michael tried to flirt with. The girl with the silvery-blond hair hugged her tightly and allowed her to pass on her right, giving Hogwarts a more unobstructed view of her as she trotted down with grace.

Even from the quickest glance could Theodore see the resemblance with the girl and Elvira. Her hair was purely black, however, and it was long and flowing like her friend, reaching down to her lower back.

When she arrived at the platform with her flame, she whispered something in Crouch's ear, who in turn shouted, "Beauxbatons's champion: Nicolette Pierre!"

"Pierre?" said Hermione immediately, turning to Elvira — everyone in the fourth-year did the same thing as well. "Elvira, don't tell me that's your —"

"Sister," said Elvira in a lowered, clear voice beneath the clapping from Beauxbatons. "Yeah, that's her." Her hair suddenly changed from her usual blue to a deep-pink as she sunk a little in her seat — she didn't seem particularly happy.

Half of Hogwarts stood up — as did most of Ilvermorny — when it was Uagadou's turn for their champion to be selected, for they could barely see them from afar.

"Hope they get a bloke," whispered Ron to Theodore and Harry. "I have a feeling that it's going to be —"

Hermione hushed Ron when thunderous clapping came from the other side as a tall, strong-looking boy walked down to a pedestal with a red flame in his hand. "Uagadou's champion is Kofi Sefu!"

Ilvermorny was the next school as the blue flame flew all the way from the tip of their headmaster's wand and instantly landed on a girl with red hair, not even bothering to judge the others — it was like an iron nail to a magnet. She received the greatest of praise from the chosen champions as they gave her a standing ovation when she walked down to her pedestal — more like tripped down.

She awkwardly laughed it off and was brought up to the platform, where her name was revealed as, "Christina Sayre!" earning Elvira another wave of stares from her fellow fourth-years.

Elvira was just as shocked. Her mouth hung wide open, and she blinked several times when keeping her eyes on Christina. "I-I… I don't know who she is. Perhaps it's only a… coincidence?"

"In the wizarding world?" Ron responded. "Fat chance. There's no way you aren't related —"

Ron hushed himself when Dumbledore finally tapped his wand against the Ring of Judgement and lifted it up towards Hogwarts. A smile of encouragement preceded the swift motion of his arm as the flame zoomed across to them and sped around their heads uncontrollably.

It didn't stop, and it didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon. But it did, right above Cedric Diggory's head did the flame come to a stop — before he could instinctively reach for it, the fire escaped and carried on whizzing above them. The other schools looked onto Hogwarts with cautiousness, unable to gain an inkling from the flame's supposed actions.

Crabbe snickered next to Malfoy and swiped his hand in the flame's path before he squealed in pain. Professor Snape hissed at him and threatened him with a week's detention, not even asking if his hand was all right. The flame circled around some more, now taking the most time to choose a champion until it stopped at Harry — right before shooting off again when his fingers barely lifted off his thighs.

Out of nowhere did it finally stop down near Ravenclaw's area, descending slowly in front of Gioveri's unmistakeable head. The flame slowly flickered to the side, despite there being no wind present. Gioveri nervously stared around as people prepared to clap, but they noticed that the flame hadn't changed colour at all. So they held back. Nobody clapped or moved until it'd change, or if Gioveri would do something.

Gioveri then, with hesitation, reached out for the idle blue flame and clasped it in his palm — no yelp of pain came from him. "Hey… it doesn't hurt. I — I don't feel any pain! Look, it doesn't hurt, e-even though I — oh. It disappeared…"

"Disappeared?" asked Professor McGonagall without thinking for a second that she wasn't in a classroom. "What do you mean 'disappeared' — how could it…?"

Confusion turned into discussion as everyone darted their heads around for the missing flame. Some pointed fingers at Gioveri, claiming that he stole it for himself (Professor Snape hushed Malfoy and Pansy — Theodore had never seen him act so snappy to his own House before), causing him to hide his face in mortification.

"Why can't Dumbledore just take another flame and throw it over here?"

"I don't think it works like that, Ginny," Theodore answered as he rubbed his chin. "Crouch said that that Ring is donating fire, so I'm guessing you're only allowed to take the part that you were given."

Ginny lifted an eyebrow and then frowned dismissively. "Seems awfully complicated for just choosing someone. They should've just chosen their favourite pick and… and…"

Theodore looked at her from the corner of his eye and said, "What is it, Ginny? You think we wasted our time by all coming here, don't you? I'm not going to lie, I'm…"

His sentence didn't go anywhere when he saw everybody's stares, from Hogwarts to Uagadou, fixated on him and him alone through a slight blue tint — and then he realised.

' _No… no, no, no…'_

The flame materialised out of thin air as if it were hiding just for a moment until the time was ready to strike. Theodore could feel the heat washing over his eyes, but he didn't blink. All that he could think of was to wish the flame to move away or disappear as it did with Cedric, Harry and Gioveri; to force itself to smother up into sparks and nothing more.

' _I can't be chosen. Surely it can't be me… I don't want to be a champion. I'm not a champion — it's going to float away o-or vanish like —'_

It was odd, this fire. The way its colours worked against the sensation that it sent across his skin, confusing the senses; coldness brushing against his face. Theodore was still — he was no longer begging not to be chosen. Why would it matter? As the crimson flames twisted and turned softly in front of his unresponsive eyes, as if the Devil had left his mark after inflicting onto him a curse of the extreme kind, Theodore could only stare. Hogwarts' Champion; Son of the Dark Lord — his life could be destroyed like that, but all he could do was stare…

 **Still alive, and so is this story. Just had a lot of school stuff to work, guys, so sorry for the unexpected hiatus, so sorry.**

 **If you called it, give yourself a pat on the back. Theodore is chosen as a champion — but wait. Why doesn't he want to be it? The obvious answer will be answered in the next chapter, but I'm sure you'll all know it right away.**

 **And not only do we have that, but we also have the Gaunts, and Theo's familial connection to Elvira's family (and also Christina), the Ollivanders and Peveralls.**

 **Gah, so much stuff! Like I always say, I won't spill everything, so make sure you keep posted for the next chap. Hope you liked my selection process which will immediately pick up from the end of this chap on the next. Later.**


	48. Chapter 48: You're Not Alone, Theo Pt1

_As the crimson flames twisted and turned softly in front of his unresponsive eyes, as if the Devil had left his mark after inflicting onto him a curse of the extreme kind, Theodore could only stare. Hogwarts' Champion; Son of the Dark Lord — his life could be destroyed like that, but all he could do was stare…_

Thunderous heartbeats were reverberating inside his ear, and the surface of his eyes stinging from his refusal to blink — Theodore's body refused to do anything that would exhibit any reaction to the flame that had chosen him.

While he sat still among his school that didn't exult for their Champion, Professor Snape rose up from his seat, beady eyes unusually wide and unusually filled with considerable astonishment — but Theodore didn't react to seeing his godfather stare at him from a little down below. Red… all he could see was red…

"No…" murmured Professor McGonagall in complete denial. "No, no, no…"

Why didn't anybody clap? Why didn't anybody say something instead of staring at him like he displayed freakishness unseen in the entire wizarding world? However, he didn't notice, still held prisoner by the flame that spun around with life right in front of him.

Ginny gripped Theodore's shoulder firmly and roughly shook him, whispering sharply, "Hey! You're chosen — stop sitting down and go down there, Theo!"

"Don't know why nobody's clapping for you," said Ron with a grin reaching to his ears as he took hold of the unresponsive boy's other shoulder. "All the other schools are staring at us, Theo, so you better —"

The smile that was etched upon Ron's happy face faded away in an instant when Theodore didn't move his gaze away from the fire. He shook him again and repeatedly asked why he wasn't moving while Harry and Hermione whispered across the row. The flame kept hold of Theodore, not letting the whispers break through to him —

"May the chosen champion from Hogwarts, please come down," bellowed Crouch's amplified voice from the platform below.

The explosion of sound broke the flames temporary hypnosis on Theodore, and he rubbed his eyes harshly before looking fretfully all around him — he quickly slapped his hands over his eyes when overwhelming pain cut through inside.

"Theo, if you're having your headaches again, then —"

"I won't do it…" said Theodore with unusual sternness, despite hissing clearly before everyone in discomfort. "I'm not going down there."

Professor McGonagall scoffed loudly and held tightly to her robes as she said across to him, "You bloody won't, that's for sure! Riddle, you stay right here — I won't stand for this!"

"Hogwarts's champion? May you come down with your flame, _please_?" Crouch added with traces of rising irritation within his voice.

"He will not be going down there!" shouted Professor McGonagall, now standing on her feet — the whole of Hogwarts, Ilvermorny and Beauxbatons turned to her, most mouths open. "Don't you dare move, Riddle!"

"Why don't you want to go down?" asked Hermione under the booming voice of Crouch. "You're chosen, so this is gre—!"

"I'm not going to do it!" Theodore repeated harshly, staring at his feet until the flame followed his line of sight. He angrily swatted it away, only for it to return as if to taunt him further.

"But you — you can't refuse it, Theo. You were chosen —"

"I don't care if a stupid magic ring decides that I'll be a champion in this: _I won't do it_ — fuck off…!" he hissed at the persistent flame.

As Theodore gave up destroying the fire and lowered his hat just above his eyes — thoughts were still piercing into him — a crack could be heard all the way down at the platform. It took everybody's attention away from Theodore for only just a moment until they all started to whisper under their breaths; they had to be talking about him.

Through Theodore's fingers could he pick out Lestrange being the one who Apparated into the colosseum, speaking to Dumbledore as Crouch didn't refrain from lifting his voice higher and higher. However, it was faded, pushed to the back as the thoughts of everyone else vanquished all of the Occlumency that he ever learnt from Professor Snape.

' _They're so loud… but my eyes — my eyes are closed… empty your mind, Theo… empty… it's not working!'_

"This is ridiculous!" Crouch yelled from the top of his voice. "Hogwarts's champion, can you _please_ come down with your flame?! We are waiting!"

"… absolutely not, Severus!" snapped Professor McGonagall down two rows — Professor Snape's stature was stiff and confrontational. "Champions of Doomspell have always been sixteen at least, or did you forget that _Riddle is still fourteen_?!"

Professor Snape scoffed and argued back, "No champion has, nor will they ever, gone against the Ring of Judgement's decision. It chose him, so he must go down there immediately!"

"I'd expect you of all people to be against this…" she slipped in a near dark tone of voice. Professor McGonagall ignored Professor Snape's widened eyes of shock from her words as she spoke on. "Riddle is far too young to compete in this — this entertainment of children fighting for the death! If I have to go down there and speak my mind, then I'll —"

A new but easily identifiable voice replaced Crouch's, hushing both Professors Snape and McGonagall as the calm and clear voice said, "Please, we have wasted enough time as it is travelling over here. I only ask that Hogwarts's champion come down with their flame to avoid any delay. Thank you."

Professor McGonagall's jaw was shaking when Dumbledore's voice fell silent, and so did everybody else. On the fence, she had no intention of letting Theodore go down to certify his title — but to go against Dumbledore… it wasn't like her ever to think that he was wrong at all. But…

Theodore's gaze finally moved away from his feet and slowly met with his godfather's. Underneath the relentless ambience of mixed feelings towards him from everyone else, all Theodore wanted to see was for Professor Snape to understand his reason not to move.

Theodore removed all his teachings of Occlumency to let him in and feel what he dreaded would come out of this — but nothing. He felt none of the swishing hand trying to reach into his mind, not wanting to empathise with him. He could see it in his eyes returning to the coldness they were so accustomed to.

' _Why…?'_

Dumbledore's voice returned as he politely asked for the Hogwarts champion to take up the flame without losing an ounce of composure as Crouch did. Nobody whispered to Theodore to take the fire and go, except for Ginny on his left — nobody had to whisper: they were surely all leering at him hiding his face from his pain.

Dumbledore asked one more time for him to come down, still not growing angry at all when something snapped inside Theodore, the thing that was commanding him to stay put in his place. He pulled his pointy hat down above his eyebrows to where his face wouldn't be discernible even from a distance — Theodore then slowly took the patient flame in hand, noting how his fingers fell cold from its presence and stood up gingerly to shuffle along the row.

"Riddle — Riddle!" repeated Professor McGonagall when Theodore didn't stop moving towards the end of the row where she was sat. "Riddle, wait, I —"

Theodore didn't slow down at all as he pushed past his friends, not even glancing over to them when they whispered for his attention. Hermione's fingertips discreetly caught his own when he passed her, but he didn't even stop for Hermione. Everything still didn't seem real enough for him to react to anything. A blank mind behind a blank face: all that there was.

Professor McGonagall's disbelief from what was occurring went unspoken when Theodore finally moved past her as the last person on the row. Theodore turned and started to move his way down, rejecting Professor Snape's stare as he carried on without turning his head to him: but what everyone thought was Theodore closing himself off to everyone was, in reality, the flame capturing his conscious-thinking once again. He couldn't look away…

"Whoa, man, look at him," a murmur from his right that could be heard from Ilvermorny, "he doesn't look that tall."

"Yeah, dude, and did you see his face from before he pulled his hat down? This guy's gotta be a kid or something?"

But on the other side, the side that was supposed to be supporting him spewed out whispers like, "Of course it had to be him. Why is it always him?" or even, "Bet you he doesn't know a thing about this stuff when he's been living in a Muggle dump for his whole life…"

His fingertips almost felt numb from every passing second with the flame flickering softly in his hand. Although his eyes were unable to rip away from it, Theodore took careful steps, making sure that he wouldn't trip up, not even stumble just a little. The whispering was left behind as he carried on forward, and he suddenly became mindful of his footing.

The pedestal trembled before it broke off from the ancient stone steps and lifted Theodore towards the platform — the silence was unnerving; he wanted to throw the flame away, crush it until it was nothing more than cold air. But it was too late.

He halted abruptly on the platform, causing him to slip forward just a little bit before his balance was regained. Theodore could barely see the faces of the other occupants on the pedestal and took only a brief moment to lift his gaze from his flame. Looks of curiosity mixed with shock were plastered on Dumbledore and Crouch, both opened-mouth and still.

Lestrange had his back turned to Theodore as if he refused to look at him, to believe that he was chosen — he didn't do this to himself. Why would he? Did they blame him for being picked by the Ring of Judgement?

' _It's not my fault… it's not my fault…'_

The lower bodies of the other champions were where he forced himself to look. He didn't want them to see his face: he didn't want to be chosen at all. Lestrange then, in a blink of an eye, moved over to where Dumbledore and Crouch stood motionless and brought them in to whisper amongst themselves.

' _Why isn't anybody talking…?'_

"No need of me to ask of _your_ name," muttered Crouch finally when the secretive talking came to an end. "Our fifth and final champion for Hogwarts: Theodore Riddle!"

Forced applause from his school rang out across the colosseum, reverberating almost everywhere — Theodore was desperate to be stuck in his head again.

Once Hogwarts was done 'congratulating' their champion, Crouch then instructed each of them to face their respective school and hold out their flame. "Now take a good and long look at your champion! They'll be depending on you for your unconditional support if they are to bring your school to victory!"

The combined applause of every school was more powerful than just one, almost like thunder on an unbridled rampage. Theodore lifted his hat only just to make out the faces of his peers and gritted his teeth so hard that his eyes instinctively became closed. A legion of voices all screaming in his head, not one being identifiable when they attacked his mind mercilessly.

' _Control your emotions…'_

Theodore's pain subsided soon enough when Crouch told each of the champions to turn back around and return their flame to the Ring of Judgement. The other champions, inevitably wooden in their faces reached their hands out to the Ring, and Theodore followed suit as the last one.

Deep-blue fire shifted into scarlet in an instant the second Theodore's flame returned to the Ring. The Ring suddenly began to spin onto its side, then came to a stop. Theodore felt himself becoming tensed from the sudden crack nearby and deduced that somebody had Disapparated on the spot — Lestrange was nowhere to be seen.

"Now, champions," Crouch continued with his voice being back to normal, "please hold onto the Ring with one hand only — don't worry, the flames are completely harmless. Headmasters, please remain behind for a… _discussion_."

Theodore was once again the last one to clasp the rough ring of burning wood, and his fingertips quickly fell into numbness after touching it for a moment. He was so close to the other champions, but he couldn't look away from his feet to look at any of them in the eye, not even Dumbledore.

It didn't matter, however; Theodore felt the numbing chill suddenly racing along his arm and clawing to his face — and it was the same with the others. The fire had licked itself onto their clothing and fully encompassed their entire being until absolute darkness had enveloped their surroundings.

Theodore wasn't given nearly enough time to panic, for whatever happened happened in a damn near instant. His fingers regained their sense of touch, and he noticed that the Ring of Judgement was nowhere to be found in… where were they? Almost forgetting that he wasn't the only person in their new setting, Theodore lifted his hat only just to take in where they had been transported to.

It was like the inside of a pentagonal prism, only the interior was hollow and was dissimilar to any room Theodore had ever seen before. Five different sides held five different sections with a large school crest mounted on each wall, and each champion had been perfectly positioned to where their crest was. Hogwarts's Coat of Arms was right behind Theodore, gleaming from the swinging lanterns nearby, each House mascot clear as day.

…

"Uh, is there a way outta here or…?" said the girl with red hair nervously in an obvious American accent. "I can't see a single door anywhere…"

The other tall boy who was from Uagadou raised his hand politely and said with a thick accent, "I am sure that we are safe right here — look over there. If you can see close enough, then you can make out the door frame."

The red-haired girl breathed out with solace and fixed the golden knot at her neck, then proceeded to fan herself. "Thanks for that! I'm not that big on staying in closed spaces when there's no way out so… anyway, Christina Sayre, if any of you were wondering," she grinned amicably to everyone with an enthusiastic wave.

"Kofi Sefu," greeted the black boy formally, being the only one of the other four to bother shaking Christina's hand. "You are from Ilvermorny, yes? I've read about your school quite often in recent years."

"Cool! Although I can't say I heard of…" Christina sheepishly rubbed her shoulder and made incomprehensible noises under her breath.

"Uagadou."

"Right! I think it's best that I shouldn't butcher its name by not saying it at all — it's me, not the name!"

Kofi simply nodded his head and crossed his arms before removing the tension between the two by saying, "I have to admit, I was very impressed when the Ring of Judgement chose you. It was in an instant, faster than any of us."

"Thanks. You know, I used to be so crap at magic that you'd think I was almost a wizard-born!" Christina said airily. "That was until last year: I had to break myself to be the best that I can be so… here I am!"

Christina then shifted her attention to the Asian girl, who stood silently with her eyes drifting to an unsuspecting Theodore from time to time and said, "You're… you're Shizuka, right? Shizuka… Watanabe!"

Shizuka looked away from Theodore and merely lifted her thin eyebrows at Christina.

"You were chosen pretty quick as well," Christina continued as she came closer to Shizuka. "That means you gotta be good!"

"It was only expected that I would be chosen," said Shizuka flatly in impeccable English, "nobody else would have had the tenacity to follow through in this… _competition_."

Theodore was tugging quite viciously at his robes as they adhered to his sticky, burning skin. None of what the others were discussing about had been taken in by him when he was trapped in his mind once again.

' _When the people back home find out that I was chosen… why me…? I didn't want it to be me…"_

"Are you not going to say something?" a voice out of the blue asked Theodore, who released his tight grip on his robes to turn to his left. For a brief moment, his eyes met with the stunning cerulean of the girl from Beauxbatons, Elvira's older sister.

Her skin was fair and bright, a sign that she took her hygiene like it was a religion. Like Elvira, she was a noticeable pretty girl, albeit a little rounder in the cheeks compared to her younger sister's more sharper features.

Once Theodore pulled away from looking at her — _Nicolette_ , as she was the only other champion whose name stuck with him, she crossed her arms haughtily and said, "I said are you not going to say something?" in a French accent that was bleeding through her tongue.

"I… haven't?" Theodore croaked as he pulled his hat down even lower.

Christina suddenly caught wind of their secluded 'conversation' and trotted over to the two, or to be more specific, Theodore, with a gleam of excitement in her eyes. "Hey there! This is so crazy like I'm from Ilvermorny, but you're from Hogwarts! That's… crazy, right!"

Theodore didn't respond to her enthusiasm and used his sleeve to brush against his nose. Where was Dumbledore, Crouch and the other Headmasters? Were they talking about him?

"… and that's pretty much why it's so cool that I'm meeting you here! Our history at Ilvermorny goes way back with one of our founders actually going to Hogwarts — 's matter of fact, both of them are my —"

"You," Shizuka bluntly interrupted the rambling Christina to direct everybody's attention to Theodore. "How old are you — take off your hat."

"I'd — I'd rather not do that…"

As if it were by perfect timing to hold off Shizuka's interrogation before he'd probably lose his composure, the masked door that was in between Mahoutokoro and Uagadou's section on the walls suddenly swung open with a mass of people spilling inside. Crouch was the first one through, followed by all five Headmasters; Lestrange, who had strangely returned with Rita, and Professors McGonagall and Snape as the final one.

"— no, Albus, this is ludicrous! Theodore will not be competing, I refuse it!" screeched Professor McGonagall among the riled adults.

"Minerva, please. Let's be civil about this."

"Civil?! I — Albus, you must see what is wrong with this…"

The towering Headmistress who must've stood at least ten feet tall secluded herself with Nicolette in Beauxbatons corner before speaking out — olive-skinned and a nose that resembled Professor Snape's: she had to be a giant or at least half like Hagrid.

Beauxbatons's Headmistress swished her black satin robes that were like curtains and tapped a male Headmaster on the shoulder, almost shoving him to the ground. "Is it true, Percival? What you said about _him_ — he can't be, right?"

Percival rolled his shoulder and grunted under his breath. Dark blonde hair that was flecked with grey: a hard-faced man with a jaw too strong to be considered handsome — but at the very most quite good-looking — a blue and red cloak fell behind his back, covering his Muggle-like clothing underneath.

"Of course it's true!" Percival shot at her, his accent along with his clothing making it apparent that he was the Headmaster for Ilvermorny. "I could tell from a mile away — you, boy! Take your hat off!"

Before Theodore could retaliate to his aggressive demands, Crouch came to his defence by telling Percival to back away before he fell silent.

Kofi had retreated to his corner with Uagadou's Headmistress close by. She was noticeably shorter than Kofi, and her hair was completely hidden underneath a thick wrapping of multicoloured cloth that complemented her fluid robes. Both decided to remain outside the conflict but conversed in silence as they observed Percival's relentless intimidation on Theodore.

"Barty, Imma be straight with you," huffed Percival, rubbing his stubbled chin, "I could see from the moment that kid stepped up with everyone else that he was… a _kid_! Now, if he isn't of age, he can't compete, simple as! Kid, how old —?"

"But you don't see us harassing any of the other champions standing in this room, do you, Graves?" Lestrange stepped in front of Rita, who was discreetly scribbling away, and asked, "Maybe neither of them are of age — care to reveal them to us, champions?"

"I am seventeen years old," said Kofi and Nicolette at the same time.

Christina twisted her curly, short hair with an awkward grin and disclosed that "I'm still sixteen — _but_ it's gonna be my birthday in three days, so… yeah!"

"Eighteen," muttered Shizuka.

Lestrange should've felt ashamed, but no such expression on his face displayed the sort. He stopped Graves from asking Theodore the question that he desperately wanted to be answered and did so himself.

Theodore's fingers became latched onto his robes once again. "I'm… I'm fourteen…"

This time, Uagadou's headmistress joined in with the sudden uproar amongst the others that was matched with Crouch and Lestrange diffusing the situation with Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall only adding onto it.

Theodore pushed his hat back up to where he could see clearly but not enough for everyone to see his face in full. Where everyone else was concerned that he was too young to compete in Doomspell, they couldn't see the true problem behind it all — Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Lestrange should've known, but here they were squabbling like children.

Hold on for second… Dumbledore was not anywhere near the argument between them, and neither was one other Headmaster. Theodore looked past Shizuka's piercing gaze and saw Dumbledore harmoniously conversing with a much shorter, and slightly younger man in black robes that came up to his neck and golden designs which fluttered on the fabric somehow.

His beard was comparatively as long and silvery as Dumbledore's, although his lounged on his left shoulder instead. The two were smiling as if they were attending a formal get-together with very old friends — Mahoutokoro's headmaster seemed a lot more inviting than their best student.

"All right, enough!" bellowed Crouch. He carefully fixed his hair back and continued at the same volume, "Now, despite what any of you think about Riddle's age being accounted for Doomspell, the binding magical contract has already been made! Therefore, he or any other champion chosen cannot refuse to compete and —"

"Magical contract?!" Theodore broke in, incredulous and suddenly furious. "Nobody said anything about — I didn't agree to any magical contract!"

"Riddle, quiet!"

"No, I —!" Theodore directed back to his godfather, but his words remained unspoken when Dumbledore politely waved his hand for him to stop.

"Uh, thank you, Dumbledore — before I was interrupted, a magical contract has been made between the student and the Ring of Judgement the moment they threw the flame back. The Ring has old but powerful magic, and if it believes that Riddle is worthy to compete, then it's the truth."

None of their faces wanted to change to show that they were considering Crouch's words. Students glanced over to their headmaster and barely made any noise with their mouths until Crouch spoke up again. "If you don't believe me, then I'll ask you all one thing. The student that stands beside you right there: before you came here today, would you say that they are one of the greatest, if not _the_ greatest, of your current set?"

The three argumentative Headmasters gave unwilling nods before Shizuka surprised them all by taking centre stage in front of Theodore. Up close, her nose looked smaller and had a light dusting of freckles like Louise. She was pretty — as in 'threateningly' pretty, if it made any sense in Theodore's head.

"Excuse me for making such a scene, but Professor Dumbledore —"

"Miss Watanabe," Dumbledore smiled.

"I just want to know from you: do you honestly believe that this little boy —"

' _I'm taller than you, you overconfident…'_

"— possesses the greatest magical potential in your school, surpassing even those at the very top, those who are my age?"

"With all my heart," Dumbledore responded without hesitation — Theodore didn't seem to believe that, or rather, he didn't want to for some reason. "I've been telling him from the day we met that he was capable of great things, and my thoughts haven't changed since then."

"Hmm…"

Theodore was breathing heavily and took his hat off when it felt as if it'd squeeze and burst his skull from how tight it felt. He didn't meet anybody else's look as he used his sleeve to wipe away at his hair sticking to his forehead. Rita was still writing but hadn't said a word. _'Going to expose me to the world, are you? Of course, you fucking will…'_

When Crouch repeated that the magical contracts had been cemented and that there was no turning back, all that Theodore could do was crush his hat without showing any hint of the fury inside. He felt used, like a plaything by people who couldn't understand what could happen, what could go so wrong. Used and tricked…

"Hogwarts is also welcomed to any of the champions who wish to stay, along with a few selected students and, of course, their Headmaster," said Dumbledore once Crouch was done. "It'd be less taxing than jumping back and forth country to country, don't you think?"

Mahoutokoro's Headmaster kindly said back in a low voice, "Thank you, Dumbledore, you are too kind. However, we will manage with our place of stay in England, while Mahoutokoro stays behind."

Beauxbatons and Uagadou also refused Dumbledore's offer with similar reasons — the only person who wanted to take it up was Christina, who went wide-eyed at the idea. "Professor Graves, can we stay at Hogwarts? Please?! It'll only be like five of us and you there! Please, sir, I've wanted to go there for nearly my whole life!"

Graves lifted an eyebrow at her then looked over to Dumbledore. "We'll manage as well just fine, Dumbledore, but thanks." He lowered his head near the pouring Christina and whispered, _"they're all a bit off, anyway. Who knows what's over there?"_

"Plenty of space, I can assure you," said Dumbledore as if he were right next to them, "especially for Ilvermorny. That's the least Hogwarts can do for their sister school, correct?"

"Right… well, we don't want our students 'mingling' with each other when they're supposed to be rivals. We're fine, I promise. But thanks."

Dumbledore shrugged and allowed Crouch to speak once again. "Now, champions, the details of your first trial will be revealed to you all on Halloween night at Hogwarts."

Christina squealed then looked to the ground.

"How many trials are there exactly?" asked Nicolette. "Five?"

"Four," corrected Crouch. "Five was too much for the founder of Doomspell to come up with, and so he settled with four.

"I want you to give it your all and fight to win — otherwise, what is the point? I wish every one of you good luck in the near future."

Kofi, Nicolette, Christina and Shizuka all said, "Thank you," but Theodore's lips didn't move at all. He heard, all right, but why would he ever say that? His heart was racing with lividity, and his eyes felt like they were being pressed back into his skull, burning like — he rubbed them just in case somebody had seen them change. It had been a while since it last happened, but right now…

Graves was the first to leave with Christina through the door, and she gave a look of pity and kindness to Theodore before the two left. Kofi also gave him a friendly nod before leaving, and that was the end for his kind rivals. Nicolette didn't even care to look at him as she walked past, keeping her chin up in a manner that contradicted Elvira's carefree demeanour (wasn't so carefree a few moments ago, however).

Shizuka looked Theodore up and down and furrowed her eyebrows when he didn't seem to care. She turned away and followed her Headmaster out the door, which left just Theodore; his professors; Lestrange and Rita in the room, who still hadn't spoken a single word. How strange.

Professor McGonagall straightened her glasses and turned to Dumbledore, then breathed, "Albus… do you honestly think that Theodore can go through with this without… without his life being in complete peril? Think about last year. He almost…"

Dumbledore looked over to Theodore still squeezing his hat in silence and said, "The best thing that we can do is hope that he'll do his best —"

"Albus, that wasn't what I was looking for —!" she nearly exploded before Lestrange cut her off.

"Minerva, what's done is done. There's no point in arguing over something that is not in any of our hands except for Theodore. He was chosen, not us."

"You seem to be quite content with the fact that he is Hogwarts's champion, aren't you, _Theodore_?" Professor McGonagall nearly growled accusingly. "I've heard about the apprenticeship you decided to flash to Riddle over the summer. That's so like you —!"

"Minerva, please."

…

Nothing was said after that, not anything about Theodore. Dumbledore led the way out of the room with Theodore at the back, remarking how the rest of the school will be able to stomach the Portkey back home. Rita had managed to refrain from asking Theodore a single question as they traversed through the rocky tunnels that could've been underneath the colosseum for all Theodore knew.

Professor McGonagall didn't say a word either, and neither did Professor Snape as well. None turned to ask him how he felt about any of this — not even a single glance towards him. Theodore focused on keeping his stare vacant up until orange light came through an archway from where they first came inside. Everybody else carried on forward while Dumbledore stayed behind with Theodore.

A rise of chatter from his school was heard until it died down to the average level in the Great Hall. Dumbledore was twiddling his thumbs as if something were about to happen, but instead slightly turned to Theodore and said quietly, "If you like, we can Apparate back to the castle instead of you walking out there."

"What makes you think I don't want to walk out there?" Theodore asked, not caring that his voice was louder than usual. He shook his head and stuffed his hat on, almost about to ask if they were going to Apparate or not when Dumbledore's left arm was lifted for him to hold.

Theodore took it without question and in an instant felt his insides twist and stretch as they were being sucked through an unending, thin tube. It felt longer than all the other times he had to Disapparate, and by the time he felt the hard ground beneath his feet, he bent over to hold his stomach tightly.

However, it oddly took much less time for nausea to leave him — maybe he was still so bad-tempered that motion-sickness paled to his anger. Theodore's breathing eased after a few seconds from appearing, and he looked around the area to see shining armour, moving pictures that were bathed in the clear moonlight. Moreover, just behind him was the Fat Lady's portrait, apparently in shock from their sudden arrival.

"Theodore," Dumbledore called out to him when he began to head to the common room, "if there is anything that is troubling you, just know that I will always be there to talk to, OK? Anything."

' _You should know what the hell it is… all of you should've known…'_

A grin grew on Theodore's face when he told Dumbledore that he'd be the first one he'd go to before he wished him goodnight and spoke the password. An empty common room soon to be quickly filled. For some reason, the fire had been snuffed out, making the place unusually dark. Of course, he wouldn't catch a break after this — nobody could ever leave him alone.

The false grin was nowhere to be seen when he quietly walked over to the boys' dormitory. Just an empty stare in the darkness of the common room from the hazel eyes that were no more, just slits swimming in scarlet…

* * *

Crookshanks screeched and stretched on Hermione's lap before he curled back into a messy orange ball where he laid lazily like always. Hermione had her legs up on the squashy armchair support, stroking Crookshanks in a messy pattern, clear that she was perturbed by something — or someone for that matter. Just a few more hours before the weekend would come to an end, and here she was, unable to think properly.

"Harry," she said finally after turning to him and Ron sitting by the table around her Transfiguration homework, "have you seen Theo anywhere recently?"

Harry put a finger to his chin and shrugged, then elbowed Ron to see if he knew. "Don't know either. Last time I saw him I asked where he was going: said that he was going to read up on Doomspell to get prepared for it. I offered him some history tips, but he said he wanted to do it alone. Why d'you ask?"

Hermione lifted an eyebrow and said, "Because he hasn't said a word about being chosen to any of us, other than on the day when we came back? Haven't you noticed at all?"

She sighed and put Crookshanks down to the ground, twisting herself to sit properly. "It's been more than a week since then, and… so I'm worried for him."

Harry and Ron both looked at each other then tilted their heads to the side a little when Hermione caught both their gazes.

"Well, of course, I'm worried for him!" Hermione nearly snapped, although it came off more like a shrill than anything. "He's my — _our_ friend who's been acting weird ever since he was chosen for Doomspell, so obviously I want to know what's wrong with him!"

" _Someone's in denial,"_ muttered Ron under his breath as he dipped his quill in his ink bottle — he then defensively put an arm around Hermione's parchments when she nearly leapt for them. "Wait, I was joking, Hermione! Come on; it's due tomorrow!"

Hermione stared him and plopped back down on the armchair, grabbing Crookshanks to stroke him aggressively. She could always 'count' on Ron to push her buttons, even when something more significant than them was right in front of them. She hadn't seen Theodore at all during the day and barely saw him for a minute on the day before… didn't he want to speak to her anymore…?

"Maybe he's with Snape," suggested Harry after collecting his parchments and putting them in a careful stack before a scowl grew on his face. "Seems to be his favourite student at the moment. Why the hell does he still hate me when his own godson is my cousin? Petty arsehole…"

Hermione's flare of anger towards Ron died away quickly when no words were spoken between the three as Theodore ran through her mind yet again and refused to leave. Crookshanks lazily swatted in the air where Aquilina was zooming around Ron's head, occasionally perching on his shoulder to tickle his ear.

"Oi, stop it, you…" grinned Ron when she did it for the fourth time.

It must've been serious for Theodore to avoid them for so long. He'd been so distant from them, not saying the right words whenever they'd ask — and Hermione knew that it was about Doomspell. Why wouldn't it be? In her mind, she tried to find reasons for him to close himself off, but in the end, couldn't find a single one that would've made sense.

Also, she wanted to go and look for him, despite how close it was to curfew. He'd always return to the common room late without saying where he was — he could've been anywhere in the school, with Snape, the library, maybe even —

' _No, why would you even think that? Theo'd never go back down there. Never ever ever.'_

Ten minutes of stroking Crookshanks couldn't distract her for long enough when she looked over to the portrait that hadn't moved for the past half hour. Call her meticulous, but she noticed earlier on that Theodore had always arrived at a particular time during the evening, but this time he was late by five minutes. Then, where was he?

Hermione set Crookshanks down again, who slinked off at not being able to rest in a single spot and told the boys that she was going to look for Theodore. Both Harry and Ron told her to wait as they scribbled quickly on their parchments while Hermione weaved through the other Gryffindors to reach the portrait hole. The first place she'd go to would be the dungeons, then maybe the library if she was lucky —

Just before she could pull the portrait towards her, Hermione had to instinctively jump back to avoid the moving picture from hitting her square in the face. Theodore jumped through and brushed at his clothes; then he closed the portrait before he stopped and stared at Hermione.

The slightly blank expression that hadn't changed since they came back — Theodore's gorgeous eyes just seemed lifeless. Hermione remembered the morning after they came back from the colosseum — after Professor McGonagall chastised the entire school for not applauding Theodore when he was chosen, the Great Hall broke into cheers when he stepped inside for breakfast.

Gryffindor sang the loudest and so did Hufflepuff; most Ravenclaws and a few Slytherins at best (what a surprise, yet not really). Just a twitch of the lip and that was it, his only reaction to it — not even a smile.

"… Hermione!"

"Yes! Yes?" Hermione bleated out before realising that Theodore had said her name. "Yes, Theodore?"

"Are you OK?" he asked as he walked to the side just a little bit.

Hermione nodded and smiled and watched him walk off with a bag around his shoulder. He completely ignored Dennis and Colin badgering him to tell him what it was like being the 'Champion of Hogwarts' as people liked to dub him before he banished himself up to the dormitory. That was probably all that she was going to get out of him today, and nothing more.

' _He's not OK,'_ she thought to herself, breathing loudly. Whenever he'd stop talking to people, it was never for a good reason, not even once.

Hermione then walked over to collect Crookshanks, now apprehensive at her touch and told the boys not to lose her homework before she walked up to the girls' dorm for the fourth-year girls.

"I'm not going to have any fingers by the time the year ends," moaned Fay Dunbar as she sat on the edge of Elvira's bed, newer-looking than the others and on Hermione's immediate left. "Hagrid is going to kill us with those evil Skrewts!"

Elvira held up the back of her hand and grimaced at the sight of a large burn that was red bordering purple. "I can't even get rid of this without focusing extra hard in this area for a long time! And when the Skrewts were… were…"

"'Getting it on'?"

Both girls shuddered and laughed at the dire situation with their subject. Hermione loved Hagrid, but she knew when to cross the line with the Skrewts possibly being the worst thing he had ever taught them compared to the Flobberworms in the third year.

Hermione placed Crookshanks down in his fluffy bed on the side of her own and sat on the edge, oddly remaining still to look down at her feet. She shouldn't think of the worst possible thing that Theodore could be doing when he disappeared, but…

"Hello, you," greeted Elvira as she sat next to Hermione with a smile, even mimicking her hair. Her hair soon returned to its normal colour when she noticed Hermione's uneasy face as she continued, "Sorry — wait, is something bothering you?"

"No, Elvira."

"Then it's _someone_. Is it 'him'?"

Hermione felt her cheeks become flushed and looked behind her shoulder to make sure that Fay had left Elvira's bed for her own. When she saw that she was on the other side of the room, Hermione grabbed a large book from her stack on the bedside, crossed her legs on the bed and began to read through rapidly — she didn't even care if she jumped a few chapters ahead.

"Just because I told you about it, doesn't mean that you always have to bring him up, Elvira," muttered Hermione, embarrassed. Her heart was thumping like crazy, always when Elvira would mention Theodore in any way.

Elvira crawled next to her and nudged her arm. "I'm sorry. You know… I have also noticed that Theodore doesn't talk to people much these days. Maybe he's just acting strange for another reason — has this happened before?"

' _When the Chamber of Secrets was — no, he's not doing that. Stop thinking that.'_

Hermione just shook her head and carried on reading, now feeling stupid for spoiling the book that she'd been reading quite recently.

"Wait, it's your birthday soon, isn't it? In two days?!" Elvira gasped with hands on her cheeks. "Maybe he's getting you the perfect present!"

"You — you think so? I don't know, Elvira. Theo's very thoughtful, but… I don't want to doubt it either."

"Then it's most likely to be Doomspell that's affecting him. After all, it's… it's affecting me as well…"

Hermione took her eyes away from the book and looked to the side to see Elvira's face hanging a little low with her happiness towards her and Theodore ebbing away. She closed the book and knew what was wrong but still asked. "Why aren't you happy to see your sister, Elvira? She's… your sister! I don't understand."

"It's a family thing. We're not full sisters, you see, only sisters under my father. I told you already that he remarried. And that's not the only thing — the Christina girl who was chosen from the American school: she had the same surname as me. It's all too strange for me."

"Sayre… it's your mother's name, right?"

Elvira nodded. "From an Irish family. Very rare — that's why my mother insisted that I'd take her name as well as my father's…"

Her face fell even more as Hermione couldn't pinpoint just what was wrong. She was never too good with getting people's feelings, and she blamed it on not having any friends before Hogwarts. Her mum always told her to keep trying, no matter what, but in the end, to no avail — until she met Theodore at least.

"You shouldn't worry too much about all of it," she said after placing her book back onto the pile. "If you want to talk about anything, then I'm here. Or we don't have to if you want, that is."

Elvira closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose with a smile. "Of course — but I'll only tell you my secrets when you tell me yours: that you are _desperately_ in love with —"

"OK, goodnight, I'll be going to sleep since we have school tomorrow early in the morning!" Hermione shoved Elvira off the bed and jumped into her pyjamas, squeaking out another three goodnights before whisking the tapestries around her to surround herself in darkness and a lack of sound.

…

Why did she ever tell her that on the first day that they saw each other on the train? It was just both of them, and she got ahead of herself when uttering the answer to her question without thinking — and she didn't even take it back when she realised what she said. She wouldn't because… why would she? She did, right? Right?

Hermione sat in the darkness and fumbled slowly underneath her pillow for her hair-bands, her heart beating too fast for it to be healthy when she thought back to the conversation she had with Elvira back then…

…

' _Mum said that this could mean only one thing… and she's right. I… I do love him. My gosh, I love him…! Right? Right…'_

* * *

 _A graveyard littered with graves that went uncared for… five of them… five Riddles, surely less than bone right now because of him… Thomas and Mary Riddle… Cecelia Riddle… and them… siblings… Henry and Louise Riddle…_

Harry shot up from his bed and slapped his scar from the prickling heat it caused. Again did he see the name Riddle, again and again. Tombstones being brushed against by a bony hand… he couldn't even remember where it was, where 'he' was…

"Hey, Theo," Harry groggily said to his cousin on the opposite side of the room. He put his glasses on and noticed how he was already dressed head to toe in his uniform as he knelt to the floor, presumably hissing to Viripin.

Theodore's eyebrows lifted a little when he heard Harry, and he stood up to face him. "Hey, Harry," he said back quietly so that the others wouldn't wake up. "You're up earlier than usual."

"Couldn't stay asleep for too long, you know. Cursed scar and all that…" Harry took a glance at the book that Theodore had under his armpit and could make out that it was called _Mystery of the Soul_ by an unknown author. "You haven't spoken that much. Hermione reckons that something's up with you."

Theodore shrugged and slid the book into his bag, replying, "I've got to make a start somewhere if I'm going to compete with the other schools. After all, I am the youngest champion out of the five."

"Makes sense." Theodore zipped his bag shut and threw it around his back before aiming to the door until Harry jumped out of bed and said quite loudly, "Theo, wait up! I'll get ready quickly."

"Um, OK…?"

As Theodore said that he'd wait at the bottom of the stairs, Harry dashed off to get clean and get dressed, now starting to see what point Hermione was trying to get across to them. When he was fully dressed, Harry stepped out into the common room at the same time as Hermione and mirrored her to stare at her weirdly before looking at Theodore.

An awkward tension suddenly brewed between the three that Theodore seemed to be completely unaware of — he just wrinkled his eyebrows at the two not doing anything else rather than standing still.

"Hi, Harry! Hi, Theo!" Hermione said to both boys. "Um, know what's the first lesson today?"

"Potions," Theodore flatly answered before digging into his bag to retrieve _Mystery of the Soul_ and walking over to the portrait of a still, young Gryffindor without his sword, observing it while stroking his chin.

Harry gave Hermione an uneasy look, and her vice-versa. "You all right, Theo?"

"Yes," he muttered without looking back at his cousin, "why wouldn't I be —"

"Because you've been acting the same way recently as you did two years ago!" Hermione divulged without restraint — she pressed her lips together as if an explosion was awaiting.

' _What the hell is wrong with you, Hermione, I mean the actual hell is wrong you?! Why would you say that?!'_

Harry's uneasiness wasn't helped when Theodore's face didn't change from his newly adopted stony demeanour. He stared at the two, shifting from Hermione to Harry until he chuckled and shook his head — as of course, an unexpected reaction.

"You don't have to worry, guys, I'm not going to set the Basilisk on anyone," Theodore joked as he rolled his eyes.

…

"Too soon?" When all they could manage were just grins, Theodore simply shrugged again and said that he was going down to breakfast with or without them and left.

"Where's Theo?" asked Ron when he came down with the other fourth-year boys. "Did he go down to breakfast again without us?"

"Yeah, and he's still not telling us what's wrong with him — and, Hermione, don't go saying that to him again, please?"

Hermione crossed her arms but didn't say anything when Ron continued, "Don't you think this has been going on for a bit too long now? I suggest that we follow him to know where he's going — just a quick peek at the Marauder's Map and —"

"We're not going to stalk Theodore, Ron," Hermione interjected brashly. "He's our friend, not somebody we have to spy on. I can guarantee you that he'll come around by the end of today and tell us what's bothering him."

Harry was swirling his ladle in his cauldron as Hermione snapped at him for the second time that he was swirling in the wrong direction. The two were paired up to make an antidote for common poisons, and Hermione seemed all right with working with him until their partnership was slowly starting to decline.

As she took it upon herself to swirl the murky concoction, Harry didn't take his stare away from Theodore sitting where the divide between Slytherin and Gryffindor was, working with Nott, who was his new partner after Malfoy found a new one with Pansy. Theodore and Nott seemed friendly enough that it looked as if they were having a regular conversation…

"Maybe I should get the Map," whispered Harry when Snape was out of hearing distance. "Then we'll know where he goes to all the time. _I should've thought about looking at it before if I'm honest…_ "

Hermione just huffed and added Lionfish Spine Extract into the cauldron and carried on stirring. Harry rolled his eyes but forced himself to look invested in Hermione's stirring when Snape took five points each from Neville and Seamus for melting their table.

"… might stay behind…" was what Harry could hear only just from Theodore speaking to Nott when the lesson was over. He told this to Hermione, who huffed again and packed away her things before stating that they could at least wait for him outside the door. Ron agreed to as well, and the trio stood outside the door, ready to wait until Theodore would exit.

"We shouldn't be doing this because he isn't doing anything suspicious…" Hermione said through gritted teeth as she tapped her foot.

"We know that, but we're just making sure. Isn't that what we have to do as friends, _Hermione_?"

Before Hermione could retaliate, the trio all jumped back in fear when Snape's face stuck out from the door and glowered at each of them. "Unless you want to continue disturbing me outside my door and earn detention from it, I suggest you take your sidekicks and leave, Potter!"

"We're waiting for Theodore," Harry blankly retorted, trying to calm himself down with a shaky fist.

"Riddle isn't inside," Snape snidely said. "He's already left the dungeons, and so should the three of you! Away with you!"

Harry was too dumbfounded to be angry when Snape slammed the door on their faces, and so was Hermione and Ron. Theodore had to be inside the classroom. There was no way he managed to slip by them unless he took advantage when they all agreed to wait for him. But even then…

"Where d'you think he might be then? Common room, Great Hall… Myrtle's Bathroom…?"

The two boys looked at Hermione. She didn't seem to fight against it, nor did she believe it one bit. Harry followed through with Ron's suggestion and led the way to the second-floor bathroom, his insides crawling if this was the case. There was no way in hell it could ever be true, but just in case…

Harry pushed into the bathroom when they reached it and stared at the central sinks to notice any slight movement to indicate if it had been opened recently. Theodore didn't seem to be anywhere which was a good sign, but also a worrying one.

Myrtle suddenly floated out from a cubicle on the end and crossed her arms, pouting at the three. "Finally remembered me again? Why's it always you three coming inside and no one else — what are you doing here anyway?"

"You haven't seen Theo inside here, have you?" asked Ron. "You know, Theodore Riddle —"

Myrtle cackled and held her stomach as she descended to sit on the central sinks. "As if I'd let him inside my bathroom ever again! I don't want to see his stupid, gorgeous, handsome face ever come around here again! Ever!"

"That doesn't confirm my question…"

"No. No, I didn't see your friend-who's-the-son-of-the-boy-who-killed-me, thank you very much. Now leave me alone!"

Well, at least that told them one thing: Theodore wasn't going in and out of the Chamber of Secrets like two years ago. Harry mentally slapped himself for thinking of such a thing, to suspect his cousin of doing something like that under his own free will.

"Guys, let's leave Theo be and wait for him to say something to us. We've got Charms soon."

Harry nodded as Ron and Hermione walked in front in the direction to the Great Hall while his mind couldn't think of anything else other than Theodore. The two hadn't spoken about much, at least more than the year before. If anything were troubling Harry, Theo'd be the first person to go to, maybe even before Sirius. No, it was always before Sirius. Did Theodore not have the same level of trust that Harry had in him? Not even a bit…?

* * *

Theodore right now was too many things. He was deathly tired, completely drained of energy — it was a wonder how he could talk let alone move. Yes, it was true that he was exhausted to the core, but none of his fatigue could compare to the suppressed, utter rage that he had been feeling ever since the day they came back from the colosseum.

He remembered the overwhelming praise that came from his fellow students that were seemingly lost when he was chosen (Theodore didn't forget their whispers towards him), and not only them but the _Daily Prophet_ as well. His name, now just _his_ name being plastered on the front page in nearly every issue — his picture couldn't be seen, funnily enough.

All in all, Theodore loathed all of it. He hated it all so much that it was killing him not to lash out and to pretend to act calm in a false front with everybody else. Dumbledore offered him the chance to let out his frustrations should he have any, but Theodore knew better than to rage in front of him. He didn't need anybody's help, just himself. He was enough.

Theodore was sitting half crossed-legged on the floor with his back against one of the many bookshelves of the library, particularly the Restricted Section. Next to him were stacks of books that he wouldn't be allowed near, even in his sixth year that he had been going through ever since he woke up the day after he was chosen. He had to start somewhere.

Magical contracts. Theodore had been desperately searching for methods to destroy such inhibiting magic, delving into the obscurer parts of magic which involved magic within the soul. _Magic of the Soul_ was the place to start, giving him some idea that the contracts were embedded in the soul where it was near impossible to reach, like the Fidelius Charm.

Of course, he could only find two methods to destroying them after searching hours on end for a proper solution — destroy the object that created the magical contract beyond physical repair, like a Horcrux, or maim the soul of oneself (or the casters of the magic) to make the contract null… like a Horcrux.

' _Fuck! You're telling me the only way about this is to rip my soul into pieces? I'm being used as a puppet here; I have to get out of this thing!'_

Theodore closed his current book and shoved it back into the place where he got it from, not caring for the noise that rang across the library. He was tired and hadn't gotten a decent amount of sleep in days. He was lucky that none of his teachers caught him out, although they were too busy congratulating him anyway.

He took himself on his feet and returned all the books into their spots before leaving the Restricted Section finally. Just a little to his left could he see Gioveri with parchments all over his desk, writing several letters upon letters. Theodore didn't see any use in talking to him, deeming him irrelevant to his mission to back out of Doomspell and instead walked away to leave the library.

"Hiya, Theo!" Hagrid's gruff voice came out as he walked across the Entrance Hall with two torn off, giant stingers under both his armpits. "'S bin a long time, hasn' it? How yeh bin?"

Theodore held down the pang of guilt from having not visited Hagrid in a while and replied, "Great, sorry. I've just been really… _occupied_ with this whole Trials of Doomspell stuff, you know. Supposed to be all tough and other things."

"Ahh, yes! Forgot ter congratulate yeh! Great job on getting' picked."

Theodore shrugged and looked over at the hourglasses in the corner: Gryffindor was last, dead last in fact. Yikes.

"Theodore."

"Hmm?"

"Are yeh really OK?"

"I'm fine," Theodore let out, exasperated. "Why does everybody keep thinking that I'm not OK when I am?"

"Well, the others have bin askin' abou' yeh. Bin thinkin' tha' summat's botherin' yeh fer some reason."

Theodore looked all the way up at Hagrid widening his beady eyes that were barely seen under all the hair on his face. "OK, maybe I haven't been talking with them as much as before these days, but I didn't pick myself, did I? I've got to start focusing on doing this… this stupid thing if I'm going to win."

Theodore felt the left part of his body sink when Hagrid placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Theodore, friends are supposed ter be there ter support yeh, no matter wha'. They're not there ter push away, understand?"

Theodore nodded and rubbed his shoulder as Hagrid began stomping up the marble steps and disappeared to the side. It was still a few hours after lessons had finished, and there was still enough time until he had to go back to the common room. Maybe she'd let him stay inside again...

Harry, Ron and Hermione went running through his head as he walked up two flights of stairs — he didn't notice that they were going to Hagrid's without him, but when did he pay attention to any of them recently? Now it was like as if he was ignoring them for something else… but he didn't ask to get picked.

' _Wait,'_ he thought to himself when he suddenly stopped at the end of the second-floor corridor, _'tomorrow's something… what am I forgetting…!'_

Sudden wails of despair broke Theodore's concentration from down the corridor, forcing him to forget what important thing was on the back of his mind. Theodore didn't know why he was doing this so frequently these days, for he knew that his twelve and thirteen-year-old self wouldn't go anywhere near the area. Sighing with deep confusion towards himself, he heaved his bag higher on his back and strolled towards Myrtle's bathroom.

When he slipped through the door that was slightly opened as if he were an awaited guest, Theodore stopped and stared at Myrtle swooping and diving in the air through cubicle doors and the sinks, setting them to explode with water and sully the floor. Even the marble flooring beneath the central sinks was a victim to her boredom.

Myrtle had gotten around to the last toilet and was about to float over to the U-bend when Theodore's boorish figure caught her attention. She scoffed at him. "You're here again? Why are you here again?!"

"You never tell me to get out or never come back inside," Theodore returned with a tired grin, walking closer to the central sinks.

"That's because I was ignoring you, you idiot!"

"Well, you just failed, so who's the idiot now?" Theodore carefully stepped in the puddles to avoid slipping over and looked at himself in the mirror to see dishevelled hair sticking out nearly everywhere and purple bags under his eyes. God, did he look terrible.

Taking and pointing his wand to his trousers, Theodore thought for a while, then lazily muttered _"Impervius,"_ feeling his trousers heat a little before he sat down in the puddle — no sensation of wetness could be felt along his backside. Good.

Myrtle suddenly popped up from the ground next to him and had half her body sticking out from the floor. "Even when you look disgusting, you're still too good-looking. Bleurgh!"

"I've just been…" Theodore yawned without covering his mouth. "I've just been really busy with stuff… you know?"

"No, I don't. I've been dead for fifty years, thanks to your dad. Anyway, your friends came in here earlier today, thinking that you were here as well. Did you know that?"

"Oh," said Theodore, leaning his head back until it hit a sink. "Did, uh… did Hermione come back inside more than once?"

"Yes," pouted Myrtle as she swam through the solid floor to walk through his legs — they went icy-cold in a second. "I don't see what's the appeal in you that she sees, other than your face."

Theodore snorted and shrugged.

Myrtle narrowed her eyes at him. Somehow, being a ghost meant that Legilimency was ineffective against you, which made Theodore glad that he couldn't feel what she was at the moment. "I don't understand you — why don't you just hurt Hermione the same way Tom did to me? Huh? It's the same thing, isn't it? A Muggle-born and both of _you_."

"For the last time, I'm not my father, Myrtle. I'm nothing like him, I'm — I wouldn't hurt Hermione in any way, and I mean that." _'Well, I try not to at least.'_

Myrtle's face scrunched up into a scowl as if she were disappointed by something. "You shouldn't be different from him. You look just like him, walk like him — what makes you different from him? Hmm? What, is it because you're in love with Hermione —?"

"No!" Theodore cut in quickly, almost forgetting that Myrtle didn't have a mouth to cover. "I'm too young to — love is a very, _very_ strong word to use here, Myrtle, a-and I think that…"

"Awww!" Myrtle cooed, fluttering her eyes at him. Well, that took a massive turn. "So you _do_ love her, aww, how sweet! Oh, I've been hoping for a little romance between both of you in my bathroom! You're both welcome to come and snog anytime if you like —"

"And that's my cue to leave," said Theodore, grabbing his bag and checking to make sure that his trousers were dry. He heard Myrtle repeating his and Hermione's names, mixing them until he closed the door behind him and promptly made his way back to the common room. "One second she hates me, the next she doesn't. What a weirdo…"

The hallways seemed emptier now these days. Understandable since there's been a new wave of clubs that started this year, but this time around it was way too empty. Theodore had only seen at most three people walking around, and that was it. All for the best he supposed. The very last thing that he wanted now was for more people to show him false praise in front of his face.

Seeing as nobody seemed to be around the area, Theodore held off going to the common room, despite it approaching curfew (which is probably why the castle was empty…?) and sat down on a still staircase to try and wrap his head around it all. But he couldn't. He just couldn't. Too much anger pointed everywhere, towards Dumbledore, Crouch especially, even Professor Snape and Lestrange.

Why did it have to be him of all people? Couldn't none of them tell that he was beyond frightened of what the outcome of this entire thing could be? Did they not know…?

 _It's him! Right there! THEODORE RIDDLE IS THE SON OF THE DARK LORD! THE SON… OF LORD VOLDEMORT!_

Theodore's fingers trembled as everything around him felt cold as if a barrier had shut him away from the entire world and made it seem as if he was alone, always alone.

' _Everyone will know… and when they do… they'll want to kill me… everyone…'_

 _It's him! Right there…! THE SON… OF LORD VOLDEMORT…!_

' _I don't want to do this… please don't make me do this…'_

 **Two parter, people! Next chap will start right off from here! I hope you like the multi POV in this chap, seeing as we can take a look into how the others feel about Theo being chosen, which is now apparent why. I wonder if him being self-secluded will be resolved soon…**

 **That's where I'm going to leave it, and I hope you have absorbed everything for the next one. Hope you enjoyed this, look out for the chapter, and I'll see you later.**


	49. Chapter 49: You're Not Alone, Theo Pt2

He'd been sitting down for far too long now, his eyes devoid of anything resembling mild content — true, Theodore had neglected his sleep for at least a few days now, and the toll was steadily creeping up on him. It'd only be a matter of time before it would drag him violently by the neck, forcing him to shut down at any second.

While it was still past curfew, Theodore felt no urge to return to the common room that was waiting for him. Hell, he couldn't even lift himself from the staircase that he had been sitting on for the past fifteen minutes — it wasn't like anybody could force him to leave: Theodore was lucky that no teacher or ghost had caught him sitting alone.

Theodore ran his fingers through his unruly hair and lowered his chin onto his knees, sighing with the feeling of being unbothered by everything. He tapped his shoes rhythmically, not missing a single beat — he could seriously fall asleep on this staircase at any second now. There was no point in punishing his brain into trying to get the gist of Doomspell.

But he couldn't go back up to Gryffindor Tower, not yet. He just needed more time on his own, just to stay in his head for a little more. Ron, Harry and Hermione: sure, they could be waiting for him right now, but all that was left for him was —

"… and mark my words, Dumbledore, I'm sure that he'll be fine. Rita has been reminded of her boundaries and restrictions time and time again, _should she have any at least_ …"

Theodore's head perked up from the discernible voice that came from above, and his legs instantly jerked to sprint over into a diverging corridor where a grubby suit of armour was standing. He quickly squeezed himself behind it, earning a raucous from the armour before it was harshly silenced.

From just behind the amour's arm could Theodore see Lestrange hobbling down the staircase where he sat, now without his cane and with an expensive-looking pointy hat. He shot a glare at where Theodore was hidden, forcing him to retreat into a blind spot before peeking out again.

"Even with Rita far and away from Mr Riddle, it's far too late to cover him from the press, Cornelius," said Lestrange, just giving a final glance to the armour before his attention shifted to the other two wizards. "Word gets around quickly when a champion has been chosen for Doomspell, especially when it's a fourteen-year-old boy."

"I'm afraid this does put him at a disadvantage against the other champions," Dumbledore said calmly as he waved to a screaming portrait nearby — from where Theodore was standing, Dumbledore's eyes looked distant like he just lost something precious.

"Not only with being the youngest of the champions but with the increased attention as well. Too much of it can have negative effects on boys his age — and I speak from personal experience myself," Dumbledore continued.

Fudge shifted his lime bowler hat around his head while smiling as if confused by the sudden doubt around him. "But what is possibly the worst that can happen to Theodore, eh? Dumbledore, _Theodore_? I'd say he's plenty prepared for Doomspell, and I firmly believe that."

"Well…" Lestrange started uneasily as he twirled his cane on a single point on the ground, "he was chosen by the Ring of Judgement above several students who should — _have_ more exposure to magic than he has. Maybe… maybe this was how it was always going to be?"

Fudge chortled as if he had won an argument from merely saying a single word before he caught Dumbledore's almost detached expression. "Ah, come on, Dumbledore — I perfectly understand that Theodore is perhaps too young for this competition, and I know that you have picked him as one of your favourites.

"But from what I heard, you yourself said that you believed that his potential was the greatest underneath this very castle's roof! If you have that much faith in him, Dumbledore, then… _wonders_. He'll do wonders, I tell you!"

' _You still think that I caught Pettigrew all on my own, don't you? Having too much faith in one person is stupid, especially coming from you…'_

As Lestrange began to lead the way downstairs just before Dumbledore had requested to go through a different corridor opposite to where Theodore was at, Theodore himself listened intently for their voices to dim into nothing before shifting out behind the armour.

It joked that it should scream to give away Theodore's position outside his common room, right before Theodore threatened to curse it by filling it up to the brim with faeces. "Well, somebody's in a bad mood. _And you're supposed to be the one representing us… How on earth did you get chosen…?'_

After dusting off his robes from dirt and ancient cobwebs that Filch must've neglected to clean, Theodore sunk his hands in his pockets and turned to stroll further down the corridor, ignoring the muttering portraits on the side. Of course, Fudge would have such blind faith in him, even after knowing the truth. Theodore couldn't believe that somebody in such a position could act in a way that — he froze upon turning on a corner where voices could be heard down a lower corridor.

Theodore stepped forwards without haste and felt an impulse to turn immediately when he saw two people, one having their back firmly pressed against the wall and the other's face brought extremely close. His initial thought was just two other students outside of their common rooms seeking 'private company', but that wasn't the case — not the case at all.

"… and you ought to be careful with what you say, _Nott_. Loyalty isn't something that you hand out like charity —" Malfoy's unmistakable voice and figure snarled threateningly to the taller boy's face.

Nott didn't show an ounce of discomfort from the lack of space between them and even smiled mockingly at Malfoy as he retorted, "As if you're in any position to try and threaten me, Malfoy. I guess hiding behind 'daddy' has gotten to your pampered head. Entitled much?"

"Watch your mouth! I could —"

"You could do what?" Nott broke in harshly, "call your dad to go up in the Ministry and — Riddle?"

Theodore felt his body tense up when the two boys moved their gaze to his direction, and he realised how far out from the corner was he standing, clear for them to see. His eyes were drowsy and felt sore from the irregular blinking of his dry eyelids — he really needed to go bed, but not yet. Not until —

"What are you staring at?" Malfoy spitefully asked Theodore, who took a few seconds too many to see that the question was directed to him.

"Having fun there, are you?"

"How about you get lost — you've got no business here, _Riddle_ ," Malfoy added, stepping back from Nott to face Theodore. "Poking your nose everywhere is going to get you hurt like Potter and your other stupid friends."

"Piss off, _Malfoy_ ," muttered Theodore, too sapped and unbothered to come up with a decent retort.

It was as if Nott had been forgotten and left behind as Malfoy threateningly approached Theodore, swinging his arms — it made him look like a skinnier version of Goyle with blonde hair. "Oh, I see — of course, it's obvious! Doomspell has gotten to _your_ head, thinking that you're something important. How _you_ got chosen over others is a wonder."

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I'm better than 'others', including you," Theodore added with false airiness, noting how Malfoy's eye twitched a little bit. "It'd be a travesty how _you'd_ be chosen, but whatever — and like I said, _piss. Off._ "

Malfoy crossed his arms and sneered, scrunching up his pointed face. He too tried to close the space between them. "I'd honestly like to see you try to get past the first trial — people like you have no clue about what's to happen —"

"Didn't I say to piss off?"

"Or what? Surely you can fight your own battles, Riddle — unless you want to bring your filthy Mudblood girlfriend to try and attack me again —"

"Do you want to say that again, you fucking spoiled —!" Theodore seethed with bubbling anger, his fingers reaching for his wand inside his robe in a near instant — it was only just when his fingertips touched the tip of his wand did he feel a presence swooping onto the scene.

"Three students out of their common room far past curfew and — what is going on here?" Professor Snape stood tall above them all, glaring at both Malfoy and Theodore, somehow not noticing Nott against the wall — he was probably already aware of him.

Theodore was unable to let go from his wand inside his robe and merely kept his lips shut, avoiding his godfather's gaze as Nott spoke out from the corner, "It was Malf— _Draco_ , Professor. He was just being a nuisance and — and he called Granger a Mudblood."

Professor Snape twisted his head to look contemptuously at Nott, as if Mudblood had been directed to him before he turned to Malfoy, who, surprisingly, didn't try to defend himself. "I'd advise you to refrain from speaking the word again, Mr Malfoy, whether it should be in my presence or not. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor Snape…"

He stared at the three boys a little longer before declaring, "All three of you are loitering outside your common rooms beyond curfew," he drawled with disappointment. "Mr Malfoy and Mr Nott, I am severely let down from two boys within my own House: five points from Slytherin from the both of you, and another five points from you, Mr Malfoy, for using vulgar language."

"But —!"

"Enough," Professor Snape hushed Malfoy into silence. "Both of you return to the dungeons where you belong — Mr Riddle and I have pressing matters to discuss."

Professor Snape turned smoothly on his heels and beckoned Theodore to follow behind him. His hand was at his side and away from his wand, but his fingernails were dug deep into his palm as he couldn't help but feel the need to curse Malfoy's smug face. Nott had already started to move off in the opposite direction and only looked back for a brief moment before disappearing around the corner.

' _One of these days… one of these days, nobody will be around to save your pathetic behind…'_

Theodore kept his head lowered as he walked a considerable distance behind Professor Snape, just far enough that he could see him turning into any junction of corridors or staircases — but it wasn't like he didn't know where they were going. They soon reached the marble staircase and the Entrance Hall, and they turned to the entrance of the dungeons, finally arriving at Professor Snape's office. It seemed like months ago when he first had an Occlumency lesson.

Closing the door behind him, he gripped his bag's straps and watched blankly as Professor Snape sat silently at his desk, his greasy hair partially cloaking his eyes. Just mere silence. "You've missed our recent lesson — _two_ , in fact."

"So?" said Theodore, not wanting to sit down. "It wasn't like I was getting any better."

"You were making progress, but you lack patience. It will all come in good time — if you actually waited for improvement, then maybe you'd feel more appreciative of your efforts."

Theodore scoffed and rubbed his nose, returning nearly scornfully, "And that really matters right now? What good is Occlumency anyway when both you and Dumbledore always know what I'm thinking? Even then, nobody's going to try and attack my mind — Voldemort isn't coming back —"

" _Don't say the Dark Lord's name!"_ Professor Snape hissed, pressing his palms firmly against the desk. He pulled them away and allowed them to fall onto his lap upon seeing Theodore's face darken slightly. "Something is troubling you."

"I'm not troubled," Theodore said quickly. He then closed his eyes firmly and attempted to bury his emotions, scolding himself for letting his guard down.

"You were quick to cut me off, and you were successful. If only you were just a little faster, then maybe I could've…"

Theodore's hand was shaking from gripping the straps too tight. If he couldn't block him out in time, then why wasn't he asking…?

…

Professor Snape leaned forward; then he came up to his feet — his hair had curtained to the side as his eyes were on full display. "You're angry, aren't you?" he concluded from further thinking. "Angry at me… at Crouch; Professor Dumbledore… you're angry at all of it, but deep down, there's something that you're hiding…"

"I'm not… there isn't anything…"

…

"You're afraid," Professor Snape finally said.

"Of course I'm afraid," Theodore started, his voice only just shaking — composure was hard to keep, but he held onto it. "Ever since the trial — ever since Pettigrew outed me in front of everyone, I've been…! It's been like that ever since I opened that stupid Chamber and — when I found out who my dad really was, I couldn't let anybody find out! I've been trying to keep this a secret, and I've been trying so hard! I've been trying _so_ hard, but now that I'm chosen… now that everybody will know my name, I…"

Professor Snape slowly moved around his desk and had his eyes trained on Theodore, not turning his gaze anywhere else.

…

"Are… are people going to come after me when they find out who I really am?" Theodore let out, nearly quivering in his voice as his grip on his bag became stronger.

Professor Snape was quick to bring his hands upon Theodore's shoulders and press his fingertips rather firmly. "I won't let —! _I will not let that happen_."

"What could you even possibly do…?"

Removing his hands from Theodore's shoulders, Professor Snape stood back, face still stony as he said, "I know why you feel so much anger towards me: it was about that day, wasn't it — the day that you were chosen. Is it because I didn't defend you like McGonagall did, foolishly going against —!"

Theodore's palms could've been calloused and bled from how hard his grip was. His lips were pressed tight when he realised his mistake — he should've never followed him down. He didn't understand…

"Listen closely," spoke Professor Snape in a lowered voice, "there's a reason why I didn't say anything to keep you from going down with the other champions. I've known ever since your very first lesson down here with me that you are set above your peers, and over the years, I've seen what you can do, _what you're capable of_!

"You outclassed ninety percent of all my students at the mere age of twelve when you solved my riddle down in the underground chambers," Professor Snape continued — there was an extremely rare hint of intensity, the mad kind, rising in his voice. " _That_ is why the Ring of Judgement chose you — because your potential far exceeds everyone in this castle. How could I _not_ think that you should've been —"

"But I don't want to do it," Theodore broke in harshly. "I-I don't care about my 'potential'; I don't care about being the best! What good would any of that do when everyone finds out?"

It silenced him. Professor Snape's mouth opened only just, but no words came out to express what he could have possibly felt — what did he even feel? He didn't know what to say, clearly — not what to do either. Why did he go silent? Theodore forced himself to look him in the eye and try to drag out what was going on in his godfather's head, anything…

Nothing. He said, and he _did_ nothing. Of course.

Theodore rubbed his eyes roughly and swallowed with discomfort — why did he even come down there? He turned to face the door and left Professor Snape to watch him go, still lost for words as Theodore spoke before leaving, "I… I'll come next time…"

It felt as if eternity had passed over when he closed the door firmly behind him. Surely it was nightfall by now. Guess he had to return to the common room whether he liked it or not — Theodore was deathly tired, and Viripin would be worrying where he was.

Footsteps from around the corner caught Theodore's attention when he made it just three steps away from Professor Snape's office door — who could possibly be out and about at this time? "Who's there — Nott? I thought you already went back to your common room."

Nott lightly brushed past him with an unusual air of unease as he replied blankly, "Took a long way around. Didn't want to meet up with Malfoy again, so…"

"Hmm…" was all that Theodore could say before turning and heading to Gryffindor Tower yet again. Another three steps before —

"You don't seem all that happy, you know, being a champion for Doomspell," Nott called out. Theodore stopped and looked around his shoulder, barely able to make out Nott approaching him slowly. "I don't know about you, but most people would practically be stuck strutting everywhere if it were them — take Malfoy for example."

Theodore just shrugged, wishing that he could be left alone — he wasn't bothered with telling Nott that. Of course, the conversation ensued.

Nott walked closer to Theodore and continued, "You know, my — _Mr Lestrange_ hasn't said anything to me about you being picked, even if you're too young. I know that he offered you an apprenticeship — I got one too."

"What exactly are you two to each other?" Theodore blurted out — he couldn't help himself just knowing. "I saw you and him at Sirius's trial, and I saw you both together when we were getting on the train. I mean… what is it?"

"Family friend," Nott said, almost as if he didn't want Theodore to know. Understandable, to say the least.

Theodore shrugged once again and aimed to the archway of the dungeons when Nott's voice made him halt in his tracks, "If — If you want to look through my book again… you can if you want."

"Really…?" At this point, Theodore nearly lost all motivation to learn about his father's family.

"Yeah. I'm not going to let you borrow it, though, so don't get any ideas."

"Right, right… I'll keep you posted then."

"What's this — conspiring with the enemy again, Theodore? Oh wait, there's both of you!" a skittish voice from behind emerged.

Before the boys could look over their shoulders to see who had decided to drop in on their conversation, Daphne swept past Theodore in the same manner as Nott, only with more contact, and had her eyebrow lifted to the both of them.

"Didn't know you two were extra friendly with each other," Daphne directed to Nott before turning to Theodore with a nearly teasing smile, saying, "Planning to break into our common room again, Riddle?"

"I won't need to," said Theodore, catching Nott's eye. "Anyway, it's late, and I'm _so tired_ …"

"Well, sleep well, _Theo_. And you should be inside the common room — no, I won't tell you where I was, thank you very much."

Nott released a sigh of annoyance and told Daphne that he had to tell Theodore one last thing and that he'd follow her soon. After Daphne gave Theodore a playful wave and left the two alone again, Nott then muttered, " _She's… something…_ anyway, remember when you were looking through my book to look for your family?"

"Yeah, so?"

"You were looking specifically at the Gaunts, though, as if they were the family you were looking for. Were they —?"

"I got the wrong family," said Theodore quickly, cutting him off. "If they really were mine, then I'd obviously be a Parselmouth — and I'd be in Slytherin with you lot."

"Obviously…" Nott considered, narrowing his eyes at Theodore before merely shrugging his shoulders and turning to stroll off to Slytherin Common Room.

There was no point in avoiding it now. Sooner or later _w_ ould he have to go back to the common room. Night had filled the hallways with moonlight being flung across the walls, and Peeves had vanished through a hidden door where he presumably stayed after hours. Theodore still had no idea how no one saw him walking around — not like he would've cared at this point.

"Oi!" The Fat Lady frowned in front of him as he somehow arrived at the Tower without fully realising. "You've been standing there for a minute now, I need to sleep!"

"Sorry, sorry…" mumbled Theodore, rubbing his eyes. "Umm… _what was the_ — oh yeah, _Flibberflab_!"

Theodore muttered thanks and climbed through the portrait, closing it lazily behind him. The inviting heat washed over as he walked further into the common room — he took notice of the absolute emptiness. Eleven to twelve. Usually, Fred and George would be in the corner scheming on their newest invention. Even others would still be awake completing last minute homework. It was still a school night, however.

The fire was crackling weakly, spitting tiny sparks that died quickly as Theodore sat in front of it, albeit rather clumsily. He smoothed his hands across his face to cool it down before he reached into his robes and plucked his wand out, turning it over to see its base. The faint, obscure symbol that used to haunt him — but now Doomspell had shoved it aside, obliterating it even.

' _What the hell even is this stupid symbol? It could just be the Ollivander family crest, but if so, why was Dumbledore wearing it around his neck — and that other guy, the one who was scratched out. Who is he?'_

Theodore twirled his wand around in his fingers and pondered more on the sudden thought that appeared on his mind. _'Maybe Gioveri knows about this — I should've read more of Nott's book and seen if they were —'_

Footsteps from the boys' stairwell became heard as Theodore halted with the wand-twirling. Although it was quite dark, despite the dying fire, he could perfectly make out his cousin walking through the archway and stepping out before stopping.

"You're still up?" said Theodore with confusion. "I thought that — whoa!" He immediately crawled back from the rapid ignition of the fireplace, as if it nearly exploded. "What the hell is wrong with this fire —?!"

"Harry… Harry, is that — oh, hello there, Theodore!" a happy voice called out seemingly from within the fireplace — Theodore had to squint a few times to confirm what he could possibly be seeing as Harry knelt down beside him. "Well, I certainly didn't expect to see you here at this time. Did Harry tell you that we were meeting tonight?"

Theodore moved a little closer to the flames, which were now green, when the distorted voice was recognisable to him, as well as the face that appeared inside the fire. "Wait… Sirius, is that you?"

Sirius's face gave off a toothy grin and asked again if Harry invited Theodore to talk with him as well, leaving him to reply with, "Actually, I had no idea that you guys were going to do this — is this Floo Powder by the way?"

"Ah well, seeing as it's you, Theodore, I don't mind a single bit — that is if you want to stay and talk. And yes, Floo Powder. This batch has gotten quite nasty while being untouched for so long… anyway, Harry, about your scar…"

Harry grimaced a little like his scar instantly burned upon Sirius mentioning it. "I know you wanted to talk about it face to face, Sirius, but it's gotten better. I mean, I haven't really seen —"

"Your scar's been hurting recently?" Theodore interrupted, eyes now fully open — or as full as he could possibly manage.

"Yeah, it's been hurting," Harry put a little bluntly.

"Then why didn't you say anything? You could've at least come to me first to talk about it."

"Well, it seemed as if you were too busy being on your own, so why bother troubling you?"

The slightest twitch of the eye was how much he could retain the stabbing guilt of realising just how much time he spent away from the others. Theodore watched Harry blink and move his gaze away from him to Sirius to break away from the glaring awkwardness.

"I didn't arrange this little meeting just for your scar, Harry," Sirius continued, seemingly not aware of what had been exchanged between the two teens. "In fact, I'm glad that Theodore is here as well. We'll touch on your scar for later, but I wanted to ask you something that might seem a little vague.

"The children in your year that are born into pure-blood families like Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, all of them; have they, by any chance, been acting rather off lately — at least from a distance?"

Harry and Theodore looked at each other; then shook their heads as they asked why. "I know this isn't supposed to be coming out from my mouth, but I just wanted to have some sort of idea about it. Recently, a few Aurors have decided to come out of retirement for some reason: one example being Mad-Eye Moody."

Something flicked in Theodore's brain as he recounted, "Oh yeah, Mad-Eye Moody, the guy Charlie was talking about during the summer — oh, I forget that you weren't there, Harry."

"Who's Mad-Eye Moody?"

"Nobody really said anything about him, but I'm guessing that he's supposed to be some powerful Auror. A friend of Charlie's — _what's her name…?_ Tonks! Apparently, Mad-Eye's training her or something like that."

"Right you are," Sirius added as his head flicked side to side. "In fact, I just met Tonks and her parents the other day when the final part of my reparations was going through, seeing as we are family."

Both Theodore and Harry's eyes widened at Sirius, but he carried on as if he had picked up his train of thought again. "I never had a chance to really connect with her, Tonks, even when I was fighting against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I was in Azkaban for most of her childhood, and… for some reason, I thought she'd probably shut me out for that.

"But I was wrong — Tonks hasn't lost that little streak of fun that she had ever since she was a small one," Sirius chortled. "Almost feels as if twelve years in prison went unnoticed by her and her mother. Hmm…"

"So about the Aurors?" said Harry. He seemed just a little more invested in the matter beforehand. "What's so important about them going out of retirement?"

"From what I heard… some former Death Eaters, those who managed to get away with lies about being under Voldemort's control have been missing," Sirius relayed, voice now suddenly lowered and grim. "It's been happening for a few weeks now, probably from when you kids went to school. There's been a lot of talking and just a few rumours, but… some people are thinking that they're regrouping to revive Voldemort."

"But that's not going to happen," Harry spoke at once. "There's no way he can come back when he doesn't have a body."

"You shouldn't think like that — didn't he return to Hogwarts during your first year?"

"He had help from Quirrell though," Theodore noted, "and he was useless when sticking to him like a helpless parasite."

"Whatever you think, the Ministry thinks rather differently. This came straight from the Head of the DMLE — you remember her, right? She's convinced Aurors to go out on searches and to tail on anybody who looks too suspicious. Amelia's got parties going everywhere — but one thing that's got me confused is that Mad-Eye isn't in any one of them."

"Maybe he prefers to do things by himself," suggested Harry, while Theodore hinted that, "Maybe he's too old for fieldwork and is doing an office job."

Sirius laughed and shook his head, forcing the fire to swell before calming. "Mad-Eye sitting behind a desk instead of being on the front lines? Listen, you two, I know Mad-Eye personally, and you'd have to use the Imperius Curse tenfold to get him to work in an office."

Harry's face scrunched up a little as he murmured asking what the Imperius Curse was before Sirius resumed his elaboration. "But with all the investigative parties that have been going around, the sneaky lot are… well, sneaky, to say the least. Nothing is turning up about them — also, they think that Hogsmeade might be worth searching in the near future as well."

"I wonder why," Harry smiled.

As Sirius playfully rolled his eyes, Theodore then said, "Dumbledore's way too close for any Death Eater to hide plans to revive Voldemort in Hogsmeade. I'd like to see them try anything in secret."

Harry nodded, and so did Sirius. "I just want you both to be extra careful — Ron and Hermione too. Remember, Death Eaters have agendas for both of you, even if they are completely different."

Then out of nowhere did Sirius's eyes through the flames light up with near childlike glee as he commented, "I almost forgot, Theodore — Doomspell! I read the _Prophet_ , and it said that you were chosen! Must be feeling on Cloud Nine right about now, eh? Well done!"

Theodore couldn't help but immediately sulk as his face felt heavy. He bit the inside of his cheek, feeling everything that had accumulated during the day mesh together to run rampant inside him.

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius, clearly puzzled.

"Nothing."

…

"Christmas is not that far away," Sirius almost effused — he was doing well to avoid the sudden surges of tension between the three, "so I've been thinking that I could pop down to Hogsmeade to see you lot!"

"That's great! But don't you have a house in your name — your family was supposed to be really rich and all. We could just go there instead."

Furrowing his eyebrows just a little, Sirius confirmed it; then he said, "But Hogsmeade feels more at home than where I grew up. Ah, I remember bunking in Hog's Head for three days during Easter without old Aberforth having a damn clue. I wonder if he'll let me rent a room out after all of that… I can even stay a little longer and spectate Doomspell from your corner, Theo."

"Thanks, Sirius," Theodore forced through a smile before Sirius bid them goodnight after realising that it was a school night, and after screaming in the background to some sort of creature.

The green flames reduced themselves back into their measly form as Harry and Theodore retreated from the fireplace, Harry standing up to walk off while Theodore remained seated. No, he was too tired to stay downstairs alone, still stuck in his own head. He needed sleep — 'craved' was the appropriate term.

Theodore rubbed his forearm and reached out for his bag on the left of his leg, the bag that was supposed to be there where he dropped it before sitting down. His eyes stung when he forced them wide open to see where it could've been but lifted his line of sight to see Harry slowly swinging his bag just a few steps away.

"You look tired as hell," said Harry flatly.

"Thanks," Theodore returned sarcastically with his hand raised, "now can I have my —?"

"But I'm not tired, though, not at all. So we're just going to talk some things over before you can get your precious beauty sleep, yeah?" Theodore gave Harry a dead stare which did nothing to make him return his bag. "Why are you avoiding all of us? At breakfast, lunch, dinner — even after lessons, you're nowhere to be found. It's because something stupid is bothering you, isn't it —"

"It's not stupid," Theodore nearly snapped before yawning. Harry cocked his head a little as Theodore narrowed his eyes, just hoping that he could just be left alone… Not a single change in Harry's posture. Oh well. "It's not stupid. I'm sick of it, Harry: all of the attention that I'm getting from this and before. I hate it so much — sometimes, just for a single moment, I even wish that I wasn't a part of capturing Pettigrew —"

"Why would you say that?!" Harry instantly lashed out, glowering down at his cousin. "Without you, Sirius would've been on the run, maybe even killed! I wouldn't have — why would you even think that?!"

"You've seen the way the paper's got our names — _my_ name plastered on every single newspaper ever since we caught Pettigrew. Nobody's going through a copy without seeing us inside. Not only that, but my fucking face is on there as well for everyone to see it clearly, for everyone to know who I am!"

"So what?"

"So what?" Theodore repeated, feeling his skin growing hot as he stood up to properly face Harry. "So what?! Harry… there are people out there who went to school with Tom Riddle. There are people out there who could recognise him in an instant, and when they see me…? When they see _me_ … a boy called Riddle who looks exactly like his father, then what?"

…

"Then what, Harry?" Theodore forcefully asked him, demanding for whatever possible answer he would gain from him.

Harry's eyes made him lost for a moment before he spoke again, softer than before. "But nobody knows that your dad became —"

"People know," Theodore muttered — his nails were digging harshly into his palms. "You don't honestly think that there isn't one person out there who knows who really is? They'll find out; they'll tell everyone, and then…"

"Even… even if everybody found out, you'd still have us by your side, Theo. Nobody can —"

"Nobody can what?"

"If you just listened, then maybe I'll tell you."

Theodore shook his head and roughly scratched his hair, groaning loudly before he glared back at Harry, now breathing heavier than before. "There's a reason why Professor Snape didn't just take me from Stuggle's instead of leaving me there like he did. He said that people wanted to kill me, Harry. They — they wanted me dead because… because what, that I'd be just like my dad? Because of what both my parents did…?

"Then what happens if they find out now, that the person they've been praising was really Voldemort's lost child? I wouldn't know what to do, and I _don't_ know what to do now — nobody can help; not Dumbledore, not my own godfather, not —"

"Me?" Harry finished tonelessly. Theodore felt his throat constrict but didn't look away. "Theo, if you think that I can't help you, then… then that's fine. Maybe I can't help you like you help me sometimes. Perhaps that's just the way it is. But don't ever think that I won't _try_ , or that Ron won't try. Even — no, _especially_ Hermione. She wouldn't care if nothing she did worked, and neither will I."

Despite the deathly tiredness shifting his vision at times, Theodore refused to give in, but he still didn't say anything. Harry was right after all. Of course he was.

"I'll admit that I'm not the most observant person in the room, probably ever," Harry continued, "mostly when it comes to seeing what's between the both of you — I mean, I had just some thoughts, but the thing that I always knew was that Hermione cares a lot for you, Theodore. Maybe even 'that' much.

"And seriously? It hurts when you still don't put your trust in us with your problems. I get it, OK? At least now I do. So…?"

"Yeah, well… I've always got problems: a lot, in fact," said Theodore as Harry approached him with his bag being slung around his shoulder.

"No surprise there. It's you, of course."

Theodore gave out a weak chuckle and patted Harry on his shoulder, feeling something immovable within himself shifting to become lighter. Not by an immeasurable amount but noticeable. Just enough. Harry was the first to turn to the stairway as Theodore trudged behind with the very bare energy that he could possibly spare.

' _Tomorrow's still something… something important, really important…'_

No, too much thinking. He'd drop on the floor if he'd overthink on the particular date that was tomorrow — or today for that matter. Theodore gave one final lazy glance to the clock that read twelve twenty-nine, nineteenth of September before he followed Harry up into their dorm room where he luckily managed to change into his pyjamas and drop on his bed, out like a light. Today was an important day that he couldn't remember. Something special…

 _Thick, bushy brown hair that he loved to watch bounce softly as she walked… beautiful brown eyes that he couldn't help but get lost in… and lips pink and full that he wanted to taste so badly…_

" _Hermione…"_

* * *

"And… I'm finished. Finally…"

Theodore stuck his cap on his quill and moved his mountain of homework to the side, rubbing his face from finishing it all in just under five hours. The common room was at its usual level of volume with Fred and George conducting several 'experiments' on first- and second-years for everyone to spectate as if it were a circus. Although the noise was rather extreme at times when one person's cheeks would inflate like a balloon, causing them to float in the air, Theodore was instead focused on himself at the back tables on his own — well, he attempted to be focused. It was more distracting himself than anything: the previous night with Harry and Sirius was still fresh in his mind.

The mysterious Slytherin book was still unopened, and methods of finding how to reveal what was underneath its fading binding were growing thinner by every passing second. He almost completely forgot about it until Viripin sniffed it out from the inside of his trunk — it was, at this point, fruitless to try, however.

"This is probably made of stone or something," he grumbled as he stuffed the book into his bag frustratingly. "Why else isn't it opening? I wonder if Nott wasn't lying about the book — might even check right now…"

He left his bag underneath his chair and started to walk away from the table to find Nott wherever he was until the sound of something heavy slamming onto a hard surface came from behind him. From the corner of his eye could he see Hermione laying out several books and stacks of parchments on the table with an impassive expression.

The temptation to sit with her fought against wanting to search for Nott in the castle, but Theodore's decision was easy to make, oddly enough. He turned away from going to the portrait hole; he narrowly dodged Neville dashing past him with smoke coming out of his ears and others with purple boils on their faces; then he stood by the table.

"Hi," he said quietly, even though his throat felt parched for some reason.

Hermione scribbled for some more until half the parchment was filled before looking up. A false, small smile came across her face before she dipped her quill into her ink bottle — the smile vanished as quickly as it came. "I thought that you were just leaving."

"Well I was, but…" Theodore trailed off. Hermione didn't even bother to look and carried on drawing symbols meticulously as if he wasn't there. Theodore chewed the inside of his cheek until he could faintly taste blood. _"Maybe I should just…"_

He backed away slowly and aimed to the portrait again as he ignored the ghastly foreign sensation that was churning in his stomach — so this was how it felt when he ignored people. Theodore was just a step away from the outside of the common room, the churning getting worse until he walked back to sit on the chair opposite to Hermione.

Hermione blinked at him but as expected, she lowered her head and went back to her work in silence — a question regarding if she wanted to talk alone with him came out of Theodore's mouth as she responded, "We've got homework for Professor Babbling that's due tomorrow — I haven't gotten around to it because of JIM PICKENS."

Theodore nodded slightly as she went back to work without looking back at him. If this were how it felt for five minutes, he'd hate to be exposed to several days on end.

…

"Hermione?"

"Hmm."

"Look at me," he said, bringing his chair closer to the table. Hermione huffed a little through her nose and waited just long enough before her blank stare was directed towards him — she kept it only just until her attention was dragged again by her homework.

She seemed… dull — as if she was suppressing something. It was only just a quick glance, and Legilimency or not, Theodore could tell that it was because of him — it had to be, of course. But she still cared. He was going to fix all of it and explain to her and Ron; then apologise. He knew that she still cared, right? She was hurt and didn't want to put it on display, so…

"Hermione, if I'm —" Theodore began at the same time placing his hand just an inch away from her free hand.

"Theo!" called Katie from the end of the common room near the portrait hole. "Theo, Professor McGonagall's calling for you just outside — she says it's urgent as well."

"Of course it is — I'll be back soon, yeah?" said Theodore, pulling his hand away and standing up to leave for real. Hermione lifted her shoulders and swapped out her parchments for a thick book on wizarding war history without a sideways glance.

 _Churning and churning…_

Theodore climbed out of the portrait hole but didn't even need to walk further down, for Professor McGonagall was already standing by close enough. "Mr Riddle. I'm lucky that you were inside instead of being out and about like usual — I was almost about to turn the castle upside-down for you.

"Back to pressing matters, it is the Headmaster who is calling for you. Again, I am the messenger between the both of you, hmm?"

He expressed a small smile to her that melted away into something inscrutable. Before Theodore could press on to Dumbledore's office, Professor McGonagall held her hand out to stop him — she looked at him rather softly and straightened her hat. "I do apologise for the situation which you are in, Mr Riddle — _it's as if last year hadn't happened at all._ If I'm being honest, I would've never wished this upon you," she confessed regrettably.

"There's no turning back now, though. What's done is done, _even if I didn't want to do it_ …" Theodore whispered to himself at the end. Professor McGonagall's eyes suggested that she heard him clearly, but nothing more came out of her mouth as she led the way.

' _Still can't believe it… the highest magical potential in the school, and it's me. Out of everyone, it's me…'_

When they reached the stone gargoyle, and Professor McGonagall said, "Rowtrees!" Theodore then followed her up the stairs and entered the room where Dumbledore was standing comfortably by his desk — but it wasn't just him. Theodore froze on the spot from a horrible mix of feelings inside by only recognising the other wizards and witch in the room.

Crouch swivelled around and scanned Theodore up and down before he flicked his fingers in the air to summon Percy to his side — he bustled over with parchment rolls tied up and floating behind him like balloons, and he gave the faintest curl of the lip to Theodore before Crouch started to whisper something in his ear.

Fudge, however, politely tipped his hat to him with a broad grin as if he were about to be treated to a banquet of grandeur sorts. But the core of the horrid sensation inside him, dwarfing Crouch's presence and the churning by far was Umbridge sitting down near the door which Theodore had never seen opened before in the corner of the office. The ends of her smile nearly touched her ears, and her bulging stare towards him nearly made Theodore nauseous — the slight tilt of her head almost sent him to the edge.

Why was she there — why was any of them there? Theodore felt his chest swell up from the sudden need to back away and leave, but as if he could do that, or if any of them would let him. Once Theodore's arrival had caught everyone's attention, Dumbledore moved away from his desk, still forever cheerful as he said, "It's all right, Theodore. No need to look so apprehensive."

"I'm not apprehensive," Theodore assured him before patting his chest, "I mean — I'm fine, Professor Dumbledore, thank you. Is there a reason why you called me up here?"

"Why, yes, there is!" Dumbledore replied — Theodore couldn't be too sure, but it almost looked as if all of them were closing in on him ever so slowly. "This was rather on short notice, but as the people representing Hogwarts and Magical Britain other than you, of course, discussions are in order. After all, you are the youngest Champion of Doomspell in several decades."

' _Just great.'_ "So we're just going to talk about how much of a disadvantage I have against the other schools, aren't we?" Theodore caught Crouch opening his mouth and expertly cut him off by quickly declaring, "Then I only want to speak with Professor Dumbledore."

"T-Theodore," spluttered Fudge with a confused smile, "remember, we're all a part of this; nobody needs to be left out."

"But I'm the one competing, not anybody else."

Umbridge cleared her throat loudly for everyone to hear and added, "If the Ministry has participated in organising such an event across the world, then they surely must have some right in being involved with the chosen champion. Isn't that right, Mr Riddle?"

"Last time I checked, it was 'Hogwarts's' champion, not the Ministry's," Theodore countered in a lowered voice, nearly daring Umbridge to do anything other than her usual tick around her mouth.

"Riddle!" chastised Professor McGonagall before Fudge put his hand up to wave it aside and say, "If you feel comfortable in confiding in your teachers, then that's perfectly understandable. After all, this must still be overwhelming for you. But promise to not keep us in the dark for too long, eh? Barty, Dolores: if you will."

Fudge shook Dumbledore's, and a reluctant Theodore's, hand on the way out as Crouch and Percy followed suit — Percy gave him a quick nod but soon regretted it when Fawkes singed one of the bundles with his tail while swooping above. Umbridge lifted her chin and trotted behind them — Theodore almost grinned when he saw Professor McGonagall press her lips together tightly as she glared at her departing before she left too, leaving just Theodore and Dumbledore as he wanted.

"Please, sit," offered Dumbledore when he walked around his desk to sit at his own chair.

Theodore sat down without any grace and just came out with it. "Professor, be honest: do you actually think that I can get through Doomspell without anybody finding — w-what I meant to say was alive! If I can get through it alive!"

"I wouldn't want you to think like that, however. It's rather, _how would you say_ , dispiriting to oneself."

"Have to be somewhat realistic. If you don't think I can by any chance, even just the slightest, then can you at least teach me anything that could help? Like anything at all?"

Dumbledore sighed and interlocked his long fingers together, shaking his head slightly as his beard swayed as well. "I'm flattered that you thought of me first for assistance, Theodore, I am. But I'm afraid that I may only act as a simple guide from the corner, and that I cannot do much to help. It's all up to you."

Theodore fell back in his chair and rubbed his face harshly, just on the verge of spilling out everything he said to Professor Snape and Harry, but Dumbledore was suddenly out of his chair and leaning on the side of his desk with a determined gleam in his eye. "But, young man, I shouldn't expect you to lose any hope in entering Doomspell. If there's anything that I admire about you is that you're remarkably resourceful, and that has been one of your strongest traits.

"That is how you'll prosper, Theodore: not from the sheer talent and power that you possess, but from using your wits to your absolute advantage and turning to those who are close to you, do you understand?" Theodore thought on it for a moment, then nodded as Dumbledore clapped and went to sit back down — he flicked his wand above his head and summoned a multitude of books to fly around him and land in towering stacks on the ground beside him.

"Now, I didn't just ask for you to see me regarding Doomspell — this is somewhat related to it, I suppose. At the end of this week, my schedule should be free," Dumbledore continued casually. "If you are willing, you are free to join me on my travels outside the castle. Think of it as a chance for inspiration to kick in."

' _Outside the castle? But where would — oh, I get it. It's one of those hidden lessons that he loves giving.'_ "Uh, sure, sure, but could you tell me where? Is it far, or…?"

Dumbledore tapped the side of his crooked nose and gathered several weathered tomes onto his desk until a voice from higher up spoke out — Theodore looked up at the collection of portraits of the previous headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts and picked out a single one that wasn't sleeping.

"Dumbledore, my _dearest_ great-great-great grandson has just relayed to me that Alastor will be arriving at the end of the week due to 'bloody Ministry intervention' as he put it," drawled a wizard with a pointed face dressed in silver and green robes.

"Excellent. Give my regards to Sirius, Phineas, he's been very eager to help me lately," Dumbledore thanked the wizard who secretly rolled his eyes at him.

"Sirius is your great-great-great grandson?" Theodore questioned as he stood on his tiptoes to see etched into the golden framing _Phineas Nigellus Black_. "Didn't know he had a — wait, how can you even talk to him when you're just a portrait?"

Phineas scoffed and glowered at Theodore, remarking, "He's not very smart, is he? And this is our champion, an ignorant, insolent adolescent?"

"Did you just call me — ah, whatever!" Theodore ignored Phineas's mouth that was agape at him and sat back down to ask Dumbledore another question. "Professor, who's Alastor? Is he from the Ministry?"

"All I can tell you, Theodore, is that my time for teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts is finally up with our newest teacher to be arriving soon," Dumbledore explained — his book had its text glowing in pink and green colours (Theodore didn't want to question that at all), "as well as Divination. Dear Sybil has returned from her — _ahem_ — illness, and so, I'm afraid, it'll be back to remaining in this room for hours on end."

"You still have Fawkes," said Theodore as he tried to shrug off his disappointment (he's been doing a lot of shrugging lately).

"That I do," chuckled Dumbledore. He then closed his book and placed it gently in front of him and leaned forward with his fingers interlocked again. Theodore remembered the distant look he had from before and almost saw it return before the controlled vibrancy sprang out. "Theodore, if there is anything that is troubling you about all of this, my door is always open — I'll be here for quite some time when looking at the near future."

"Of course, Professor," Theodore lied expertly with the smile of slight vulnerability and a tilt of the head. _'Ask about Ollivander and the symbol. Go on…'_ "I'm going to get back to my common room now — I still need to think on this some more."

"Understandable — and don't forget what I said: turning to those closest will get you much further than what you could possibly imagine. Take this from a man who had to learn that lesson in the hardest way. Until next time, Theodore."

Theodore said his goodbyes and walked out of the room after petting Fawkes on the head. He waited as the gargoyle-staircase rotated to let him out into the hallway where he was met with a horrible surprise: Crouch, Umbridge, and Fudge were gathered up just a little away from where Theodore was standing — there was no way that he could possibly avoid them.

Fudge, as expected, was the first to see him walking along the corridor and immediately stepped in his direction when out of nowhere, as if she were a guardian angel did Professor McGonagall come around from the corner to pave the way for him past the offended adults.

"He is an extremely hard-working child that needs all the rest he can get — I apologise, Minister, but that's the way it'll be," she harshly proclaimed while guiding Theodore away by his shoulders.

"Thank you," he whispered when they were at the end of the corridor and out of their sights. Professor McGonagall waved him away to return to the Tower with a smile that she couldn't possibly contain as Theodore did just that.

Sunset was dawning upon the castle as orange beams cut through the windows, slowly darkening as night was approaching soon. There were more people out strolling along hallways and stairs than he'd usually realise — Luna waved at him from three floors up, somehow being able to recognise him.

Theodore took in to the soft atmosphere around him, wondering how the day could be over so quickly so early into the year. It was only just the nineteenth of September: usually by October, it'd be — nineteenth of September… _nineteenth of September…?_

"You idiot! You fucking idiot!" he shouted so loud just before the Fat Lady's portrait.

"You certainly got a mouth there, don't you? No discipline among these children, I swear…"

Theodore tugged at his hair viciously when he finally understood it all — he remembered why today was so important; why it was so special; why Hermione was acting the way she was towards him. Her birthday… he'd forgotten her birthday for the entire day, not bothering to wait at breakfast for him to remember; not bothering to remember during their single lesson together on the day that was Potions — the day had gone by so quickly, and he…

"Idiot…" was all that he could say to himself before hesitantly speaking the password and climbing through, the churning going at ridiculous speeds, too fast for him to stomach. "You ignored her and forgot her birthday… what kind of person…?"

He slowly stepped further inside and observed the common room to see if anything had changed. The noise had been depleted by the severe lack of his fellow Gryffindors being present: he could count just five from where he was standing, and not a single one of them was in his year.

"She left…" he mouthed as the churning felt too much like a rip was running across his chest. Theodore couldn't even facepalm or pull at his hair anymore. What else was he supposed to expect, for her to actually wait for him like he wanted?

Five Gryffindors, not including himself, turned to four as Theodore went over to the squashy sofa to drop down to the ground and bring his head back to blow through his mouth. There was still some time until the night would fully set, but his chances were practically zero. Tomorrow, he'd — what would he even do when he'd see her? Apologise like it was nothing?

Theodore rubbed his wrist and brushed away at the floor that was partially littered with withered fireworks in shapes of spirals, unicorns, gnomes and dragons. He picked one up and flicked it away into the fire before remembering that his homework was left behind on the table. Well, if he could expect one thing to go right tomorrow, it was that his teachers would be — the soft pattering of feet coming down the girls' stairwell reached his ears, but he didn't turn to look. That was until it grew faint, then a little louder; then stopped just a few steps away on his left.

Standing there, legs slightly crossed was Hermione with her wand in hand and his bag in the other; his homework floating just on the right side of her head — her hair was tied up into a large bun, displaying her earrings that she didn't seem to leave off anymore. Hermione was still in her uniform, minus her shoes, robes and jumper, and Theodore, just for a second, paid attention to the fact that her top button wasn't done up, something that was all too odd for her to do. But…

Hermione's expression didn't change much from before he left as she lowered her wand and his homework consequently onto the table where she knelt down and unzipped his bag to put his homework back inside slowly.

"You don't have to do that," Theodore said in a voice nearly too soft for his liking as he moved forward to reach for it. "It's fine. I'll do —"

Hermione lifted an eyebrow towards him and carried on filling his bag carefully while Theodore fell backwards with his back against the sofa. She didn't once look up as she fitted each parchment to slide inside without crumpling up — Theodore could see that she must've ordered them before he arrived. He just watched her in silence, taking note of how the fire made her skin glow as if — no. No, she was still mad at him. He ignored her when he shouldn't have; he forgot that it was her birthday, but here she was, helping him. She knew, she had to know…

Once she was done, Hermione then zipped the bag up and left it to lean against the leg of the table before coming back up to her feet again — she was leaving again. She only came down to give him his homework, and that was it. But she didn't walk away. Although it was close enough to crawl over, Hermione took a stride and sat next to Theodore cross-legged but left a considerable space between them — he wanted to close it the second she sat, but he held it off completely. That would be so stupid of him. He had to stay put.

Hermione was tapping her nails on the floor and was staring forward, occasionally brushing a few strands of stubborn hair that would refuse to remain behind her ear. So they were just going to sit in silence until either of them would say something? Why did such a small amount of space feel as if they were strangers to one another?

"You know…" Hermione murmured finally, her finger tracing shapes onto the floor, "when something is not right with you, you always want to shut yourself away. I knew that already. But what I don't understand is why you do it. Is it because you don't trust us enough to know what's hurting you?"

"Hermione, I do trust you," Theodore insisted without forcing his voice to go louder, but it seemed as if he was incapable of raising his voice around her. "You, Harry, Ron — of course I do."

"I don't know too much about Harry and Ron, but I can't stop myself from overthinking it all when you act like this, and when you do, it really worries me — us!" Hermione quickly added as she straightened her legs and caressed her face that grew a faint shade of pink.

Theodore turned his head to face her, and she did the same instinctively. She was losing her hold on keeping her face vacant, but it was still strong. "If I did, then I'm sorry for that. I know that I… I just don't think straight when I'm like this, _and honestly, I've barely changed_ ," he whispered quietly to himself.

Hermione blew out from her nose louder than usual and interlinked her fingers in front of her before saying, "Then don't apologise. You won't ever have to apologise if you just talk, OK?"

"OK…"

"OK," she repeated before she used the sofa for support to lift her up — Theodore blinked when she was halfway up on her feet as the space grew immeasurably. "Well… goodnight then. I'll see you —"

Her words were cut off when she was stopped from taking her first step to the girls' stairway. Four Gryffindors, not including them, turned into two, both unobservant of Theodore and Hermione holding hands. Theodore had caught her hand by both of their surprises, both momentarily frozen — but then, the words just rolled out on their own as he asked her, "Can… can you stay, please…?"

The pinkness had grown stronger and spread to her nose. Hermione was blinking profusely, and more pressure was being applied to his fingers until she nodded without a word and calmly sat back down next to him — their thighs were touching, and Theodore let her arm fall to her lap, even if he could hold it forever. _Hold her forever…_ His heartbeats were thunderous again, and his skin had grown so prickly with heat that it was hard to resist slapping against it. But it didn't matter — just two Gryffindors left, only Theodore and Hermione, him and her. No one else.

Theodore was holding his ankle tightly as Hermione brought her left knee to her chest to rest her chin upon. He could feel her shaking just a bit, and the pink was still growing across her face — was his face pink as well? Theodore quickly kneaded his cheeks, then focused back on Hermione to see her head swaying side to side in a relaxed rhythm — she was happy…?

A soft snort escaped from his nose as he bit his lip to force the unneeded smile not to show itself, but Hermione already noticed and asked him what was funny. "Oh, nothing," Theodore simply replied as he looked around the common room to see how truly huge it was for the first time: Godric Gryffindor's portrait; the grand clock that — _nineteenth of September._

…

"I, uh… I didn't get you a gift today…" Theodore confessed painfully as he too brought up his leg to his chest to mirror Hermione.

"It's that what you were laughing about?"

"No! No no, of course not! I was — because I was keeping to myself like a stupid —"

Hermione pressed her thigh just slightly into his, and she decided not to look anywhere else except at him, only him as she said, "You never needed to get me something for my birthday — well, it did take you some time to say anything, but wishing me happy birthday is perfectly fine, just like the other times."

The clock read twenty past nine, although the four was oddly shaped to resemble a three when looked at closely. Twenty past nine, the nineteenth of September. He could say happy birthday just like all the other times… but it wasn't like all the other times.

"Now's your chance," Hermione noted when Theodore went silent for too long. Her legs were now stretched out and crossed over each other, and she was sat in a poised position waiting for the simple words to come out of his mouth. Just waiting.

…

' _Now's your chance.'_

…

Theodore shifted his upper body to face Hermione the second that she opened her mouth, most likely to ask him what the matter was. His leg was lined up against her thigh, and he was already so close. But he wanted more of her, he craved to be closer to her. Theodore slowly shuffled his body into a more comfortable position until he and she were but as close as he could manage without —

Theodore stopped moving when he saw her up close. Hermione was trembling terribly, her arms, legs, her entire being unable to keep still. She was nervous, scared even, and so was he. He couldn't imagine how he looked from her eyes — probably even worse than she was. Her agitation only piled up onto his, and his onto hers vice-versa. Almost there.

 _Now's your chance…_

"Hermione…" Theodore began in a voice so tiny, he couldn't believe that it was his own. Hermione's gaze didn't exactly line up with his own, hers just focused a little lower, close to his mouth. "Hermione, you're… amazing… you're just amazing…"

Her jaw was juddering as her eyes refused to move away from his mouth — her shaky hands were tightly clasped to her skirt, and her breath was growing heavier as was his. It filled their ears as the only possible sound in the world as Hermione swallowed once more and forced herself to look Theodore straight in the eye, apprehensive to try but trapped to stare when she did.

And he saw it. Those feelings that felt so overwhelming when he first experienced it. Unbridled and unrestrained, so much just contained into a single person. It was unmistakable, and he couldn't run from it at all. _Love._ So much love from her, and all of it for him… she loved him…

Theodore's nose lightly brushed against Hermione's, both of them as close as the last time. She blinked like the last time before closing her eyes shut as their lips were just… he couldn't help but open his eyes to see hers for the last time, just for one second until it pierced into him, the staggering rush that should've utterly thrown him off…

But it couldn't hold him back — as if it stood a chance. Theodore broke through it all as he pressed his lips onto Hermione's, feeling his entire body being set ablaze, taking in all that he could from her, not wanting to ever pull away. Her lips that were softer than he could've ever fantasied tasted faintly of sweet mint which only made his everything grow wilder. It wasn't intense, not at all. Just soft and gentle, just like he imagined it would be.

When they pulled away from each other only just so that they were still so close to one another did Theodore long for more — it felt like an eternity, but it wasn't enough. He could try again to feel his body set on fire once more, but it wasn't about him. It was about her, only about her.

Hermione had stopped quivering and was completely calm in body, but as they both moved away from each other to see each other faces in full, the formally expressionless visage had been vanquished and replaced by something else, something that Theodore could look at forever. She looked so pretty when she looked at him like that — the rush didn't reappear at all.

The two suddenly broke their fixed gazes away at each other when what they had just done struck themhard — Theodore's heart was about to burst from his chest, pounding at a rate beyond what was healthy when he locked his stare at the fire that was burning brighter than ever. He could just see Hermione returning to shaking once more, and so was he. He did it. He kissed her…

Theodore didn't know what to do next. There they were together, no longer 'just friends', sitting in utter silence as they watched the fireplace as if they were mesmerised by the way it moved. So much was swirling around in his head, but Doomspell wasn't one of them. It didn't exist at all in his mind, for Theodore was finally hers, and Hermione was finally his.

…

"Ha-happy birthday, Hermione."

"Thank you, Theodore…"

 **Can we thank Harry for getting Theo's head on straight like a good cousin? Unfortunately, with Snape, it didn't go so well. We'll see how it'll play out soon, especially since we know why Theo is against competing in Doomspell.**

 **Yikes, it's almost been a year since this formally little drabble was published. I think this calls for a celebration — to all the TheoxHermione out there, squeal in joy for the ship is sailing people! It's sailing. Hope you enjoyed the chap, look out for the next one. Later.**

 **Just a thought: how do you think Theo would've been like if he was in Slytherin instead, and who do you think would he befriend in his 'denied' house?**


	50. Chapter 50: Together and Alone

A dream. It had to be a dream, no way could it be true. What had happened just a few hours ago was just a manifestation from his own mind, a mere figment — no, far from a mere figment. Far, far from just a figment. He kissed her… after so much self-deliberation and moments when they were just inches away from each other, Theodore kissed her. Hermione… He couldn't sleep when the taste of her lips was still fresh on his own. When they finally left the common room and parted ways, Theodore wished that they could've stayed longer, almost craving for her. The last thing they said to each other was goodnight, and goodnight only. Nothing else. Not another kiss, not even a hug. But did that even matter to them?

The morning of September 20th was surprisingly easy for Theodore to ease into, despite having his brain plagued for God knows how many hours in the previous night. It was early, a little too early for him but at the same time as always, serene and still, just as he liked it. After Theodore had changed and left a dormant Viripin her breakfast beneath his bed, he took everything that he needed and cut through the empty common room, aiming to go straight to the Great Hall instead. The choice to refuse to wait for the others momentarily confused him until he knew precisely why. What was he going to say?

' _So you kissed her, Theo, and even if she didn't really kiss you back, she liked it — at least I hope so. Oh no… argh, whatever!'_ Theodore rubbed his palms roughly against his jumper and then tugged at his collar. One question that stood above all others that were on a rampage in his head rang out so loud that it was a surprise he didn't yell it out. _'Is she… she my girlfriend now, or do we have to do more for us to…?'_

Theodore absentmindedly entered the sparingly full Great Hall without detracting from the question that became a pain for him to answer. Of course, he had absolutely no clue about what people did when they got together, never mind those who were best friends before. The happiest couple that he ever saw was Mr and Mrs Weasley and using them as a standard was too far out for him and Hermione. Was there any point in stressing over something like this? Theodore certainly thought not, but at this point, what did he even know?

Breakfast was already laid out across Gryffindor table, and Theodore filled his own plate up to calm his cramped thoughts. As he started on his baked beans and toast, he turned his attention to the steady flow of people arriving in the Hall, most from Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Theodore chewed without realising that he stained his trousers when he made eye contact with Nott — it didn't take much for him to notice Theodore either.

Nott was, however, forced forward by Daphne and Blaise when even more people started to flood into the Great Hall. The usual waves and hellos that came to him nowadays went by from his fellow students until he went back to eating — and when he noticed the baked beans that were sliding off his leg.

"And I just cleaned this yesterday…" Theodore mumbled distastefully. He pulled out his wand and waved it around the area for it to vanish; then he pocketed it. Sooner or later, the others would arrive, and Hermione — well, Hermione would…

"Umm…"

Theodore felt the world around him grow dim and tiny when the small voice had touched his ears. His face became prickly, and his breaths were starting to become faster. He looked up to his right and saw Hermione standing beside him, her stuffed bag slung across her back with her left hand gripping her right forearm. Somehow, she was able to suppress the discomfort that she was admittedly feeling at that moment, albeit, not all of it. Hermione was still pink in the nose, and her head was bent forwards so much that only Theodore could see her face. That pretty face…

"Um… _ahem_ — g-good morning," Theodore said a little weakly before patting his chest and clearing his throat again.

Hermione hastily sat down next to him, leaving just enough space between them that nobody would think suspiciously of them and squeaked, "Morning…" as Harry and Ron joined them shortly after.

"Theo! Finally out of the slump — I mean, are you OK now?" asked Ron when he sat down on the opposite side of the table with Harry. Theodore quickly told him that he was feeling great, desperate not to show any sign that he was flustered — he downed a goblet of orange juice and another to be sure. "Well somebody's thirsty. Just don't drown yourself, eh?"

Theodore let out a sharp noise from his nose and carried on eating his breakfast without looking up or to his right. Even with all the sound blaring in the background, Theodore could still hear the blood rushing through his ears, drowning everybody else out. Why was this so hard now, to act normal as if nothing happened? Before, it was natural to him, but now…? _All from a kiss…_

He finally turned away from his plate and to the right of him, and Theodore saw Hermione who mirrored his actions before she went to stare back at her book. Maybe it was because she looked away so fast that he couldn't tell, but was she staring at his lips just now?

' _Overthinking this… you're just overthinking all of this…'_

"Umm… y-you know, the whole thing hasn't really taken off that well," Hermione spoke up with her eyes still glued to her book — she scooted ever so closer to him. "JIM PICKENS, I mean."

"Yeah, right…"

"I was going to see if I could get more flyers and pamphlets out today, and… well, you see, I… I wanted…" Hermione began to go on, unable to get the words that she wanted out to him. "If you could…"

"What's going on with you two?" Ron blurted out. He stared at them both with equal amounts of suspicion and confusion on his face, the latter quickly diminishing after Theodore and Hermione answered suddenly in unison, "Nothing! Why?!"

Ron turned to Harry who had struck a conversation with Neville in the nick of time; then he shrugged it off but threw several glances towards them. Theodore returned to stuffing his face without saying another word to Hermione, and it seemed as if she got the same idea — neither dared to look back at each other with Ron refusing to look away. Theodore took out his timetable, even though he remembered all of his lessons, and made a note of Herbology being next. There was always something dangerous and weird in the greenhouses; it was perfect for him to take his mind off of —

"If you two are doing a 'thing' together," Ron's whisper travelled across the table, "then could you at least not make it weird when it's the four of us — you two are as red as my hair right now."

Theodore immediately bustled out from his seat upon hearing the bell ringing in all too good timing, and from his cheeks flaring up — he was beyond mortified, and so was Hermione, who scrambled away from the table as he did, yet again completely red in the face.

"Maybe don't be so obvious and say something next time —"

"Shut up, Ron!" spat Theodore as he rubbed his face vigorously, praying that nobody would notice him. He ignored Ron apologising jokingly on the way to the greenhouses while Hermione could be seen walking further up ahead with Elvira, head lowered — probably in embarrassment like he was. Why did Ron have to go and say that, in the Great Hall of all places?

Upon arriving at the greenhouse with Hufflepuff, the lesson started as usual; Professor Sprout instructing them all that the Bubotuber pus was to be ladled into a wide, bowl-shaped plant with a name that nobody could pronounce; everybody dividing into groups of three and going off to their stations. Theodore made a trio with Dean and Ron and took up to their station where Elvira, Neville and Hermione were right beside them — to be specific, Hermione was right beside _him_.

And that was all it took for normal to descend into aching awkwardness. Theodore was unfocused with the task at hand, occasionally dripping the pus onto his shoes, or pouring too much of it into the bowl-plant. And as if that wasn't enough for him to handle, it was nearly impossible for him to move without bumping against Hermione, even if he were to take a step back. Every time that it'd occur, both would apologise severely, even if it went down to simply skimming one another.

Charms, luckily for him, felt better to Theodore when Herbology cleared up after an ungodly amount of time passed by, mostly because of where he sat in the classroom. Hermione was three seats away from him with Ron and Harry in between. Perfect for him to give his mind a chance to calm itself and think of anything else… so why couldn't he stop?

It took so much effort to stop himself from leaning forward just to see her face from across the row. Theodore was questioning why he wanted so much from her — maybe this was what happened when he kept everything inside so pent up and suddenly let it all go. He couldn't be obsessed, right? He was just… what even was he? _All from a kiss_ …

Theodore dropped his quill in his ink bottle and rubbed the bridge of his nose, breathing heavily through it. _'Here you are obsessing over one kiss when you're supposed to be learning. This can't be normal at all… just think about anything else, absolutely anything…'_

"… now that seems to be the end of the lesson," announced Professor Flitwick when the bell rung — everyone was slow to pack their things away when they knew what lesson they had next after lunch: Potions. Professor Flitwick clambered down from his raised desk and continued to the class, "The Banishing Charm is what we'll be doing next lesson, everybody, so be aware of that — Mr Longbottom, please make sure to read up beforehand, and the same to you, Mr Finnigan."

"Yes, sir," mumbled both boys with melancholic expressions. Theodore couldn't tell if it was going to Potions soon that made them dismal or their poor performance in the previous lesson.

"Oh, Mr Riddle! Sorry for holding you up for your lunch; I'm sure that you're eager to get to the Great Hall on time," said Flitwick quickly when he stopped right in front of Theodore.

"Is there something wrong, professor?"

"Well, I should hope not! I was just simply letting you know that I'm offering to extend my help to you, should you need or ask for any of it, if I may add."

Theodore was blank in the face. "Help for…? Oh right, Doomspell! That's what you were talking about — I mean, of course, I'll consider it, professor! Thank you. I really ought to be going now."

Professor Flitwick said his goodbyes and tended to the heavily splintered desk that was caused by Neville while Theodore hoisted his bag on his shoulders, promptly leaving as the last one out. Dumbledore's words on him only acting as his guide and his guide only still echoed in his head, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that it applied to all the other teachers. But surely, they couldn't outright refuse his calling for help — now here he was, getting carried away with Doomspell.

He muttered to himself that he should just forget it in the meantime and saw the others waiting outside the door for him with Ron being the one to approach and swing an arm around his shoulder. "Let me guess: Professor Flitwick was offering to be 'your guy in the corner', huh? Tell me I'm wrong."

"Or maybe you were just listening outside the door?"

"But it would make sense, seeing as how he used to be a Duelling Champion back in the day," Ron continued as they made their way through the busy corridors for the Great Hall. "Not only do you have Flitwick and McGonagall to back you up, but don't forget that you've got Dumbledore as well."

"About that —" Theodore was suddenly shoved along to the left when a massive upheaval of excitable first-years joined the immense traffic of students, squeezing him against a startled Hermione. "Sorry! I didn't mean to — just loads of people!"

Hermione held the three books that she had in her hands tighter to her chest, avoiding Theodore's gaze with her nose still flushed from the morning as she replied a little above the noise, "No, i-it's fine!"

That's all they ever really did so far in the day: bump into each other by coincidence and apologise like nervous wreaks; then look away in ridiculous amounts of embarrassment. Not even a single conversation without stuttering could manage between the two. This couldn't be normal, not at all.

After pushing their way through the rush, did they finally enter the Great Hall that was noisy as always. Over on the Hufflepuff table did Theodore notice Cedric leading a massive card game in the centre with a few too many girls swooning discretely around him — he turned away from the sight soon enough, perplexed by how calm Cedric could be with all the attention around him. Just behind him was Gervaise and Gioveri whispering together (Gioveri was doing all the whispering) as Theodore sat down — and he watched the two split up for their own respective tables, taking note of the lifeless expressions on both faces.

"That's odd…" whispered Theodore to himself. The tables were soon filled to the brim with food, and Theodore took his first portion, expected to be large, but he found himself denied of his first forkful when a newspaper was wafted in his face. "Do you mind? I'm trying to eat here."

Parvati was sat on his left and scrunched up her face to show disdain — was it because of him? He couldn't recall anything that would've set her off since morning. "Look! The _Daily Prophet_ has decided to shove you all the way back to page three to let some Death Eater headmaster have your spotlight! Honestly, who cares about that?!"

"What? That Durmstrang couldn't be in Doomspell because of Igor Karkaroff, or is it because Theodore is on _page three_?" Seamus jested before snickering alongside with Dean — Theodore was ashamed of himself for understanding while others were confused by the supposed joke, especially Ron.

"Shut up, I'm not a — anyway, Parvati, it's better that I'm not on the front page anymore. It's seriously off-putting, especially when giving me stupid names like _'The Champion of Hogwarts'_ ," Theodore ranted before filling up his mouth.

"But you are _'The Champion of Hogwarts'_."

"Tha's no' the 'ole poin', Neville."

"You got what you wanted in the end, didn't you?" said Harry from across the table, bearing a lazy but sly smile. "A chance to work in the shadows until you make your spectacular debut, ready to put on a show for everyone. Isn't that the ' _Riddle way'_?"

Theodore finished his goblet and spoke with it still on his lips, "Speak for yourself: if anything, it would've been better if it were you than me."

"I think we'd all know that if it were Harry picked instead, then there'd be someone out to get him pulling strings from the shadows," chortled Ron. "Eh, maybe in a different universe — why are you so quiet?" he then directed to Hermione.

"No reason," she said in a monotonous voice, flicking through her book. "Just not that hungry, that's all."

Ron's lips curled into a devious smile that was quickly smothered upon Theodore glaring at him dangerously with contempt. He slightly rolled his eyes and carried on, "Just don't faint when Snape starts to throw stupid questions to you from the back of his greasy head — sorry, Theo."

"No, you're not."

Theodore watched Hermione going through her book without the slightest hint of being aware that he was looking at her from the other side of the table — or maybe she did. It was difficult to tell anyway from how her head hung low. He blinked profusely and stared back down at his empty plate, feeling like he could eat no more — by perfect timing did the bell for the final lesson ring out in the Great Hall.

' _Hopefully, I'll actually do some work this time instead of acting weird for the whole lesson,'_ he thought to himself, irked that he could do the easy thing, that being just to talk to her alone, that is.

The rush for the last lesson was equal to before lunch as it became a struggle to push through the tight masses of people firmly. Luckily, Potions was just across the Entrance Hall. Harry, Hermione and Ron managed to escape the madness with Theodore following behind on purpose to remain in his thoughts for a little longer. Of course, it was the same thing that was confined to cycle around.

When the Gryffindors entered the diverging archway, they could easily see the huddled up Slytherins talking amongst each other just outside Professor Snape's door — it seemed as if he wasn't inside. Rather odd, at least to Theodore who snapped out of his daydreaming. The Slytherins didn't attempt to make any snide remarks to cause an unnecessary confrontation as usual, but it wasn't like Theodore would've cared, or to be more precise noticed. Nott was leaning against the wall adjacent to the classroom door, and he looked visibly distressed by something. It didn't take Legilimency to see that something bad must've happened to him.

' _Maybe I should leave the book off for later…'_

"… and Longbottom might actually kill himself by blowing up his own cauldron this time," Malfoy taunted from the centre of the Slytherins, all too loudly. Crabbe and Goyle guffawed with Pansy masking her mouth with her hand. But others like namely Daphne or Blaise weren't amused, or they just didn't care from their faces.

"Don't listen to him, Neville, he's just being an arrogant arsehole like always," said Parvati as she patted his shoulder along with Elvira (she shot Malfoy a dangerous look that was unexpected and somewhat rare coming from her).

Neville's face lifted but out of nowhere did he recoil in fear with everybody else when the door slammed against the wall with such force that it was a wonder how it didn't shatter into pieces. Professor Snape stuck his head out of the doorframe and roamed his gaze across them all — his eyes looked sunken in as if he'd neglected his sleep. Did Theodore's words keep him up during the night?

"Well, what are you all standing around for — get inside!" he snapped. He moved to the side and allowed them all to pass, not a single one of them looking up to meet his gaze, not even Theodore. The door was shut firmly behind them; they all found their seats, and the lesson began.

"… and take note that poison antidotes will all have a similar base ingredient that is essential for the construction of an effective remedy," Professor Snape droned while slowly gliding around the desks to hang over their heads. "And it would not just be antidotes either: concocting the Impervious Potion that allows you to resist curses depending on its potency will have a similar composition — why aren't you writing this down, Potter? Too boring for you?"

"No, professor," muttered Harry with his head down as he dipped his quill in his bottle.

Theodore watched his godfather scoff at his cousin before drifting off to carry on speaking. The jab was seemingly shaken off by Harry as he shook his head and blew out of his mouth, scribbling on his parchments.

"I wonder why he hates Potter," whispered Nott without looking away from his own notes.

"Yeah, I wonder…"

Passing seamlessly through the afternoon proved not impossible when the lesson was hurrying forwards, even if it was all theoretical. Sure, Theodore could've filled the blanks to whisper back to Nott, even when he promised himself that he wouldn't at the time, just to keep his mind off of Hermione, but not even that was necessary. Perhaps the environment helped; he usually felt out of his head when down in the dungeons if that made any sense.

A relatively smooth lesson that ended in good time, Theodore was more than happy to call it a day now that he could finally let his brain work eventually in peace without external disturbance. He was quick to pack and tag behind Ron, Harry and Hermione, just a few steps outside the door when —

"Riddle," called Professor Snape from his desk, "a word if you will."

Theodore grimaced with his back turned to him and was met with looks of pity from his friends, even more so from Hermione. They told him that they'd be waiting on the outside for him as they left the classroom for the two to be alone. Wasn't this awkward.

"How come I'm staying back?" asked Theodore, agitated that he was inside the classroom instead of out with the others.

"Don't you remember last evening? You said that you would be coming next time, and that time is now — and don't forget about the lessons that you missed out as well."

Theodore had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes and said, "But I barely missed anything. What's one — two lessons to me anyway? I could probably use Occlumency on the spot — _gah_!" He reacted a second too late as he felt the foreign sensation in his head attempting to swim its way around before he purged it. "That's not fair!"

"Of course it's not fair — what did you expect me to do when you let your cockiness take you over," Professor Snape remarked, lifting the corners of his mouth a little to bare some of his teeth. "You still have a lot to learn, I see. That, and you're still distracted, only by something else this time."

"No, I'm not —" Theodore blurted out. From the way he saw his eyebrow lift up in doubt did Theodore know that he didn't believe him at all. Of course, he wouldn't, not after catching him out once again. Theodore looked away while rubbing his forearm, turning warm as he continued, "Can't I just make it up another time, like next week or something?"

"To let yourself become even more 'distracted'?"

"No, I —! I just wanted to…"

Theodore still looked him in the eye, nearly sure that his godfather was trying to mock him — if he was, then he succeeded. Professor Snape was still by his cluttered desk until he drew a short breath, then muttered, "Next week on the weekend, I want to see improvement: you are not to allow me inside of your mind at all, and under no circumstances will you make up excuses, understand?"

"Uh… yeah! Yeah, I promise — I mean, I'll be there, professor," answered Theodore in disbelief that his godfather was actually being rational for once.

"Good. Now you may leave."

He nearly smiled when he turned to the door and closed it behind him to see Harry and Ron standing together and Harry and Ron only. "Where did Hermione run off to?"

"Why, you're awfully curious for her whereabouts —"

Theodore's sharp intake of air through his nose told Ron to rethink on finishing the sentence which worked as expected. "I just wanted to know where she was, all right?" he stated in a smooth tone. "Can you tell me that, please?"

"She went to the library again for her JIM SICKENS thing," said Harry before Theodore corrected him. "Right, PICKENS. She's been going in and out of there more these days. Either JIM PICKENS is about to be a revolution in a few days because it's going so well, or it's going down in the drain with her barely able to pick up the pieces."

"She did mention putting out pamphlets and flyers out soon…" mumbled Theodore with a finger on his chin, thinking back to that morning when she tried to ask something from him. Did she want his help with it all but just couldn't find the words? Why didn't he pick up the signs earlier before and —

' _You're doing it again. Always overthinking…'_

The three boys then left the dungeon for the common room as a reasonable way to end a typical day. Theodore had recurring thoughts on telling Harry and Ron that he had forgotten something in the dungeons, just to see if Hermione was still inside the library. Of course, she had to be. And now she wasn't.

Hermione came rushing up the stairs, catching the moving staircase just before the Fat Lady's portrait in the nick of time with her face red. She threw her bag on the ground and held it by the straps as she puffed to them, "None of you — could hear me — calling out to you?!"

"We thought you were in the library," Ron shot back as he rolled his eyes, "why would we hear you from all the way up here?"

"What do you mean, I was right there on the — forget it! If you were wondering why I came back up here, it's because nothing seems to be working at all," she grumbled as she slung her bag back onto her back. "Not the stupid flyer or pamphlets — nobody wants to buy the badges anymore either. It's like something is missing, and I can't see it!"

Ron climbed through first and said, "You know what you should do? Follow Fred and George's example with their own thing that's going on. They're making their stuff marketable because people actually want to have them."

"My cause is better than their stupid pranks anyway," Hermione scowled as they walked inside. "What they're doing is experimenting on unsuspecting children and exploiting them for money."

"See, you get it now! Nobody wants to see something that's boring and won't catch their eye. We're in a magical school, Hermione, you can come up with something much better than just 'flyers and pamphlets'."

Ron couldn't hold his grin in when he left Hermione speechless in such a rare instance. Instead, she held her chin up high and plopped down on the free squashy sofa, as did Harry and Ron with Theodore taking up the armchair. The truth was that Ron was right in what he was saying: handing out simple paper to raise awareness seemed terribly mundane in a world full of magic. Maybe this could be his chance to… then again, perhaps not…

He went quiet as Ron and Hermione went back and forth with each other, watching them both while Harry was reluctantly starting his Transfiguration homework that was due the next day. Theodore twisted his body to sprawl across the supports of the chair to watch them upside-down, gaining entertainment from the two squabbling. And even from a different perspective, even when she was arguing her head off could Theodore still find her cute, especially when she'd look at him like she did now.

"I'll ask him instead — Theo, what do you think that I should do to get more people into it?" asked Hermione, instantly dropping her hostile voice to adopt a softer and gentle tone.

"M-me? I, uh…" Theodore sat up properly and felt his mind going a million miles per second. "Well, um… maybe you could, I don't know, get somebody whose face can be advertised, sort of like a mascot. Somebody… big and well-known. But what do I know about all this business stuff?" he awkwardly laughed off with a shrug.

But Hermione's eyes became filled with inspiration as she immediately took out a quill and began to scribble on a scrunched-up flyer. "That's a great idea, really! All I have to do is find the person who'd fit — thanks, Theo!"

Theodore's heart skipped a beat when he waved it off, hiding his face to look in the opposite direction. The way her face brightened up just by him suggesting something so simple made him wonder what kind of power he had. She seemed calm and undisturbed, unlike he had been the majority of the day, but he could still remember everything he felt from her when looking into those eyes, seeing that she actually loved him… _Hermione Granger loved him…_

"Theodore! Hi there, we thought that you were daydreaming!"

"What — huh?!" snapped Theodore, not in anger but the embarrassment that for a moment he thought that he'd been babbling out loud. He saw Dennis and Gervaise side by side standing near his chair with gleams of admiration in their eyes. "Oh, it's just you two — anyway, what is it, I'm… thinking about something."

"You know what your first Trial is going to be, right? It'd be wicked if you told us — Gervaise and I were just talking about it right now!"

Theodore looked over to Gervaise, confused by why he was so silent if he was friends with Dennis (and also the fact that Theodore hadn't heard Gervaise speak a single word since the beginning of the year) and shuffled around on the chair to sit properly. If he gave them what they wanted, then they'd leave him alone. "I haven't got a clue about what's coming first, but I'll know when Halloween comes around, and when the other schools come over here."

"They're coming to school here, at Hogwarts?!" Dennis nearly squealed. "That's amazing — wait! Since you're all famous and stuff with Doomspell, could you sign some of my stuff? Gervaise's too!"

"I'll… consider it," muttered Theodore as he straightened himself along the armchair again, hearing Dennis's whispers of excitement to Gervaise falling back into the background noise. _'Didn't know they were so friendly — he's doing better than his cousin with friends, that's for sure.'_

"You shouldn't be so dismissive of your fans, Theo," said Ron with playful mockery in his voice. "Someday, they'll get the wrong impression that you hate them."

"First of all, those are Harry's fans, not mine — and if I did have any fans, you'd be my biggest," Theodore retorted while looking upside-down at Fred and George collaborating with Lee in the corner like they usually did nowadays.

Hermione made a small sound like a muffled giggle, quickly glueing her eyes back down to her book when Ron frowned at her — oddly enough, it didn't last long at all. He shrugged it off and carried on speaking to Harry until all of a sudden, he was motioned over to the notice board when it looked as if Quidditch tryouts were back on.

"It's because of when we had to go out to the country for the whole Doomspell thing," explained Angelina nearby when Harry asked about it. "Oh, by the way, I never actually said congrats for getting picked, Theo. Almost everybody in my year that includes myself are jealous, especially those two maniacs over there."

She pointed at Fred and George behind her shoulder, and Theodore peered over to the side to see them before saying, "They sure don't look jealous — also, thanks."

Theodore leaned back over across the chair once more when Harry and Angelina walked off to the board, but it had barely lasted for a moment when Ron flicked his nose and said above his head, "You done your Transfiguration homework yet — what am I talking about, of course, you have. Help me, please?"

"One of these days, you're gonna help me with my homework."

Ron patted his chest and dashed off after saying, "You're the best, Theo! Let me just get my notes, and I'll be back in a second — _all right, Aquilina, I'll feed you. You're already getting too big to fit inside my robes anyway…_ "

Theodore flapped his lips and rearranged himself to sit upright; his neck was starting to grow stiff. It was growing easier to become bored when looking forward to something as grand as a competition that could've meant his life. Harry was off with the future Quidditch team, obvious to gain his place there; Ron was upstairs rummaging to find his uncompleted homework, and Hermione sat poised and heavily engaged with her book, by pure convenience alone. It had to be that.

He dug his fingernails into the squashiness of the chair, waiting for something inside to force him onto his feet and make him walk over to her. Theodore was just waiting for that thing that made him kiss her, and it came to him. Taking up to his feet, it only took him just three steps until he was sitting right beside her. With how strenuous his thoughts were on Hermione have been during the day, that was surprisingly easy for him. Finding the right words, however, didn't prove to be the exact same.

The noise behind them must've drowned whatever words came from Hermione as she made low noises from her mouth until it became apparent that it was useless. She stopped strumming her thumb along the spine of the book that she closed and rested her hands on top — like he, Hermione too didn't know what to say.

"It's… it's weird, isn't it?" Theodore admitted quietly off the top of his head, moving his thigh just a little closer to hers without thinking. "Feels like we've barely spoken to each other for the entire day…"

Hermione nodded her head and tapped her fingers on the book — she still didn't know what to say. Theodore couldn't blame her, he was still unable to comprehend that this was all happening. But it all rolled out of his mouth faster than he could rationally think.

"Hermione, I don't really know anything about… 'this'," he continued, pointing between the both of them. "I don't know what's going to happen, you know, _even if we did…_ "

"Neither do I," Hermione confessed with haste, ceasing her tapping to near her fingers to his. "It's — it's really all new to me. _I never actually…_ But… we're both pretty smart, right? It's not like we can't figure this out for ourselves, right? _I'm saying 'right' too many times now…_ " she whispered so quietly that Theodore couldn't hear her, nor did he ask.

"Yeah, shouldn't be too hard…" Theodore sighed with some ease in knowing that it wasn't just him feeling this way. Here he'd been stuck in his own damn head, worrying over something that shouldn't have discomforted him. Not to say that it still didn't. Still, the feeling of the immense confusion lifting off of his shoulders: it was simply a joy.

"Theo?"

"Huh — yeah, Hermione?"

She opened her mouth but closed it shut and shook her head, opting to return to her book again — but she didn't even open it to the page that she was on previously. Theodore pondered what she wanted to ask from him, taking note of how she bit her lip and fumbled with the pages. It was best to leave it up to imagination, even if it wasn't like him to do so.

' _She still loves you…'_

"OK, I'm missing some parts to it, I swear on my life," rambled Ron when he bounced back onto the scene with his parchment sheets everywhere, "but I promise that I'll do all the basics on my own." Theodore reflexively crossed his arms, and Hermione dove her nose into the book. Perhaps maybe they were too quick with their movements that it looked suspicious, but Ron didn't give any signs of noticing.

"Awesome! Let's get started right now!" Theodore yanked them out of his hand and began to arrange them as Ron took his quill and sat on his left. "Uh, do you want to help as well, Hermione?"

Hermione looked at Theodore as if he was asking her the single most perplexing question in the universe before she caught his eye on time and agreed, moving over to the side to have Ron in between them — that was unexpected.

' _You were supposed to come closer to — it doesn't matter, Theo…'_ he smiled to himself. All of this was terrible for a 'sheltered' mind such as his. Just three years ago he would've never thought it'd be this way with her.

He glanced over to Hermione hauling out a series of books from her bag about the topics that they were tasked to research on and couldn't help but smile as it was now he who caught her eye this time. It was there, the same rush still hitting the back of his skull like always — but it felt good. _She_ felt good, and there wasn't anything in the world that could do the same, not even one.

* * *

It had barely been just less than a week since that very day; Theodore felt as if time itself had decided to become lethargic for his convenience — or should he say _their_ convenience. Given that nowadays Theodore, Hermione, Harry and Ron spent more of their time as a four rather than divided, not even that was enough to disrupt indeed what little time Theodore and Hermione had together when they could.

And in those little moments of shared time with one another did Theodore realise more of Hermione, noting to himself the subtle changes about her behaviour over the week. Little by little did she come back to the common room from the library less, and more did she seem more 'affectionate' towards Theodore. Maybe he could blame it on having total inexperience, but none of the changes could he fully identify in his head, unable to pinpoint exactly what it was — again, it was all inexperience.

Saturday dragged its heels when it finally arrived, and the weather reflected just how lazy the week had been when coming to its end: a heavy shower of rain had been dominant throughout the morning, forcing everybody to remain inside and find whatever entertainment that they could. Usually, this would result in a relatively dull day filled with homework or playing around with Viripin for Theodore, but not now when Doomspell and Hermione were hanging above his head.

"Hermione, this is honestly too much," sighed Theodore at a table inside the library — he was sat next to Harry bored out of his mind, and Ron opposite the two with a dead expression on his face as well. "I've got plenty of time to worry about the first Trial, and even so, I'll be fine when it comes. You don't have to worry."

The three boys sighed and balanced their chins on their stacks of history books, watching Hermione staring intently at the spine of a golden book as if she were willing it to open by itself. Theodore thought for a moment that his words fell upon deaf ears until she said, "You shouldn't be so passive about this. I don't know anything about Doomspell, but you have to be prepared, Theodore, because it can throw anything at you."

"Theo's right, Hermione," mumbled Ron. He closed the book in front of him that had been open for the last twenty minutes and continued, "Why wouldn't he be fine? Especially when he's got good, old Dumbledore in his corner, right?"

Theodore leaned back in his chair, grinning awkwardly while scratching his hair — he almost forgot that he didn't tell any of them. "Actually… Dumbledore can't do much to help me at all. Yeah, he said that I've got to do this on my own and rely on others, whatever that —"

He didn't bother to finish when Hermione's brief moment of smugness, followed by "Well then, that settles it, doesn't it?" went ignored by the three boys. Theodore appreciated, in fact, it was even more than that, that Hermione was looking out for him, but Halloween was more than a month away and…

"That reminds me: I can't be here for long," Theodore quickly declared as he stacked his books and moved them to the side. "I'm going outside the castle with Dumbledore somewhere — see you in a bit —"

"Since when?" asked Hermione and Harry at the same time — Ron merely flicked through the next page without care.

"Since Monday…" Hermione scratched her nose and looked away from Theodore as he sat back down in his chair, strangely feeling his motivation to leave the castle draining. Maybe it was because of the rain, or perhaps it was seeing Hermione trying to hide her face that made him want to stay…

Harry elbowed him, saying, "Aren't you leaving, then? Don't want to keep Dumbledore waiting."

"Might as well. I doubt I'll get the chance to do this again, anyway." Theodore got up from his seat and started to walk off hastily, stopping only just to look back and say, "Also, do me a favour and actually have some fun. Staying cooped up in the library is not doing Ron any good."

"Just piss off, mate," smiled Ron before yawning.

Letting out a quick goodbye before turning around the corner, Theodore began to think about where they could possibly be going for him to be at all driven, hell, caring to compete. The questions in his head continued to pile up when his hand clasped the door handle, but he did not pull it back when the sound of rushing footsteps hit him, followed by the tugging of his jumper.

He looked behind his shoulder and saw Hermione with a bag in hand — _his_ bag that he'd forgotten. Theodore released the handle and turned to face her, the idea of him meeting Dumbledore to leave the castle slipping his mind completely. "You — you left your bag behind," Hermione breathed, outstretching it before pulling it back, "or do you want me to keep for you? You probably won't even need it when you're gone, so —"

"No, I'll take it, but thank you," Theodore said readily. His fingers brushed over Hermione's hand when he took it back, and he was quick to catch that it trembled against his touch — perhaps a single week wasn't enough for them to feel 'normal' around each other again. "When I come back, maybe — maybe we could just forget about Doomspell and… I don't know, _do something else…?_ "

"You have to do something about it, though, Theo, sooner or later," Hermione said back softly, even if her unusually absent bossy tone was more fitting. "Being the youngest champion isn't going to be easy — I'm not putting you down or anything!"

Theodore shrugged and said, "It's fine, I understand. But Harry and Ron are right. When the time comes, I'll be ready for it, you'll see. We didn't go through all of that stuff for three years for me to suddenly get cold feet."

She sighed, then holding her elbow behind her arm did Hermione conjure a small smile that was all too genuine for Theodore to think otherwise. Theodore suddenly remembered that he had to be seeing Dumbledore and managed an awkward goodbye to Hermione (it'd be out of the question to attempt even a hug, let alone a kiss with Madam Pince surely lurking around the corner) before letting himself out of the library.

The rain was still going strong against the window panes high above his head, the sounds of water striking the glass reverberating along the hallways. Theodore began to take his first steps towards Dumbledore's office and crossed past the Great Hall that was filled with more students than usual. But it was only a few steps that he took before walking backwards and stopping at the marble staircase to see that Dumbledore was not in his office but actually walking out of the dungeons, alongside Professor McGonagall.

" _Well if that wasn't perfect timing_ — Professor Dumbledore!" he called out as he traversed down the steps towards the two. "Professor, I was just about to go up to your office. It's about the thing you said on Monday, about us leaving the castle to go somewhere?"

"And you were right on schedule, Theodore. Perfect timing indeed," Dumbledore replied, tapping his wrist that lacked a watch, "shouldn't you say so, Minerva?"

Professor McGonagall, looking like her usual self today, was unfazed by Dumbledore's good-natured comment and looked down at Theodore as if he wasn't meant to be there. "Albus, need I remind you that Mr Riddle has a lot of homework to be catching up to; not just from me, but from all his other teachers. Taking him out of the castle is absurd, and he shouldn't be coming along —"

"I've actually finished all my homework last night, so…"

"I — _I can't even go against that at all…_ " sighed Professor McGonagall as she brought her fingers to hold the bridge of her nose.

Theodore, knowing that he won Professor McGonagall over, then turned to Dumbledore and answered the question that was stuck in his mind as to where they'd be going. Dumbledore waved at Mrs Norris passing by and took the lead by walking to the door, replying, "We, Theodore, are going to be properly inducting our newest Defence Against the Dark Arts professor — you remember his name when dear Phineas spoke about Sirius on that day?"

"Yeah, 'Alastor'…" Theodore didn't want to cover his disappointment and masked it with confusion. Here he was thinking that the last place they'd be going was to his newest teacher's home, and absolutely not somewhere which reeked of magic — he at least expected to go beyond the mountains that were close by.

Tightening his bag straps around his shoulders, Theodore followed both professors behind as Dumbledore pushed the oak door on the left wide open, leaving a spray of the persistent rain to creep inside. "Such a shame for this weather. I would've thought it'd be sunnier with Sybil back to predict the weather every day — _Repellere!_ " said Dumbledore, pointing his wand above his head. He stepped outside the door into the rain, and just above his head was a transparent dome that covered him whole, repelling the rain.

" _Repellere_ — what are you waiting for, Riddle? We haven't got all day," huffed Professor McGonagall while stepping out into the rain. "You should be jumping at the chance to use magic outside school."

Theodore patted himself all over until he found his wand inside the waistband of his jeans and took it out, "What was the spell — _Repellere_? Oh!" Faint energy erupted from the tip of his wand and formed the umbrella-dome that was above both Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall's heads. Theodore was marked impressed with himself and stepped outside the door to follow behind.

Moving along the pathway that should've led to Hogsmeade Station was somewhat alarming with the amount of mud that squelched underneath Theodore's feet, and he was careful not to walk too fast to avoid making a fool of himself. But as they walked further down the path did it look as if Hogsmeade Station was out of the question. Dumbledore took a turn that diverged along the main track when they exited the gates and carried on towards somewhere familiar.

"Professor, why are we going towards Hogsmeade?" Theodore asked loudly to be heard above the heavy rain. His body tensed up when a horrible thought had occurred at that moment. "We're not going to Apparate, are we…?"

When they reached the golden archways of Hogsmeade, Dumbledore motioned Professor McGonagall and Theodore to huddle closer to each other as he replied, "Where we're going should have one too many Muggles around that may question why an explosion, followed by three people appearing out of nowhere happened."

Dumbledore slipped his free hand into his purple robes and took out what looked like one of the silver hooked instruments that belonged in his office, whirring and spinning with absolutely no purpose. "This should be a much safer method — a method that you are familiar with, no?"

Theodore stared uneasily at Dumbledore's smile with the same mad gleam from the day he was chosen flashing in his eyes. He then averted his gaze to the instrument and saw it wriggle as it began to glow faintly with a blue light. "That's… that's not a Portkey, is it?"

"It is! And it should be ready to go off any moment now, so I'd advise you to hang on very soon."

Professor McGonagall grabbed hold of it without hesitation; Theodore not so much. But he reached out and wrapped his index finger around the end of the hook at the last second before everything suddenly spiralled into a whirlpool of disaster. He was being dragged violently by the shoulders again, left and right, up and down — it was like he was being yanked by a jet at full speed.

Theodore was lucky to land on his feet when it came to an end, and he was even luckier that the nausea was able to become suppressed much better than before — he still wanted to be sick, however. Rolling his head around his shoulders to shake of his disorientation, he was barely able to notice that he was in somebody's else front garden. Theodore, when he was finally back to normal, wasn't so much interested in the house behind him than the street that they were on.

Of course, it looked exactly like any other Muggle street in the country; Dumbledore was correct on this one. From where he was standing did Theodore see that they were on the end of a cul-de-sac with multiple average cars parked along the short road as the rain crashed down on them. One or two Muggles did walk by, but none of them seemed aware of Theodore when they passed by — perhaps it was because of the rain, Theodore theorised.

"Who's there?!" Theodore turned away from the street and drew his attention to the door of a small bungalow that Dumbledore knocked against, only to have a muffled growl as a reply.

"Ever so cautious, aren't you, Alastor?"

It went quiet for a moment, and then the sounds of multiple clicks and metal snapping against each other could be heard until the door swung open with much force — Dumbledore nor Professor McGonagall flinched. She didn't even bat an eyelash. A scruffy-looking man — no, that wasn't the right word to describe him.

A man whose face did not exhibit a once of smoothness that belonged to a normal human stuck his head through the doorway before curling his lip and opening the door the entire way. "About time that you arrived," the man muttered in a grizzly tone as he allowed them all through.

Theodore passed him by and made the mistake of looking up at him, unfortunate to take in his full features as well as making eye contact. It was haunting, to say the least. Never did Theodore see anybody so… inhuman in the most humane way possible. Scars upon scars could be found everywhere on his skin, even his hands, and Theodore couldn't ignore that his nose might have well fallen off when most of it was gone.

But it was the eye: that large, nearly bulging, electric blue eye that whizzed around within the eye socket as if it were alive that made him stare, maybe for too long. His dark grey hair was extremely unkempt, even if it was tied up in a poor ponytail — it was like they'd waken him up from a nap. Theodore thought that this man was beyond terrifying to be employed at a school. This man was supposed to be his new teacher, this 'Alastor'?

' _He must've been battling a dragon that scarred him all over and clawed his eye out, the madman! Wait… 'mad'…? Freaky eye… Mad-Eye…?'_

Theodore forced himself to walk further down the foyer that was bleak with empty picture frames hanging on the walls. It looked bigger than what it let on outside, suggesting that magic was involved in such effect. He carried on down behind Professor McGonagall and heard Mad-Eye(?)'s footsteps heavy as stone, clunking along the ground until they all reached the living room that was, no surprise there, utterly ordinary.

" _Got mud all over my new carpet…"_

Theodore stared down to his feet and realised that he had indeed created a trail of muddy footsteps leading from the door. He was quick to apologise, but Mad-Eye was even quicker to take out his wand and with a flick, vanished the mud from existence. Embarrassed, Theodore thought that the best course of action was to stand still with his hands in his pockets and not talk at all. Dumbledore, however, thought rather differently.

"Good to see that you're still spry, Alastor — of course, Minerva," said Dumbledore before Professor McGonagall walked away from the living room and through a door that Theodore could've sworn he heard voices from — he didn't care, however, as his eye was lingering towards something blue and shimmering that was hidden inside a cupboard close by…

"… and Theodore, this will be your newest Defence teacher, Professor Moody."

' _So he is Mad-Eye Moody. He certainly does look a little bit mad.'_ Before Theodore could open his mouth to speak, Professor Moody sat down in his faded maroon armchair — Dumbledore had vanished from the room and followed Professor McGonagall — and growled, "I already know who you are; there's no need for introductions. I've been seeing your name and face in the _Prophet_ for a while now."

"You have…?" He knew who he was?

"Of course — you don't think that I'm some washed-up, old hermit who doesn't know how to tie his own shoelace, do you? I'm not _that_ old."

Theodore looked down and saw that a wooden leg was attached to him and outstretched with a clawed foot at its end. He quickly raised his hands and protested, "No, I didn't think that, sir — _Professor_!"

"Calm down, son. There's no way that I'd believe a boy like you who stood up against a Death Eater is a complete nervous wreck. With the way they're advertising your name, plastering your face on every damn copy, you'd think that becoming an Auror would be your dream job. Well, is it?"

Theodore didn't need to think long on this at all but still took his time to answer — he merely just shrugged and stared around the room again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the blue object that looked like an oversized goblet of some sorts.

"Is that how you feel?" hummed Professor Moody while reaching to his side to grab a flask from a small round table and taking a quick swig of it. "Shame. I was thinking that you'd want to become one, you and your other famous friend, Potter. Professor Dumbledore has got me all caught up about how much you two tend to always follow trouble when it arrives."

"Well, it's usually trouble that follows us, Professor. Half the time, we're just trying to get through the year — but obviously, that never happens," Theodore trailed off, feeling the brief moment of newfound casual nature between them dying.

Taking another swig and chortling through gulps, Professor Moody wiped his scarred lips with his sleeve and said, "First catching a scummy Death Eater, and then being picked in one of the world's most dangerous tournaments? You must be a special one. How old are you — fifteen?"

"Fourteen."

Professor Moody chuckled again, although it was coarse against his throat, almost shaking the ground beneath Theodore's feet. "Fourteen, you say? Hasn't been one as young as you for centuries. If the Ring of Judgement is right in its choice, and it's _never_ wrong, then I've got to make sure to keep an eye out for you, Riddle. Powerful young ones do not just come and go easily — you might want to reconsider your career in the future."

"I… see," Theodore let out. He was doing his absolute best to avoid staring at the wild eye that was facing the back of Professor Moody's skull. That thing was too active just to be a normal glass eye that had been enchanted to move on its own.

The room had nothing else to offer other than the door that Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall went through and the cupboard that was now shut closed for some reason. Theodore watched the jaded man roll his head back and stare up towards the sky, whirling his flask in one hand. Perhaps he had grown bored with Theodore already — perfect for him. Now if he could just move a little closer to the left and towards that door.

He checked his shoes and saw that the mud had partially caked, only dropping small flecks whenever he'd walk. Theodore crept along the living room floor while keeping his eyes locked on Professor Moody — it felt like he was committing a sin, even when the owner of the house was sat right in front of him. It didn't take long for him to be at an angle that was perfect to see through the cracks of the door — just through it did he see a young woman with short, bubblegum pink hair; a tall, black man and Professor McGonagall standing side by side, facing a particular direction.

Another set of voices that were familiar to him, maybe Proudfoot and Savage(?) murmured behind the door as Theodore neared to it, taking a step that was a little too enthusiastic for he didn't anticipate the loose floorboard.

"You've never been in somebody's house before? Stop snooping."

Theodore quickly drew back from the door. "Sorry! I just wanted to see —" There was no point in explaining himself when Professor Moody's face didn't show that he believed him one bit. Instead, he opted to change the conversation, eager to find anything stimulating to rid of his undeniably growing boredom. "We were supposed to go somewhere for me to be 'inspired' for Doomspell, only that… this isn't really what I expected."

"If anyone in this crazy world knows what they're doing, then it's Dumbledore, all right," Professor Moody huffed without his bulging eye rolling back to its 'normal' position. "Taking you along means that he must've expected you to keep an eye out, especially with all the sneaky eyes that you can't keep to yourself — you don't think I didn't see you looking inside there, did you?"

He pointed at the cupboard that was closed. Theodore knew that something must've caused it to close, and he was just moments away from asking him what he was hiding behind it when the chance was suddenly ripped away as Dumbledore walked back into the living room — not with Professor McGonagall, though.

Dumbledore outstretched his hand to Professor Moody, who slightly struggled to get up onto his feet, as he began apologetically, "I'm afraid that I cannot stay for too long, Alastor. Duty calls for being Headmaster, as well as Supreme Mugwump — they're starting to become a little overbearing these days."

"No problem there, Albus. You weren't missing much, anyway — I think I'd give up my other leg rather than allow Tonks to try 'spice up' my home again. Retirement shouldn't have me on my toes like this young man over there," Professor Moody directed his spinning eye to point at Theodore. "Quite the curious type, isn't he? I'll see what he's made of, and the rest of your students. Hope they aren't a soft lot."

Dumbledore smiled and just nodded while he shook Professor Moody's hand as Theodore stood still, watching both wizards say their final words to each other until Dumbledore ended the handshake. "Professor McGonagall has important matters to attend to right here that she won't be coming back with us, no," Dumbledore said to Theodore once they left the house — it was still raining terribly — after he asked him where she was.

"Oh," was all that Theodore could say back, not even trying to hide that he was disappointed for how unnecessary the whole trip was — he didn't even think that they'd been gone for twenty minutes. "I suppose it's by Portkey again?"

"Correct once again, Theodore." Dumbledore dug into his pocket and retrieved the same object that they originally hung onto and waited in the dominating noise of rain for it to change colour. "Here we go — quickly, Theodore, please hold onto it quickly!"

Theodore lifted his arm lazily and grabbed the instrument, firmly shutting his eyes for what was to come as they were suddenly ripped away from the ground and spinning aimlessly in the air, all familiar sensations that ended when they returned to the same spot that they left from. Very few wizards and witches were walking through the rain from what Theodore could see — he thought himself an idiot for not creating the shield for himself, leaving him soaking wet under the charm.

But he didn't even care about that. In all honesty, what even was the point in going? Did he lift his expectations too high when thinking of the trip? Of course, he did; it was Dumbledore! Underwhelmed wasn't even what he felt churning inside of him. Too many times has he been led on to think of something grand by Dumbledore, only for it to come up failing to impress him instead. When would he ever learn?

"I don't really feel that much inspired," Theodore voiced out loud when they started to trek towards the castle, "and I don't get why you brought me there just to meet my new teacher. It doesn't make any sense."

As they passed the front gates, Dumbledore looked behind his shoulder and replied, "My apologies. I should have foreseen that it would seem rather lacklustre, given that — I mean this quite humbly — my reputation is of being 'amazing'. But I don't think that it came out as fruitless as you thought. Professor Moody mentioned that you were interested in what was hidden behind his door, am I correct?"

"Well… it wasn't like I had anything better to do. I was just standing there the entire time."

"But did you see anything that may have caught your eye?"

They both stopped just before the oak doors, giving Theodore a chance to recollect what could possibly fit Dumbledore's expected answer. There were the two other people with Professor McGonagall in that room, but… "In this cupboard in the living room, I saw that there was this… big, blue thing. It sort of looked like a trophy on its side, but I have no idea what it could've been. So what?"

"Who knows? I would've thought that maybe you did, seeing as how well versed you are in Doomspell's history." Dumbledore pushed his glasses up his crooked nose and asked, "I trust that you are doing your best to educate yourself in this situation, right, Theodore?"

Theodore pressed his lips together and turned away to stare at Hagrid's home in the distance as he muttered, "I might've been putting it off for a bit. My friends were helping me today, but that's about it."

"So you've taken some of my advice? I'm flattered, Theodore, I truly am, but remember —" Dumbledore pushed open the door and waved his wand to both of their feet to clear off the mud "— do whatever you can to make sure that none of your disadvantages shows when the time comes for you to compete. You're on the right path, and soon you'll see the reason why I brought you to meet with Professor Moody so early."

Staring at the back of Dumbledore's head, Theodore couldn't believe that he just left it at that and carried up the marble staircase as if they casually passed by each other. Sure he should've been used to this by now, but he could never think of Dumbledore anything less than slightly mad, maybe even more. Theodore closed the oak door behind him — he just wanted to forget about the day and carry on. Be it reading more on Doomspell; going to Hagrid's or being alone with Hermione, nothing could possibly ruin the end of a perfect week —

"Oh, hey, Gioveri," greeted Theodore casually as he smoothed his wet hair back to stop it from going in his eyes. Gioveri came out from the corridor that led down to the Transfiguration classroom, and under his armpit were, as expected, a load of books. Behind Hermione, he was undoubtedly the only person he'd seen with a book on hand on least three occasions per day.

"H-hi, Theo — _Theodore_!" stammered Gioveri while slapping his palm against his books with agitation. Just like every other encounter the two had with each other, Gioveri's cheeks grew a faint pink hue as he grinned nervously, and just like every other encounter, Theodore just ignored it. "You just been outside? Looks crazy out there…"

"Yeah, it is. But it was nothing special, to be honest. Anyway, I have to go dry myself off, so… talk to you later then."

Gioveri gave Theodore an odd bow of the head until he realised that it came off as Theodore perceived: awkward. He quickly squeaked goodbye and hurried off up the stairs and out of sight.

' _Honestly, he never seems to act normal — never around me, anyway. Guess that's what happens when you don't have any friends growing up. Now, I'm sure I know some sort of heating charm off the back of my head…'_

Theodore wracked his brain into trying to recall the spell that he needed until he heard footsteps coming from up the stairs — a group of mixed-House sixth-years were the first to go down and just behind them were Ron, Hermione and Harry all talking over each other before they saw Theodore, dripping, at the bottom step.

Hermione was a little faster to get to him before Harry and Ron as she was inquisitive with where he went, rapidly asking him, "So how did it go? Was it his place of birth? Harry thought the same, but Ron — why are you still wet? Hold on, I think I know the spell that'll get you dry in just a —"

"Let's just slow down, can we? I'll tell you guys when we go up — wait, where were you guys just going now?"

"Hagrid's," spoke Harry — he softly snorted at Theodore's deadpan expression and continued, "We know it's raining, thank you, it's just that we don't care. Obviously, you don't either."

"This is different," Theodore said back as he checked his bag to see if anything had soaked through and was lucky that that wasn't the case. "Let's not waste any time then. By the time we get back inside, Filch will be ready to catch us out with mud on our shoes."

"Remember the last time? He was not a happy man."

Theodore and Harry chuckled as the four moved to the oak doors while Ron asked, and quickly began to pester Theodore about where he really went to with Dumbledore, only for him to give a hint that he saw their newest teacher for Defence. Not only did this rile up his curiosity, but it did so with Hermione and Harry as well, hardening Theodore to not tell them a word.

"When will you not be so stubborn?" moaned Ron once they reached outside, both him and Harry leading the way forward. "My money is on Mad-Eye Moody — now hear me out, Harry, because I think I might be part-Seer with all these bullshit predictions that I keep getting right…"

Theodore almost stepped out into the rain and narrowly dodged a star-shaped puddle that appeared out of nowhere before seeing his laces undone on both shoes. "I'll join you lot later; I just have to do these," he called out to the others without watching them carry on as usual.

"Come on, hurry up, Theo. I want to get inside before I catch a cold." Halfway through tying his laces on his second shoe, Theodore lifted his head up instantly and saw Hermione with her arms crossed tightly. Her hair was straining against the hood that she had it confined to from her large, bright yellow parka. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He finished tying his laces in a hurry and stood up, squinting from the rain that splashed on one side of his face. "That doesn't look really comfortable. You sure you want to have that on?"

Hermione opened her mouth; then she pressed her palms against her hood that looked like a giant lemon and winced a little. "It's a little tight, but I don't want to get my hair wet. It's already a nightmare to deal with when it's dry, so you can't imagine it wet either. Let's just go and — _Theodore_!"

Theodore undid the small straps that framed her face and allowed her hair to burst free as it slowly began to collect stray raindrops. Before she could snap at him, he brought out his wand, pointing it to the sky and said _"Repellere!"_ forming the transparent dome over their heads.

All signs of irritation were wiped from her face as she looked up with red cheeks when Theodore closed the gap between them, he too barely able to keep his composure from realising what he just did. "I — I've never seen this spell before…"

"Just learnt it today… should we…?" Theodore motioned towards Harry and Ron, who somehow hadn't noticed that the two were lagging behind.

"Sure…" Hermione hummed before balancing her head against his shoulder, letting her slightly frizzy hair tickle Theodore's ear as they came closer together, even if there was enough space under the charm. It was true, Theodore didn't have a clue about what he was doing, what could happen and even further beyond that — but he couldn't deny that this was by far a perfect end to his almost perfect week.

' _She's really mine…'_

* * *

How many weeks has it been since he arrived in the wretched place that was the home of his wretched past that reminded him of his wretched blood? Too long — far too long. Tom was unable to escape from it, unable to truly fend for himself for he had grown pathetically feeble once again, owing to the Muggle boy whose body his soul housed. How did it all come down to this? _Harry Potter…_

The scraps that he had to salvage from discarded waste around back several shops whose owners viewed him as another piece of scum that roamed the streets: Tom was sure to go ballistic with rage and utter hatred for the pity that they all hauled at him — until he realised that they were right. And he loathed that, he really did. Muggles dared to act on the truth that he, once the most powerful and feared wizard was nothing more than a mere remnant of his past: how did it all come down to this?

It was tough to sustain the dying body that he possessed from the child for food was becoming less effective as Tom frequently suffered from fits of coughs that led to significant losses of blood. That was until he realised that returning to Little Hangleton was not all failure on his part: Gaunt Shack. The home of his ancestors that bred themselves into extinction. Tom had it kept hidden for his _personal_ … 'endeavours', knowing that it radiated with pure magic — and he was lucky for that. He couldn't explain how the plants that allowed him to make potions that slowed down his body from decaying managed to cultivate near his mother's old home, but he was lucky.

And as he spent hours upon hours, feeling himself slipping from holding onto his physical form, he would swear that hallucinations from his own mind — no, _visions_ from his mind would appear by inconvenience, displaying images that he could barely hold onto for so long, like the one that was occurring at that moment — _he could see… he could see five younger boys and… and that was Theodore, his son… his cheeks were…_

Tom hissed and stiffly shook his neck when foreign feelings began to leak into his head as he waved his hand against the vines that curled back into their roots, letting him pass through. Why he could see his own child as if a dream had remerged in his conscious thinking was something that not even he could comprehend. But it must be a sign that he was destined to succeed — all he needed was time.

In one hand did Tom keep a small goblet that had rusted markings going all around it while he used the other to slip a wand into his filthy rags that masked his entire body, save his hands. He knew that the wand used to belong to his grandfather, who he knew died in his own home, his wand most likely to be unfound by his imbecile of an uncle. It didn't feel right at all upon his fingertips, but what other choice did he have?

As he cut through the roads that were in between numerous trees filled with leaves that shimmered white from the moonlight up above, Tom soon found himself back onto the main streets of Little Hangleton, barren with only those who took in the ambience of the peaceful night, and others who delved into 'less desirable' acts within the alleyways. If he were lucky, then maybe he'd be able to spot a healthy-looking child that would be worth replacing his current body… alas, it was fruitless. That didn't matter so much at the moment, however.

Tom finally reached his destination that was a bus stop, occupied by none other than a woman and her child, both appearing extremely exhausted from whatever that they were possibly doing. He pondered on it for a while but thought that it was best to not raise any suspicion, especially in an area like this. And so he waited patiently until the bus arrived — it had been this way ever since, every Saturday evening to use this very bus.

It didn't take long for it to arrive as Tom waited until the mother and child got on it first. He then took out the wand and pointed to the driver, croaking _"Confundo…!"_ He swept past and placed himself at the front, waiting for the driver to get out from their haze. It always came to this.

A twenty-minute journey was all that it took for him to arrive where he needed to be. Tom slipped out of the bus at his desired stop, once again waiting for the woman and child to pass through before he did — call it courtesy, Tom called it him being lazy. However, he couldn't afford to be too at ease. Tom then started to walk down a familiar path in the empty crossroads where the rare car would be the only thing moving in sight. Left, another left and a right corner… there he was.

 _HM Greater Leston Prison_

Tom took in the towering gate that was standing before him and the even more towering building that was behind it. If only it were this easy with Azkaban — to think of all those who sold their lives, their devotion to him and him only… Tom took out his wand and twirled it above his head, causing his entire being to vanish completely. A simple Disillusionment Charm that kept him away from prying Muggle eyes. It never failed him before. Tom slowly limped to the gate and without holding himself back, his body immediately Apparated just a few meters behind the gate. Short distances were less threatening to his health than across countries — it was unfortunate that he was limited to once every few minutes.

He didn't waste any time and hobbled hastily across the small field, aiming towards the heavy green door that he couldn't afford to open by magic — he made that mistake the first time and almost allowed himself to be caught when the prison was alerted of a foreign presence. But by luck did he have what he needed — the same guard that always guarded this particular area. Tom had even gone to know his name until he realised that it was the same as his. It irked him, yes, but he had a new name, his _only_ name.

" _Imperio…!"_

The guard became entirely complacent to his will and followed through with Tom's commands that were to open the door with his keys, knowing that this was another way inside through the laundry room. Once inside, Tom forced the guard to close it behind him, and he soon set off out the place, opening the door that wasn't connected to any alarms that would — he dug his nails into his stomach. It was going to happen right here, but he couldn't grow lazy he told himself. He couldn't —

"What the hell — _who are you?!_ " yelled a voice from down the corridor — another guard had appeared, and the Disillusionment Charm had faded away, leaving him visible again. Oh well, it only meant one thing. "We've got a —!"

" _Avada Kedavra!"_

Silenced and pathetic like an unwanted child's toy, the guard had slumped to the ground as the striking emerald light filled the corridor, bouncing off its walls before it was just the moonlight again. Tom checked to see that he hadn't spilt a single drop from his goblet (he didn't) before he swiftly pressed on, stepping over the fresh corpse that had a look of confusion etched permanently on his face. He needed to find the cell before more would arrive at the guard's call — somebody was sure to have heard them…

But it seemed as if they'd be too slow to catch him. Tom stopped where he was, right in front of the cell door that didn't look a thing different to the others, and he flicked his wand, swinging the door wide open.

Inside did he see a nurse that nearly screeched in horror before Tom cast the Silencing Charm on her, followed by a Stunner to the chest. One dead body was already enough, especially in such a risky setting like where he was. Tom waved his wand and levitated her to the side and allowed her to fall to the ground as he slowly approached the bed that had a prisoner, unresponsive to his presence.

The prisoner gasped with every single breath as it was blatant that he was extremely old. His skin slid off his bones as if made by wet dough, and the hair on his head was extremely thin with only some tufts of pure white unevenly dispersed all around. His eyes were closed while he shivered in his bed, despite being well covered by his duvet, and the old man struggled to keep his partially toothless mouth closed. Oh, how Tom _hated him with such passion…_

Tom pocketed the wand and set the goblet down on the bedside table, shoving the clipboards aside until it piqued his interest that he look closer at it. It was not only clipboards but several types of medicines lined up, even against the windowsill. It was like a pharmacy.

He just scoffed. "Look at you — look at us," coughed Tom as he sat down in the chair, taking the goblet in one hand and using the other to squeeze the old man's jaw to open his mouth wider. "Weak in bodies that are sure to turn on us soon… but there's a difference between you and me. A much clear difference…"

Tom slowly poured the potion down the elderly prisoner's mouth, making sure that none spilt over to the side as he continued with great disdain in his voice, "How is it that your worthless life, your filthy being can still find purpose when death is at your door? You do not possess any power that is above my own…"

The old man gulped and thrashed around in his bed before Tom snapped his fingers, and as if invisible ropes held him in place, he became still once more. The wheezing ceased, and born from lungs that had no more use to carry on, the man croaked, "Henry…? Henry, my boy… my _son_ … is that you…? Did you come to see me after all these years…?"

"Henry's dead," Tom spitefully remarked, running his finger along the edge of the goblet. "By now, he's surely just dust, not even bone. No, it's me — the bastard whose name came — came from you." He couldn't help but cough violently, leaving blood to trickle down his fisted hand. Even being in his presence made him sicker than usual.

"No… no, I only had one… one son…" mumbled Tom's father, the man who he never thought would live to see his son that despised him so much again. "Henry, my son… only one son…"

"To think that you can hold some sense in such a pitiful form — how did it come to this?" Tom leaned in closer to his father's face, noting how neither of them shared any resemblance with each other, despite them being identical in a different lifetime. He gripped his cheeks again, this time much tighter that his father began to groan in pain as he hissed softly, "I've spared your life for all these years because I need only one thing from you. Do not think that you are worthy of my mercy for you should be dust — you'll serve your purpose as you did all those years ago, do you hear me clearly? I do not live because of you. _You live because of me… me…_ "

 **Theo and Hermione shouldn't even bother to hide anything with them making it too obvious. Guess that's one thing he can't keep a secret. Thanks for all the reviews from the previous chapter. I see that you loved it, huh?**

 **I'm going to keep this brief and let this chap soak in for you guys, but I wanted to know just a few things: what do you think of Nott and Gioveri? Hope you enjoyed the chap. Later.**

 **P.S: I promise to hurry the pace since we're still in September:) Plus 300 FOLLOWERS!**


	51. Chapter 51: Just A Few Clues

Painful anticipation was what had been rushing through the fourth-year Gryffindors inside the Great Hall. Lunch was nearing its end as fingernails were tapping against the wooden surface of the table, some surely on the verge of breaking from how vigorous it was. Underneath the usual volume that filled the room did hisses of excitement fly to one another, while others made their conversations more known and dispersed down the table, especially Seamus. And Theodore honestly could not blame him for it at all. Never had they craved for a lesson so bad, not even when Dumbledore had taught them already — they were in no way discrediting him at all. But how could they not just explode with the thrilling sensation that Mad-Eye Moody was to be their newest teacher?

Ever since the day from when Theodore had left the castle, Hermione, Harry and Ron's curiosity had peaked into an obsession, changing their questions of interest into hounding for answers. Theodore, oddly enjoying seeing them craving for any clue, put up his wall of resilience by not indulging them the truth about Moody — not even Hermione could break through, although she had gone the furthest out of the three.

But like almost every secret within Hogwarts, it became useless in the end when school had returned. Fred and George had come from the first lesson of the day to rejoice to every corner of the castle that Moody had just taught about Unforgivable Curses, inviting an army of people to listen to their stories.

And when it came to the others, none of them felt an ounce of spite towards Theodore for keeping it a secret from them. Although, Hermione did become a tad bit (the boys thought so anyway) annoyed that they came across a Belltor Moody, a former champion and victor of Doomspell when Theodore had known the identity of their newest teacher.

"It's just a massive coincidence, Hermione. What did you want me to do, spoil the surprise for you lot," Theodore had said earlier in the day.

Hermione simply turned her head in a huff, but it didn't last long at all when he joked that he was indebted with her extreme concern. _"At least I'm taking it seriously…"_

 **BRINNGG!**

That was their calling. The Gryffindors immediately leapt up from their seats to rush towards the door in a tight bundle, neglecting the other Houses in the process. To be fair, it had been the same all around since morning with the shoving and pushing. They turned the corner sharply and headed to the Defence classroom where the year would truly start off.

"This is going to be wicked!" Ron effused with a skip to his step once they reached the classroom's corridor. "What do you think he'll teach us — Unforgivables, maybe?!"

"He's not allowed to teach us those because we're just fourth-years, Ron. Although, hopefully, he'll stick around long enough unlike our other professors."

Harry lightly elbowed Theodore and asked, "Is it just me or is there something up with the Defence Against the Dark Arts post?"

Theodore snorted and squirmed to the front of the crowd to go through first, much to Seamus's chagrin. "You just noticed?" He twisted the door handle and led the way into the classroom, one that had been relatively unchanged ever since Professor Lupin had last been inside —

"Hurry up and take your seats!" growled a voice that came from the front of the classroom. Theodore was lucky to not keep himself in the same spot as to avoid his classmates from behind hastily entering due to Professor Moody's unmistakable voice.

As he quickly sat down at his desk shared with Harry near the middle, Theodore could see from a glance Moody being draped in rough, brown robes that made him look like a slightly hulking figure — and he, like every other person sitting down, couldn't miss the eye that continued to spin within its socket. Just looking at it made Theodore feel a little bit dizzy.

Not a single sound came from anybody once they filled their seats, staring intently at Professor Moody's ever-unnerving presence as he finally moved. "Let's not waste any more time and get this over and done with. Brown!"

"Here, sir!"

"Dunbar!"

"Here!"

Professor Moody sped through the register without delay, only pausing just for a moment when he reached Harry and Theodore's names. After it was finished soon after, he flung his parchment sheet onto his desk and began to waltz in between the desks in a Dementor-like fashion, only he was with a noticeable limp instead. "Professor Alastor Moody," he began in a gruff tone. "I expect that you're all smart enough to remember my name when you leave this classroom — not only that but what I will teach you with the utmost certainty that you'll be willing to learn from me.

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has hired me for this job because he's certain that you'll need a _realistic_ attitude to the world outside this cosy castle. Dark forces are always brewing in the shadows, no matter how much effort you put into trying to eradicate it. You must always be on the lookout — CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Theodore recoiled back as did everybody else. Their eardrums were slowly adjusting to Professor Moody's rough voice when he took them by surprise. He was certainly living up to the 'Mad' part of his name.

Seamus's hand was the first one up, and Professor Moody merely nodded to let him speak. "Um, Professor Moody? Are you by any chance a fan of Gilderoy Lockhart —?"

"Are you mocking me, boy?"

"No! N-no, sir, of course not, sir!" stammered Seamus while waving his hands in a frantic manner. "It's — it's just that Lockhart said something similar before he left, about being vigilant. Bit of a coincidence when he was our Defence teacher, huh…? _…no?_ "

A tick ran across Professor Moody's face that made his nose close up a little as he grumbled, "Me, a fan of Lockhart. They never told me that you were comedians — no, I don't follow fools who have no credit to their names. He would've been chewed up and turned into dragon dung in my line of work, but that's not what we are here to discuss."

Professor Moody halted just in between the desks of Harry and Theodore on his right and Ron and Hermione on his left, his eye now having calmed down for the time being. "During the times of when I started off my career as an Auror fresh from the course, I've seen things… things that would make any man insane in a blink of an eye. Things that would haunt you for years until you couldn't take it anymore. I'm talking about the worst of the worst — the most vicious and unstable wizards and witches you could ever meet in your lifetime. Do you know who I'm referring to, Riddle?"

Theodore quickly turned his gaze away from Moody's eye to his whole face before remembering that he didn't like looking at it that much. "You're talking about Death Eaters, right?"

"Correct. Death Eaters: possibly the vilest creatures on Earth that aren't beasts. You'll hear stories upon stories about how they…"

Theodore wasn't sure whether to sit still for the entire lesson to just take in every word or to at least write something down instead. He wasn't the only one who had no idea as to what type of lesson this was going to be: Parvati and Neville had their backs straight and poised, but it seemed as if they were doing this to not give off the image of being slouchy. Maybe if Theodore could jot a few things down, then he wouldn't look like he was just —

"Lesson too boring for you, Riddle?" asked Professor Moody snappishly — Theodore pulled his hand away from his bag and started to protest against it while wondering how on earth could he see him with his back turned and no mirrors being present anywhere. "Then you won't want to be missing this part. I've read up on what you have all done in the past with your other teachers: Lupin and those other two idiots. You see me? I prefer a more practical approach when dealing with this. When you face the real thing, _theory_ will only get you so far. Understand?"

A hand rose up in the air on Theodore's right, a hand that he correctly predicted to be Hermione's as she asked without permission, "Sir — _Professor Moody_ , we will still be doing as much theory as possible this year, won't we —?" Hermione ignored the collective groans all around and continued "— because I've read most of the specification for this year which covers quite a lot of content."

Professor Moody had a brief look of amusement upon his face before it shifted back to normal. "Theory will always be necessary, Granger, but don't expect to be scribbling down little notes in each lesson — like this one. Everybody up! Out of your seats, now!"

Theodore turned his head side to side in confusion as everyone else bustled out of their chairs, not refusing Professor Moody's instructions; he then only moved off his seat when he was elbowed by Harry. As everyone was further instructed to move to the edge of the classroom, Professor Moody then brandished his wand and gave it a broad swish in front of him, and immediately did the desks and chairs zoom to the back to stack on top of each other. Just a large unmarked space was in the centre that made the classroom even bigger than it had ever been before.

"Potter, you go back into the middle. That's right, you're up first," said Professor Moody with suppressed glee from seeing Harry squirm a little. Harry did as he was told without question, and Professor Moody then began to circle him like a shark preying on a helpless animal. It wouldn't be a stretch for everyone to think he'd attack him out of nowhere. "I went through the reports that you had last year — yours was quite interesting, wouldn't you say so, Potter?"

"You think so?"

"One of the highest grades in the class, and from what I heard, you managed to conjure a Patronus with Dementors crawling around you —" Harry shrugged as he followed Professor Moody's moments, but even he couldn't stop his mouth from upturning into a grin; Theodore had to refrain from rolling his eyes at him.

"And let's not forget about everything else you've been doing since you got here — tell me this, Potter: you come across a Boggart that has been terrorising Muggles for a while now, and you happen to come across it. What do you do?"

Harry swiftly answered, "You perform the Riddikulus Charm which changes its shape to something you find funny."

"OK… but you all should've known that anyway — now here's a real tough one." Professor Moody had stopped moving around Harry and instead came to a halt in front of him. "There's been warnings in the area from where you live that there's a rogue wizard, completely gone in the head. He's been known to be extremely dangerous and just so happened to meet you on an average stroll. What then?"

This time, Harry wasn't so quick to answer as he brought his hand up to push his glasses back on his nose to think. Theodore didn't think that it was too vague of a question, but an answer didn't come up in his mind in time when Harry gave his own, albeit a shaky one at that. "Maybe you could try a… Shield Charm just in case? I mean, there has to be one of those out there."

"You're on the right track, Potter, but you have to go all the way," Professor Moody commented before spinning on the spot to face everyone else — they all nearly took a step back until realising that they were up against the wall. "Being on the defence is a natural way of thinking but remember — CONSTANT VIGILANCE! YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO ALWAYS BE ON THE DEFENCE!"

"Merlin's sake!" squealed Ron underneath everyone's gasps of fear. "He's seriously going to give us a heart attack — sorry, Theo, just got a little spooked there."

Theodore went to rub the area on his arm where Ron had dug his fingernails inside and shrugged it off, only to see that his other arm was being held down by Hermione instead. She quickly released her hold and pretended that nothing happened as did Theodore, even though his arm was stinging quite a bit.

Suddenly a scarred hand flashed in front of Theodore's face and began snapping violently — Professor Moody quickly told Theodore to switch places with Harry and began to elaborate on what was going to happen. "This is going to be an example of what I'm trying to get across to you all, and _pay close attention, Finnigan_ ," he growled, even when Seamus was in no way in his field of vision. "Riddle, I'll be the criminal wizard, and you'll be —"

"Wait, what?!" Theodore cut him off, feeling shivers trying to reach every part of his body.

"Calm down, you'll be fine. After all, you've been in this situation before."

Theodore looked across to Ron, Harry and Hermione, unsure if they could see the unease in his eyes. He wanted to blurt out that he was only lucky in the Forbidden Forest, but something else came to mind and forced its way to his tongue, "Professor, if you're the criminal, then that means you're going to try and attack me, right? But the thing is, I don't really know the Shield Charm at all, so —"

"The incantation is _Protego_ ," Professor Moody interjected as he brought his wand swishing straight down to display it to the rest of the class. They were all still stuck in the same positions and watching with wide eyes until Professor Moody barked at them all to take a note of it. "I won't force you to remember everything by the end of each lesson. Trust me, if don't have it all in your head, then… back to this — Riddle!"

"Yes?! I mean — yes, sir!"

"Wand at the ready." Theodore plucked out his wand from his pockets and held it to his side before he instinctively brought it up to aim at Professor Moody's feet. Professor Moody did the same, and a twisted smile that contorted his mangled features made Theodore feel odd — was he going to enjoy this? "There's no countdown, no warning: just your reflexes that you have to rely on. Let's see what you're made of, Riddle… _Impedimenta!_ "

Theodore saw turquoise light aiming straight towards his chest like a rocket, but his hand was already in motion as he brought it up then dragged it down again in a near blink of an eye and yelled, _"Protego!"_ Something akin to an invisible wall came between Theodore and the spell as it caused it to bounce off and dissipate when hitting the ceiling — _'All right, now what should I do? Maybe a Stunner —'_

" _Impedimenta!"_ growled Professor Moody again, as quickly as the first time. Theodore's heart nearly exploded as he said _"Protego!"_ at the last second, this time feeling the strength of Professor Moody's spell that managed to push him back on his left foot.

" _Stupefy!"_ Theodore pointed his wand at Professor Moody, who expertly deflected it to the far corner of the classroom and started to nod approvingly at Theodore, commenting, "Didn't know that you knew such a spell, Riddle — a useful one at that. You're a quick one, Riddle, and you've got some power behind that wand. Fast learner, I'd say, but not perfect."

Theodore squeezed at his robes but said nothing as Professor Moody began to circle him the same way he did to Harry. "I saw that you hesitated to counter me after you blocked my spell, and I could probably guess why that is. You were thinking too much, weren't you?" he correctly deduced while stopping behind Theodore. "That can't happen, because the second you think too much… _you die_. Simple as. I can even bet that your hand's shaking from holding your wand too tightly."

"My hand isn't — _whoa_ ," was all that he could say when he looked down to see his fingers trembling as they held onto his wand. But Theodore quickly dismissed it, deeming that it was him just being cautious to not let his wand fall.

"You say that now, but you're too stiff," said Professor Moody with no hint of attempting to sugar-coat anything — like he ever would. "Flexibility is what I'm trying to teach you as well — you're too stiff because you think too much, and that can get you killed. All great duellers have been known to never let hesitation get to them, those good and those bad. How do you think the Dark Lord became so fearsome by those who were lucky to be alive after facing him in the past?"

The question didn't sound rhetorical, and Theodore now had both his hands on his wand as he answered in a quieter voice, "Because he never hesitates…?"

"Exactly!" affirmed Professor Moody while returning to his old position. "He wouldn't have been half the threat he was if he had to think what spell he needed next after the first. _Always remember_ ," he added, knocking his knuckles against his temple before snapping at Harry this time. "Riddle, you switch places with me — Potter, you take Riddle's spot."

Theodore shuffled past Harry and took up Professor Moody's place, and he turned on the spot to face Harry, who already had his wand out in his hand. Looking back on it, Theodore didn't know too many offensive spells, but a Stunner was enough, right? _'You're thinking too much again. Don't lose focus…'_

"Whenever you're ready, Rid—"

" _Stupefy!"_ said Theodore instantaneously without letting Professor Moody finish — the Stunner streaked across the air, pelting towards a seemingly unsuspecting Harry until his reflexes kicked in at the last second. _"Protego!"_ Harry yelled, bouncing the spell off to the side — but right after that did Theodore catch his cousin's wand-hand swish in the air as he said out loud, _"Stupefy!"_

A fraction of a second further and he would've been slammed onto his back — Theodore slashed in the air and formed the invisible shield in front of him, feeling his wand tremble from the force of Harry's spell. Wasn't at all as strong as Professor Moody's, however. Speaking of the devil…

"You got it, Potter!" Professor Moody grinned as he limped his way over to the two and began to point his finger across to everyone else. "That is what I'm talking about: conscious-thinking will get you absolutely nowhere in any duel! Always need to have those thoughts in the back of your mind, _always_! Never forget that! _If I can get you all through this, the Unforgivables will be a piece of cake…_ "

As Professor Moody regained his space within the circle, Theodore didn't want to admit that he was feeling somewhat irked that he hadn't been commended like Harry was, even if his reaction time was just as good as his. He shifted himself a little to the back of the crowd to observe everyone rotating in and out, facing Professor Moody with all that they could. Most did averagely well against him; others were knocked off their feet and needed to be revived several times in a row (Professor Moody had taken enough pity on Neville to finally stop).

Theodore, however, didn't refuse to try again, even if nothing seemed to change. He could only take being told that he was thinking too much so many times before becoming internally frustrated. Eventually, did the bells marking for the end of the day go off with wrists aching all around but chest filled with painful joy. Professor Moody called them a 'hopeful lot' as they left through the door, and that was all he said before he plopped down to his desk to take a swig of his flask. Theodore just barely caught his eye through the crack of the open door and heard the faintest huff before they became closed off to each other.

"What do you say — up there with one of the best lessons since the first day?" Seamus asked everybody while walking backwards. "I feel like I can take ten Death Eaters after all that. Ron?"

"You read my mind, Seamus. Still think the Boggart lesson was the best, though."

Theodore was moderately silent, only managing a few words when asked what he thought about their lesson. He wasn't lying when he said that it was great; he just couldn't shake off what felt like jealously turning into something else that was building up slowly inside of him. After all, he was supposed to go up against four other schools, their champions being the peak of magical potential. Yet he was being reminded constantly that he was 'too slow'. So much for being the best.

"You know," Hermione started out of nowhere when she dropped back to his side, "I didn't think that you were slow at all. In fact, it was rather hard to keep up with you. Could barely see a thing."

Theodore pursed his lips to contain the smile and said back, "Now you're just saying things to please me. I don't like being lied to."

"You're being ridiculous. As if you'd really think what he said matters. You did just fine, Theo, and you know you did."

It was a failed effort, in the end, to stop smiling as he did so when they came to the Grand Staircase filled with several students most likely aiming to their common rooms. Theodore then just sighed, taking in the noise around him before expelling it from his head — maybe he was going about this all wrong. Never did it cross his mind Dumbledore's words of advice on that day, how it didn't need to be just him against everyone. At least until now did it not.

' _Turn to those closest…'_ he thought to himself upon reaching the Fat Lady's portrait. The first-, third- and seventh-years were swarming around her portrait, making everything move slower than what would suffice for Theodore — but he was patient. _'Dumbledore is mad, but I think I can finally get him these days…'_

The tight crowd of squirming Gryffindors soon came to an end as they finally decided that clambering inside like wild dogs was not the solution. Theodore shuffled closer to the portrait hole right behind Hermione, and he was still pondering on ideas that were latent until his chin was caught in Hermione's hair all of a sudden.

"Sorry," he apologised when realising that she was the second-to-last person to climb through — they sure went through quick. Once she turned to face him, albeit tilt her head upwards, Theodore took note of her half-closed eye with a strand of hair on her eyelash — and just before she could, he brushed it away to the side. "There you go… um, w-we should be getting inside now!"

Hermione briefly looked back to the open space behind the portrait and saw nobody lurking from the corner — absolutely convenient, thought Theodore. Convenient and perfect for her. "Or… we could just go off somewhere else… _we don't have to stay here_ …"

Theodore's eyes became wide — he didn't think that she could be this _forward_. "I'm not saying that I don't want to at all, because I would, really! It's just Harry and Ron… I mean, we haven't even said anything to them. By the time we get back, Ron's going to be all… you know."

"Elvira's so much worse," Hermione groaned with an exasperated sigh, letting her head fall onto his chest. "I didn't even tell her about what happened on my birthday, but she knew everything! She swears that she didn't spy on us, but…"

She lifted her head up again and held both her hands onto his right arm, saying softly, "You're — you're going to do great in Doomspell, Theo. I really, _really_ do think so. Just promise that you won't go off brooding on your own again. I'd rather have you all… unbearably cocky than that."

"Thanks for the encouragement, I guess…"

"OK…" she whispered before lifting off her tiptoes and slightly pulling Theodore down by the arm to bring his face closer to hers, pecking softly at his lips before stepping back. "H-how's that for encouragement…?"

All that Theodore could do was watch Hermione rush through the portrait before stumbling to the ground and disappearing into the common room — and a small voice in his head was mercilessly berating him for letting what could've been an _interesting_ afternoon pass.

' _What. An. Idiot you are, Theo…'_

"Oi! I've been staring at this wall for the past ten minutes! Are you going in or not?!" Theodore apologised to the Fat Lady and climbed through, also landing clumsily on his feet as the portrait slammed shut behind him. _"After all that sneaking around, they're finally a thing. I've spent way too long in this castle, far, far too long…"_

* * *

Finally, did things seem to speed up around the castle as September was quickly left behind and October was beginning to roll in. Even then, the month was no stranger to picking up the pace as if it was also overflowing with excitement along with everybody else — Doomspell was getting ever so closer, and it was hard for anybody to contain it, even if they didn't particularly like their chosen champion.

As for the four, it was rather more complicated than that when they thought about what was to come. Up until the middle of the month did they work around the clock in the library uncovering anything in the past related to Doomspell, and what they recovered did aid them in some way. According to _Unity Among Wizards: The Trials of Doomspell_ , each trial that was performed had been recorded in the book beforehand, giving them hope that they could use it to their advantage — who would've known that it would be Ron to spoil the mood by pointing out that no Doomspell tournament would repeat their tasks. A real shame, to be quite frank.

Nevertheless, they still encouraged Theodore to keep his head up (meanwhile, he'd rather be doing _anything else_ ), not failing to remind him that he was still the youngest of the lot. Maybe he could feel some motivation to really try, but something was just lacking inside. Perhaps when the time would come for him to compete, it'd appear in the nick of time — who knew?

"Hmm…" hummed Theodore to himself, holding his dry quill in one hand and a parchment sheet in the other. He was lounging along the armchair inside the common room that was unusually calm today, and he had his mind set on writing down a to-do list (recommended by Hermione) on what to achieve before the day Doomspell started. Only it wasn't coming to him as quickly as he initially thought.

Theodore turned his head to look over his shoulder to the squashy couch and saw Ginny and Elvira giggling with each other while Viripin was doing her best impression of Crookshanks to them ("she's sort of like me," Elvira effused, earning a nuzzle to the cheek). Ron and Hermione were on the other end while Harry was sitting down on the floor, apparently redoing his homework for Professor Snape. All of them looked so carefree, so unrestricted… oh, how he missed feeling that way.

' _I should put going to Nott on the list because I've been putting that off for far too long now,'_ he thought to himself when returning to his list. _'Then again, he doesn't seem like he's in the mood these days. Probably be best not to say something that could set him off. Why couldn't this be a normal year…?'_

"… and you wouldn't catch me doing that again. Say, Elvira," Ron asked with a lifted eyebrow, "that's your sister in Beauxbatons, right? Aren't you supposed to be supporting her, or is it going to be Theo instead?"

A confused look spread across Elvira's face, something similar to when Neville was asked how to perform a spell in Transfiguration. "I… well, I, uh, I guess I'll be supporting Theodore…" she answered reluctantly before cupping Viripin's jaw again.

"Wow, that's cold," Ron chortled.

"Stop it, Ron."

"What? OK, I'm sorry, Elvira — _you happy_ …?"

"No, no, it's all right, Ron, you don't have to apologise." Elvira sighed and allowed her eyebrows to droop as she continued, "It's not like she is making it easy for me to stand behind her anyway."

"Don't you like her?" asked Ginny. "She is your sister, after all."

"Yes, I do… _but_ …" Elvira's hair was slowly curling into red locks, and she coughed when all eyes were fixed on her — what a way to diffuse the tension. She turned to Theodore, who was still daydreaming and asked him, "So, do you have anything in mind about what will happen in the first trial? I'm guessing that they'll probably try to test you on a certain skill that you have, to prove your worth."

Theodore slightly raised his eyebrow and turned on the chair to sit properly. "That seems a little bit specific. Even we didn't know that that was the case — how do you even know that?"

"Remember when I told you about my family's history? I've had quite a few ancestors who competed and won Doomspell in the past. It's one of the only few recurring themes of Doomspell in each one. At least, that's what I remember my father telling me."

"Come on, Theo, even I remembered that," Ron chimed in while slouching further down the sofa. "Hermione's been repeating it to death forever — _I wonder if you were actually listening to her…_ "

Meeting his eyes with everybody else's, Theodore saw the corners of their mouths lifting into mirroring grins, all except Hermione's face that was pink and slightly hidden behind her hair. _"Sometimes, I really hate you, Ron…"_ muttered Theodore to himself as he curled up again on the armchair, also obscuring his face from the others.

As he brought his mind away from the distraction and to his list, hissing came from behind his ear and his shoulder felt heavy as Viripin slithered onto his belly, resting her head on his chest — somehow, Theodore could already tell what was on her mind. _"You shouldn't be embarrassed, Theodore — you should be proud instead,"_ hissed Viripin in a soft whisper, _"I know I am. You finally took the dive with Hermione! Soon you'll be confessing that you love her, and —"_

"I'm not — I didn't take any dive, Viripin!" whispered Theodore back, holding her head closer to his chin, _"_ or at least… I guess I did, didn't I…?"

" _You did, and it turned out well in the end. And you were so desperately trying to deny it all. Honestly, I thought you were so helpless…"_

Theodore grumbled that he wasn't helpless and stroked her along her back, his quill and notebook slowly forgotten, even when Harry finally spoke up after chucking his work onto the table. "Can't wait until we get to the sixth year: _then I can finally drop this stupid subject_. Don't have you have to be somewhere, Theodore?"

"Hmm?"

"You're always going off at this time to your god— Snape's lessons. Is it on today, or are you avoiding it again?" asked Harry, lifting himself up to squeeze in between Ron and Hermione.

Theodore groaned and lifted Viripin's body to set her onto Ginny — he knew too well that missing the Occlumency lessons would cause problems, even if they were probably useless to him by now. Theodore reckoned he could block anybody out, including Professor Snape.

He told them all that he'd return in an hour or so, and he left the common room to make his way to the dungeons. Like usual nowadays, nothing presented itself to prove troublesome on his way down, and Theodore reached the Entrance Hall fairly quickly, but his legs stopped working when voices from the bottom of the staircase became heard. It wasn't Peeves — certainly not with how relaxed they sounded. Dumbledore, perhaps?

Theodore's deduction was proven correct when he lifted his head to observe from above. There did he see Dumbledore in his purple robes — and he wasn't alone from the looks of it. Lestrange was also present, as was Professor Snape with a student standing by his side with a large trunk beside him. But even in the growing darkness could Theodore recognise who it was.

"Nott?" Theodore inadvertently let out from the top step — he awkwardly tripped a little bit forward, fully exposing himself.

Everybody turned their heads towards him like robots, and Theodore, for a moment, thought to apologise for intruding, even when the presumption of Nott being expelled flashed across his mind. How could he not think that when Nott's face looked more miserable than the Bloody Baron — not only him but Lestrange too shared the same expression.

"Ah, Theodore," Dumbledore called out casually. "What a surprise to see you outside at this hour — may I so kindly ask why, if you don't mind?"

"I, uh…" Theodore murmured as he glanced over to Professor Snape; Dumbledore followed his gaze and raised his eyebrow as if he caught himself just in the nick of time and chortled, "Of course, of course! I'm very pleased to see that you're adhering to your lessons, young man."

As he walked a few steps down, Theodore tilted his head a little to the side and muttered loud enough for Nott to hear, "You all right?"

Nott barely even nodded.

"Come on, Theodore, the carriages are waiting outside for us." Lestrange miserably flicked his wand over Nott's trunks while Dumbledore was muttering some words by his side — Nott remained silent, forever staring down at his feet.

" _I'm sorry to cause you trouble…"_ Theodore heard Lestrange whisper, _"but Evangeline… she won't… she isn't going to recover… she wanted Theodore by her side before she…"_

" _Take all the time you need…"_ Dumbledore muttered back before sticking out his hand to shake with Lestrange. He shook it weakly and exchanged a simple tilt of the head with Professor Snape; he didn't even glance at Theodore as he motioned Nott and his trunk behind him.

Theodore slowly descended the staircase, staring as Lestrange and Nott disappeared into the darkened fronts of the castle until they became engulfed by the night. He couldn't hold it within himself and just had to ask, "Professor… what's going on with him — _them_? Did something happen, or…?"

Dumbledore sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'll ask you this time, Theodore, to not pry in other people's business for their sakes. Some things are far too sensitive to share amongst others, even if one is particularly close with another."

"OK, I understand," said Theodore as he began to walk towards the dungeons — only that his path was blocked by Professor Snape and not by accident. "Aren't we going to continue with the Occlumency lessons?"

"All lessons are postponed until further notice — don't bother to ask why, because I will not disclose it with you," Professor Snape said boorishly, crossing his arms. "That doesn't mean that I expect you to slack off. When the lessons return, and they will, I'll expect you to have a mastery over Occlumency that you'll resist the likes of me. Understood?"

Somehow, Theodore could tell that Dumbledore was probably enjoying himself watching the two together. He sunk his hands in his pockets and nodded, and he too watched his godfather leave the scene in silence, and not a single footstep was heard.

"I feel for Theodore — both of them, actually," Dumbledore lamented, staring up directly at the moon with a sombre cloud around him. "Dark days during a child's life can haunt them forever if persistent enough. I wish them all my strength. And I hope you will too?"

Dumbledore gently patted Theodore's shoulder and bid him goodnight, leaving Theodore behind like Professor Snape did, without a sound. Leading his eyes to the door again, it was slowly becoming clearer to Theodore. The sudden change in mood, being more reserved than usual, 'Evangeline'… Theodore didn't know what to feel, especially knowing that he could never be in Nott's place, ever. No, he was barely two years old when he lost his own mother. Sorry. That's what should be there. He should feel sorry for Nott, right? _Right?_

* * *

Theodore was appreciating the speed that was gained by October as the end was so close. Granted that lessons with Moody were considerably becoming more favourable, Theodore still felt like the rush for it to push into the next month was needed. Was it because Doomspell was starting to get to him — if asked by anybody else, he'd outright refuse, but something inside was telling him otherwise.

But despite how quickly the month was going along, Theodore didn't neglect to notice the subtle changes around him, namely Nott's appearances around school. He'd been absent from lessons for almost a week, and according to Daphne (yes, Theodore was that curious that he went to go ask her), he only gave out a single letter about the nice weather at home.

"I hope he's all right," she mumbled during Potions. "Theodore doesn't seem like the type to handle… _whatever…_ "

That wasn't the only thing that he noticed: his Occlumency lessons had suddenly stopped. No mention of it being discontinued from Professor Snape, even when Theodore went to ask him. He'd receive the same excuse of it being pushed forward, no real date to look forward to. He didn't mind it at all, knowing that he'd have more time to spend with Harry, Ron and Hermione (something else to notice was that little by little did they start to care less about people seeing them. Only a little.) and focus on Doomspell. Still did seem off to him.

Harry, Hermione and Ron were stood around Hagrid's garden patch, standing perfectly still to observe the cluster of enormous pumpkins grown once again. It was an odd thing that they never acknowledged, which was watching the pumpkins as if they were exotic fish inside a tank. They surely did look exotic, with their skin almost golden and their leaves partially sentient, swaying in the air with a lack of wind.

" _Dear god, it smells like shit_ …" Theodore gasped as he pushed open Hagrid's door with Hagrid following behind shortly. As he pinched his nose tightly with one hand, the other was clasping a large watering can by the tips of his fingers. Inside was something murky, foal and quite frankly, ungodly in Theodore's opinion. "Hagrid, what is this stuff? It's absolutely… disgusting."

"Ey, come off it now," grinned Hagrid, slapping his hands together for the sound to echo across to the Forbidden Forest. "It's jus' fertiliser fer the pumpkins. Gotta make 'em grow big an' tasty-lookin' fer the feast today. Hard work ter squeeze out the juice, I tell yeh."

Theodore quickly handed him the can when offered if he wanted to pour some in the soil. He joined the others in their staring and absent-mindedly asked, "So how are those… Skrewts, are they called? How's that going along?"

"Well, yeh'll have ter ask these three, but I think it's goin' great! Perfect! Everybody havin' a blast in lessons, they love 'em! Ask 'em yehself, they already said it ter me before."

"Yeah, we love it — _if we were freaks who loved to torture ourselves, that is,_ " Ron bitterly added under his breath.

"But wha' abou' yeh, Theo?" asked Hagrid after the can was empty. "Still ready ter fight and win Doomspell for little ol' Hogwarts?"

Theodore looked back at the castle; he turned back to Hagrid and said, "I can't escape it, can I? The other schools are supposed to be coming over here today about our first trial. In fact, it looks like I might have to go now…"

"It's barely into the evening, Theo," mentioned Harry — he swatted away at a shoot that drifted too close to his face.

"Doesn't mean I can't prepare myself right before. You should've seen the other champions up close: they're all older than me. And they're _really_ intense, like unnecessarily so. I'm not going to let them try and intimidate me."

Hermione detracted her gaze from the 'smallest' plant and strolled over to Theodore's side to add, "Harry's right. It doesn't even seem like they've arrived yet, or otherwise, the entire castle would be screaming the roof off right now." She dug her elbow gently into his side and smiled, "And they're not going to intimidate you, once they know what you're made of —"

 **BOOM!**

The horrid noise that sounded like an explosion went off nearby caused the four of them to leap back and instinctively huddle up altogether until Hagrid had to assure them that it was the Skrewts growing ever so quickly. Knowing that that was the perfect cue to leave, they slowly backed away and stammered claims of being with Theodore until he had to go.

"Tha's fine. But are yeh sure yeh don' —"

"Yes, we're sure!"

Hagrid shrugged and waved them goodbye as their trudging soon turned into scampering away before Hagrid could try inviting them to pet the abomination of such creatures.

"How have you guys — not died yet?" panted Theodore when they were at a far enough distance. "I mean, Hagrid's great, but… what the actual fuck were those things?"

The others just sadly shook their heads. Thank goodness that he didn't take Care for Magical Creatures.

"This shouldn't be allowed," Hermione complained, sticking out her hand in front of Theodore — he'd seen the burn marks on all three, but assumed that it was from something else, seeing as how they never told him, nor did he ask them. "One of them tried to cut me open while the other wanted to suck my blood. I'll be lucky to have all five of my fingers by Christmas! _Shit_ …"

Theodore huffed amusingly through his nose and took her hand with both of his to take a closer look. "Yeah… it does sort of look like a hand to me…" He watched her attempting to hold in a giggle at the same time tightening her grip on his hands — there did his heart go again, not able to get enough of her. Even seeing her trying to hide her teeth made it all the more pleasing to Theodore.

The four carried on up — Ron didn't make a remark about the two, weirdly enough — to the castle, all sharing the same idea of their destination in their heads before Theodore would have to leave. Problem was; however, they were met with several, no, a mob full of students that were flooding the Entrance Hall in an excitable manner. They shoved, pushed and yelled over each other — that was until Theodore was finally noticed.

The crowd of students swarmed around them, all with hungry, exhilarated expressions as questions were being thrown left and right to Theodore like, "You're just in time! Did you know that they were here already?!" or "Theodore, do you know the girl from Mahoutokoro — what about the one from Beauxbatons?" Some were just screaming his name for the sake of it.

"Wait, they're already here?" Everybody nodded their heads dangerously fast before the questions rose again. Theodore looked back at his friends, reading their faces that told him it was all right to go before they heard a bang go off out of nowhere.

Professor McGonagall had her wand pointed towards the air with sparks flying off the tip, and she didn't look at all content with how the current scene looked. "Everybody go off to your common rooms, or away from here immediately — except for you, Riddle!" As everyone was scampering away, Professor McGonagall briskly arrived at the four and continued, "I'm sure that as you've heard from your 'loyal supporters' that the other champions are inside the castle. They're waiting for you inside the Headmaster's office — for ten minutes in fact."

"I'm sorry about — wait…" Theodore stared all around him. Nobody seemed to be going to their common rooms — more like they were waiting for something else. Suddenly did everything become calamitous with the shoving and pushing, and they all climbed up the stairs to enter the Great Hall in a non-orderly fashion — and it hit him. "I'm going to miss the feast?"

"Surely, that's not the one thing on your mind right now —"

"But what am I supposed to eat afterwards, especially if —"

"Headmaster's office, now. I'll trust that your friends will bring you a meal, but we must get going. Let's not make a bad impression, shall we!"

Theodore held in his huff and said goodbye quickly to Harry, Ron and Hermione after reminding them to bring him as much food as they could; — rolled eyes all around — then he trailed behind Professor McGonagall through the rush to the Great Hall. After the lengthy journey did they reach Dumbledore's office which oddly felt smaller with the number of people inside altogether. And there was quite the number of people standing around.

All of the other four champions were partially scattered around the office, each of them stuck close to their respective Headmaster, while Fudge and Crouch (Lestrange was not present) were talking casually with one another. Each one of them was clad in the very same uniforms from when Theodore had last seen them, and they couldn't have seemed more out of place, or perhaps Theodore felt so. Seeing everybody appearing entirely different from the next made him realise that his uniform was rather scruffy, in fact.

Fudge's face suddenly lit up, and he clapped loudly before approaching Theodore with his hands outstretched. "There he is! Been waiting on you for some time, _Mr Riddle_! Barty, did you call Rita? They'll have to be taking their pictures soon…"

"Not with the way he's dressed at the moment," Professor McGonagall huffed as she interjected, taking Theodore firmly by the shoulders to the centre of the office — and so were the other champions. "Riddle looks much too shabby to have his picture taken."

Theodore opened his mouth for a rebuttal but instead slowly tucked in his shirt and brushed his hair from his eyes. He knew that he didn't look exactly perfect, but there was no need for that sort of comment.

Dumbledore, who happened to come out from nowhere from where Theodore was standing, calmly lifted his palm and said, "It's all right, Theodore, we're not in a rush. Surely there'll be a day where you won't look 'much too shabby' — right, Minerva?"

"Yes, yes, it can wait for later," Crouch quickly said before Professor McGonagall could speak. As he began to rummage inside his robes, he continued, "OK, champions, if you are to make a circle around me… _now where is…? Here we go…_ "

A look of triumph came across Crouch's face when he had seemingly found what he was looking for. From there did he produce a dull, bronze globe-like object the size of a slightly overgrown orange and held it out in front of him while spinning, displaying to each of the perturbed champions. Theodore was inclined to ask what it was but refrained himself, thinking that it would look childish to the others.

"What is that?" asked Christina, breaking the sudden silence.

' _Thank God…'_

"This… this relic that has existed as long as the Ring of Judgement itself roughly translates into _Broken World_ ," said Crouch in a morbid tone, his eyes widening uncomfortably to everyone. "It supposedly represents us all, coming from the different corners of the world to come together… only to face against each other… _only the strongest will survive_ …"

Theodore shifted nervously on the spot when Crouch's gaze averted from Christina to his until the atmosphere was broken as he scoured for his wand. He lifted 'Broken World' and tapped the top of it with his wand, allowing it to float and spin like a miniature planet.

"Doomspell has evolved so much throughout the years that we as wizards are not granted power over it, even if we were its creators," Crouch continued as he backed away from the circle, keeping his stare on the globe; somehow, the office felt darker for some reason. "Always remember that objects can have power over us, for objects now control Doomspell. The Ring of Judgement, our Judge; _Broken World_ , our Challenger, and The Doomspell Cup, its Prize —"

Crouch rambled on some more as Theodore couldn't look away from the globe, and neither could any of the others. Every single rotation looked faster than the last, spinning more rapidly as it began to give off a faint glow. And then did Theodore feel it — it was as if it was trying to draw him in by force, to heave him forward off his feet. Theodore was stood firmly still but still entranced by it. His senses were slowly being dulled as Crouch faded away out of sight and mind, and it was only them. They all looked so… blurred… so… _unreal_ … It was like looking into the Sun, but it was kinder in an otherworldly way… _so warm, so easy to touch…_

Theodore's eyes fluttered as the globe hovered just a few feet above their heads, stealing their gazes towards it. It felt alive like somebody was there; Theodore could even hear something humming in his ear — and it was getting louder and louder. Why couldn't he just look away…? The humming… it was a voice in his ears, in their ears… and it was speaking to them.

" _Ilvermorny… Mahoutokoro… Uagadou… Beauxbatons… Hogwarts…"_ a voice so raspy that it made the hair on Theodore's skin prickle up spoke out from up above. _"Champions of Doomspell, chosen from the broken world… five of you, and four tests from me… what will be their defeat will be your victory… but know this: Doomspell will have no mercy for you… for you must do what it takes to survive… for your life means nothing to theirs…"_

The globe then started to crack violently while descending slowly, still spinning at ungodly speeds. The broken voice drew in a hoarse breath and continued, _"The first of four will be… leadership. I will trial you on leadership, and know this —"_ the globe stopped; then it fractured as if it couldn't contain an explosion from within _"— by yourself you are one; together you'll make seven for you will never win on your own… Ilvermorny… Mahoutokoro… Uagadou… Beauxbatons… Hogwarts… Champions of Doomspell…"_

Theodore broke out of his daze when a small fragment of the globe rested in the air in front of him, just like the flame did when he was chosen. It was still glowing, although dimly, and remained in front of his eyes, not wanting to move anywhere else. He took it carefully in his hands, noting how rough its edges were but he still clasped it tightly — still warm, and the humming hadn't disappeared from his ears… it was still trying to speak to him…

" _Trust is the key…"_ it whispered. _"Reform the Broken World when the first of four is completed…"_

He didn't know what to say, or what to do. Theodore opened up his hands and saw the dull piece of a bronze globe sitting in his hand with the mark of Hogwarts's coat of arms etched onto it. Nothing was coming to him, not even the fact that he was damn hypnotised by a ball that could speak to him. His head felt as if his mind had been pouring out from his ears, only leaving him to just stare.

"Theodore!" Theodore jumped and turned around, holding tightly to the bronze fragment again. Crouch's voice had done the trick to stop him from gazing at his hands too long, and he seemingly resumed to what he was saying after giving Theodore an odd stare. "Now as I was saying, the first trial will be on the twenty-fourth of November, exactly at twelve o'clock. It should be taking place at Crecklestain's Arena — all of you will be given its location soon.

"And don't forget that there will be witches and wizards from outside the school spectating as well. After all, we don't wish for your families to… _miss out_." Crouch coughed. "If you're wondering about those pieces, they are to be on you at all times: _do not lose it_. They will be able to recite the message that was given to you should you need to hear it once more. Any questions?"

Theodore turned his head to the others and saw that from their relaxed, almost sedated looks on their faces that no questions were running through their minds.

"Marvellous," Fudge clapped while rounding the headmasters up in a circle, and he said behind his shoulder, "We can't wait for you all to compete and show us what you got. Good luck to you all."

Theodore quickly said a thank you and was excused by Professor McGonagall to join the feast, should it still be going on. Taking no chances to let anybody keep him behind, Theodore then slipped out of the room — Christina and Kofi were kind enough to say goodbye while Shizuka and Nicolette were not — and ran down the steps, passing people who tried to stop him for conversation, hoping that the Great Hall was still filled with food and —

"No!" Theodore cried when he saw it barren with people and not a single plate along the tables. People were still lingering around the doors of the Great Hall and weren't as keen to approach Theodore than to gush over how wonderful the feast was. Judging from how long it took him to stay inside Dumbledore's office, it was impossible for him to miss even the first half of the feast unless whatever the hell that was which had him hypnotised gave off the illusion that time went by quickly.

He sighed as his stomach growled dangerously. Lunch felt so far away looking back now. If only he could summon food out of nowhere; found the kitchens to quickly grab some food from the house-elves; even own a house-elf himself. Theodore tiredly blew out of his nose in amusement as he, in much less of a hurry, started to walk back to the common room. He could imagine Hermione not being all too accepting that he really did own a house-elf, even when her name could never cross his mind.

" _Tilly…? Toggy…?_ " Theodore mumbled to himself once he reached the platform before the Fat Lady. "Tigger… ah, that's stupid. I'd probably remember if I had something in my stomach. _Sticklewack._ "

Theodore climbed through and lazily closed the portrait behind him — at least the feast did its job by letting everyone stuff themselves silly so that they'd force themselves to their beds. He was honestly too moody for conversation; in fact, he was so moody that his own mind had him tricked that he could smell roast chicken and potatoes with gravy; beef, sweetcorn and treacle tart, all other things that he'd love to scoff down…

"You're finally back! I've been keeping this warm for an hour, and Fred and George were trying to nick some — Theodore, don't just stand there, come and get your food!"

Theodore stepped into the common room, and he could've sworn that tears would've ran down his cheeks right there. Standing on the sides of the table at the back were Harry and Ron, the latter munching on a glazed doughnut, and sitting down with her wand slowly swishing above plates of food was Hermione giving him a half-frown. "If you're not coming to eat this now, Theodore, then I'll just let Fred and George have the rest."

"No, no! I mean, thank you, really," grinned Theodore as he hurried to his seat. The enticing aroma of the food wafted in his face, making his mouth water in an instant. "Honestly, I mean this when I say that I love you guys. You're the best."

"Good to know," said Harry with a smile as he sat down.

Even if it was all for him, Theodore stared at the food with utter greed in his face — but then did he hear the deep grumbling emanating from the others in unison. "Didn't you guys eat already?" he asked, pulling his hands away from the plates. Although it wasn't clear at first, it was obvious that they didn't have their fill judging from how they stared at the food.

"Sort of," said Ron as he sat down as well. Theodore looked at him confusingly. "We were going to wait for you to come back down to eat with us, but you weren't there; so we asked Dumbledore if you were coming back at all."

"That's not right," Theodore interrupted. "Dumbledore was upstairs with us for the entire time, so he couldn't have been at the feast —"

"Just let me finish — and yes, Dumbledore was at the feast the entire time. Don't know who you saw. Anyway, Dumbledore said that it was unlikely since it would always take long. We thought — _Harry and I_ thought that we couldn't get you anything until Hermione suggested something crazy, well, for her."

Theodore turned to see her frowning again and asked her what she did. "I didn't suggest anything, I was simply talking to myself, and you so happened to hear everything. Theodore, I only went through with it because I knew how hungry you'd be when you'd come back."

"It's funny how you're so thoughtful about Theo's stomach and not ours. We barely even got half a plate because you were paranoid that we'd get caught — for Merlin's sake, Hermione, just tell him that you dragged us to go steal food from the kitchens."

Theodore's mouth hung open as Hermione fell back on her chair, twiddling her thumbs. She stole food, _she_ stole food for him? "Stop staring at me and eat your food, Theodore," she spoke softly, staring away in embarrassment, pink in the face.

Theodore looked over to Harry, who gave him a nod of confirmation. His heart raced for a moment as he shuffled around in his chair to stop his leg from going numb. "Well… seeing that you guys gave up your Halloween feast for me… we'll have our own one right here," he spoke while waving his hand over the dishes, making them slide across the table in front of Harry, Hermione and Ron. He pointed his wand to his knife, fork and spoon and said _"Gemino!"_ — Hermione opened her mouth to protest but Theodore cut her off and said, "Nope, I won't take no for an answer; besides, you earned it. Not every day you get to break into the kitchens."

Harry pressed his hand against Theodore's forehead and said, "Something's not right with Theo, guys. He's actually sharing his food."

"I can just take it all back if that's what you —" Theodore smiled when Harry took his duplicated cutlery and instantly began on his plate, as did Ron and Hermione. But he didn't lift his hand to start eating as he couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione. It had only been just a month since then, but to him, it felt like only yesterday when he kissed her for the first time. Looking at her, just looking at her was enough for his chest to swell with something he couldn't quite tell what it was.

" _Lunatic…"_ he whispered as he picked up his fork to start eating. Theodore could just see Hermione looking unimpressed before she broke into a smile to dive back down in her food. None of them spoke a single word, not even to ask Theodore what had occurred with the other champions as the bronze fragment sat comfortably inside his pocket. What did it mean to him at that moment anyway? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

…

Harry pulled his spoon from his mouth to stare at Theodore, for he stopped eating out of nowhere. "Why d'you stop eating? Theo? What's wrong with him?"

"He didn't go that long without something in his stomach, did he?" Ron asked Hermione. She shrugged and leaned forwards to snap in his face at the same time calling his name repeatedly until —

"IT'S TWIGGY!" Theodore shouted before a large crack filled the whole room. All four of them fell backwards off their chairs, hitting the ground awkwardly without realising that they had bits of food hanging off their hair and clothes. Theodore gripped the sides of his head before crawling around to help the others up on their feet — Ron was quietly swearing to himself before he asked Theodore what exactly did he do, to which he grumbled, "I didn't do anything. Or at least I don't think I… _what the hell…?_ "

They stood up straight when it began to twirl around on the table on one foot, the other dripping with gravy. Theodore first saw the bat-like ears flapping away; then it was the filthy purple pillowcase that he had seen before. Did he actually remember the name that was on the tip of his tongue for so long? "T-twiggy?" he nearly whispered.

The house-elf clumsily turned on the spot to face them, her foot now smothered in potatoes and tart, and the largest, toothiest grin came across her face before she fell to her knees. "Oh, Master Theodore, it's good to meet again! Twiggy thought that Master Theodore had forgotten Twiggy and wanted nothing to do with her!"

Silence. Complete, utter silence. They continued to stare, huddled up as if to expect a blizzard to pass over their heads. Twiggy didn't move from her spot, keeping her forehead pressed against the food-soiled table. Theodore wanted somebody to move or say something first, for he couldn't tell if it was excitement or confusion that he was feeling. _Something, anything…_

" _OK…"_

 **I know that this was really delayed, and that it feels odd in some parts. I feel even worse when I have to tell you that the next chap might come out even later because of school and everything. Hope you haven't dropped this story because it's not going anywhere, I promise. I won't elaborate on what happened in the chap and will let it marinate for you guys. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you later.**


	52. Chapter 52: Bold Moves

"This is — _this is scrumptious!_ Twiggy — Twiggy likes this very much!" The four circled the house-elf by the back table, who was mumbling happily through a mouth overstuffed with what was leftover from their plates. Some had drizzled down her mouth and onto her filthy makeshift dress, but it didn't seem as if she cared nor if she ever would for that fact.

It had been a while since she suddenly appeared from thin air, and Theodore, Harry, Hermione and Ron hadn't breathed a word; they didn't twist their necks to show each other their looks of bewilderment. The house-elf had completely captured them, forcing the four to watch her dangerously scoff down their food until she was brought to slap her chest violently.

Theodore quickly snapped out of his daze and stepped forward, exclaiming, "Hey — slow down before you choke! It's just mashed potatoes…"

"Of course — of course, master," spluttered the house-elf in between coughs, "but Twiggy cannot disrespect the blessed food that master has allowed for Twiggy to eat!"

"No problem…" Theodore turned to the others, hoping that they too had stopped staring like dulled zombies. Harry and Ron looked rather intrigued by the house-elf while Hermione seemed more confused than anything. All of them were still silent.

He turned back around and itched at his chin to think of a question which was obvious when it came to him. "So, uh… _'Twiggy'_ was it?" She nodded her head with a gooey smile. "All right then. Can I ask how — _no._ Can I ask _why_ you are here? Like inside the castle?"

After smearing her hands along the front of her pillowcase, Twiggy then clambered on top of the table, shifting some of the plates to the side — and the floor — and straightened herself. "Twiggy is Twiggy, a house-elf, and Twiggy serves the Potters in _Potter House_! Twiggy was to serve and only serve the owner of the house, and now Master Theodore is the owner of the house before the mistress… _before the mistress…_ "

"Before the mistress —?"

Wails of despair instantly filled the common room as Twiggy dropped down to her knees and clutched at her pillowcase, tears streaming down her bulbous eyes while she sobbed miserably.

"Tell her to be quiet, Theo!" said Ron in a panic as he darted his head towards the stairwells.

As Twiggy began to calm down once Theodore made it clear that they could be heard, Hermione brought out her wand and twirled it in the air to conjure a red handkerchief before handing it over to Twiggy. "There you go, Twiggy, don't cry. It's going to be all right."

"Th-thank you," croaked Twiggy. She closed it around her large nose and blew straight into it before it became riddled with viscous snot. Hermione did her best to hide her disgust when it was handed back while Twiggy continued, "Master Theodore has found very good and kind friends. You must be very close to Master Theodore."

"Me? I-I don't — wait, do you think so?! We're just —!"

"This is Hermione," Theodore cut in just in time, "Hermione Granger. She was technically the first friend that I made when I finally knew about magic."

Twiggy bowed her head towards the flustered Hermione as Theodore moved to Ron. "This is Ron Weasley. He's the only one of us that grew up with magic —" Ron did an awkward wave as Twiggy also bowed "— and this is Harry Potter, my cousin. I'm sure that you know —"

A deep gasp escaped from Twiggy as she slapped her hands across her lips. Eyes aimed nowhere else but Harry; they shimmered as if filled with disbelief from the image before her. As Harry shifted nervously from where he stood, Twiggy then lifted a bony finger that quivered in the air and pointed it to Harry's direction — he still looked as uncomfortable as he was confused.

"M-Master James…! Looks j-just like _Master James!_ "

"I, uh… yeah…?" was all that Harry could say while awkwardly scratching at his thigh. "That's my dad, James Potter…"

Twiggy jumped off the table and did a little odd dance, clapping madly until she was told to quieten down again. "Master James has become a father, just like Master Fleamont before him!" she effused. "Twiggy does not doubt that Master Harry is also from the Lovely Lily — oh, how wonderful! It's been so long since Twiggy has seen Master James!"

"Uh, Twiggy…?"

"Twiggy will make sure to make him his favourite, and then —"

"Twiggy," Theodore repeated in a firmer tone — that stopped her from talking. But all sense of firmness left his being when he locked eyes with Twiggy, reading something almost childlike within hers. Something was smouldering inside his stomach as it came to him that she was stuck inside that house for several years. _'She doesn't know…'_

But before Theodore could open his mouth at all, Harry then said, "My parents are gone, Twiggy. James and Lily… they're gone…"

It was like watching a knife being pierced into somebody's stomach at the slowest speed possible. The deadness in her eyes spread fast as she remained stiff, cursed by Harry's words. Suddenly, her knees began to shake violently before giving way, and she dropped harshly onto the ground. Theodore didn't even know her yet he felt the pain in his stomach worsening upon watching the choked sobs that Twiggy was trying to suppress.

"Oh, here you go," said Hermione with her lips trembling as she gave her another handkerchief. She looked like she could cry at any minute along with Twiggy. "It's all right to cry, just…"

"T-Twiggy — Twiggy was s-supposed to be there for them!" Twiggy hiccuped while blowing into her handkerchief yet again. "Even when they were just little, Twiggy w-was… _Twiggy_ always caring for the Master and Mistress's m-m-miracles! B-but… but now, they're both… they're both…!"

Theodore felt something tug at his jumper and turned to Ron, whose face made it seem as if something bad was going to happen. "Err, mate? I think you need to watch out. I heard when house-elves get all emotional, they like to —"

"Hey!" Theodore leapt towards the table where Twiggy had clambered onto again while still sobbing at the same time and yanked at the discarded plate that Twiggy held high above her head, ready to smash it down. "What the hell are you doing?! Why are you always hurting yourself every time I see you?"

Twiggy swayed around before finding her balance again and slurred, "T-Twiggy let… let her masters die… must face the proper punishment…"

"You couldn't have done anything to change what happened, Twiggy," Theodore affirmed before he adopted a softer voice as her tears welled up some more. "Look — you didn't let anybody die, OK? Even though I don't have a clue as to why it all happened, I know that it wasn't your fault, so don't blame yourself."

She sniffed heavily, still letting tears run down her face until she nodded lightly as if she were a child. Twiggy dabbed at her eyes again and croaked, "Master Theodore is very kind, just like Twiggy hoped. No, he's much kinder. He reminds me of the mistress when she was just a little one — Twiggy feels like she's talking to her right now…"

"She… she was nice to you, right?" Theodore didn't know why he hesitated with such a question; he was relieved to watch Twiggy's face wrinkle up into a wide grin as she squeed, "Oh yes, yes, yes! The mistress loved Twiggy, and Twiggy loved the mistress — and the little master as well! None of Twiggy's masters has ever treated Twiggy with malice; that's for sure!"

A sensation of satisfaction of hearing something good about his mother bloomed in Theodore as he thanked Twiggy for telling him that before he opted to clean up her mess. Now looking at himself, he sort of missed learning small things about her — even meeting Erveris and Ms Padalin felt so distant.

"So, _Twiggy_ , can I ask you a question — I'm just so curious," Hermione inquired, wearing the same determination she had on her face during lessons. "How did you get past the castle's defensive charms? There's supposed to be loads put on all around, and quite frankly, I don't think you could've just appeared here on your own."

Ron scoffed. "Well clearly, she did."

Hermione ignored Ron's remark and watched Twiggy intently, who also seemed perplexed by how she entered the castle. "Hmm… Twiggy is not too sure how she gets into Hogwarts. Twiggy's only ever been there twice — once to help Mistress Valerie sleep on her first day, and twice to help Master James sleep on his first day too."

Plates floated into a neat stack to where Theodore pointed his wand as he listened to Twiggy as well. _'So Mum couldn't sleep well on the first day either? Wouldn't have minded seeing Twiggy help me go to sleep… if I knew her then, that is.'_

"… but aren't you getting paid for your services at all?" Hermione asked nearly forcibly. "You must have some sort of income, right?"

Twiggy blinked, clearly confused. "Paid for services? Why… why would Twiggy be paid for her…?" She continued to scratch her head while Ron told Hermione to back off with the questions, prompting another little squabble between the two as Harry was, unsurprisingly, brought in the middle of it. Perfect for Theodore to talk even further.

"Just let them be; they usually fizzle out in a minute or so," Theodore reassured a spectating Twiggy before regaining her attention. "So from what I'm understanding, since my mum and uncle left the house and — _you know_ … you've been alone all this time, haven't you?"

"Yes… Twiggy has… Twiggy has been by herself ever since."

"Well, I can't just go and leave the castle whenever I want because I'm not allowed to. I would if I could, but I can't. So that's why I think you should stay here instead."

"Stay?" said everyone in unison: all in different tones of voices, of course.

"Weren't you guys just arguing a second ago? And yes, I mean for Twiggy to stay in the castle," said Theodore to the others. "There's supposed to be house-elves in the kitchens, right? So what better place is there for her to be in to have a lot of company?"

"Oh, master, you are too kind!" Twiggy squeaked as she shook his hand with both of hers — she was quite strong for somebody so small. "Twiggy will never forget this! Never!"

Hermione suddenly appeared by Theodore's side, looking visibly annoyed by the exchange as she said, "Don't you think she's already got enough work to deal with, Theo? I know that she 'belongs' to you, but letting her stay here with the other elves is —"

"Hermione, it's the only choice I have — what else do you expect me to do?"

"Well…" Hermione replied airily, twiddling her fingers, "you could just free her, you know…"

Twiggy gasped sharply and crawled away from Hermione just before she crashed into the stacked plates, thanks to Ron shoving them out of the way — unfortunately, Ron was a little too eager to reach them after all. "Well, that's just perfect, isn't it, Hermione? Could you not maybe make the house-elf have a panic attack next time? Thanks."

"Twiggy, calm down, all right?" Theodore then turned to Hermione, now he with the slightly annoyed expression. "I'm not freeing her because she has nowhere to go. She's been alone for more than ten years, remember? Plus… _she really loves the family as well_ ," he added quietly.

Hermione leaned in closer and whispered back, "But you barely even know her. It's not like she —"

"— and Master Theodore was one of the brightest babies that Twiggy had ever seen," babbled Twiggy, now near the armchair with Harry, who seemed to have forgotten about the others. "Mistress Valerie, oh, how beautiful she was when her little boy arrived! Twiggy had never seen her so happy before! The mistress told me that he was like a beacon in her life. Oh, my mistress… your little boy has grown up…"

Theodore continued to look on at Harry patting Twiggy's back while awkwardly looking over at the two as if to call for help. Naturally, did Theodore and Hermione look away — she then brushed her hair back and sighed, crossing her arms, nearly sulking. "I… guess I can see where you're coming from. But promise me that you won't use her like some… tool."

"What do you take me for?" Theodore shot back as he stood up again to stretch. "A Malfoy? I already know what I'm going to do with her. Twiggy, could you —?" She sprinted and skidded across the ground to bow at Theodore's feet. "Um, OK…? Anyway, I've been thinking for a bit about this entire… master-servant relationship and I understand that I'm technically your master…

"But what I wanted to say was that even though _I am_ your master," he continued while kneeling to Twiggy's level, "I'd rather we treated each other as friends instead."

"F-friends?" Twiggy took a small, timid step back. "None… none of Twiggy's masters has ever called Twiggy their friend… but Twiggy is to serve her masters…"

"Think of it as… being a nice friend who pays a lot of favours. _Is that even a good thing?_ "

Twiggy closed her eyes firmly, stirring her head in deep thought before it came to her as she bowed her head and declared, "From now on, Master Theodore shall be referred to as Twiggy's friend, even if she lives to serve."

Theodore gave a slight haughty smile towards Hermione, who appropriately rolled her eyes back, and continued to stretch. "That's great, Twiggy, really… _great_ …" he yawned loudly. For being just a single day, it felt like months had already passed him by without him noticing. He then felt something tug at his trousers and looked down to see Twiggy attempting to bring him down again.

"The master looks sleepy, and it is quite late. Does the master wish to have Twiggy tuck him into bed —?"

Ron and Harry snickered as Theodore politely refused; then it was Theodore's time to laugh when Twiggy asked Harry the same thing, this time trying to comb his hair unsuccessfully and offer to clean his glasses. After Harry finally had the heart to tell her that he was fine without the tucking in, Theodore then proposed that it was getting late and that school was in the morning.

"Of course, of course!" squeaked the house-elf. "Twiggy does not want to stop her master from learning — and Twiggy wants to thank the master for calling Twiggy's name. Ever since the day Twiggy saw you in the house, Twiggy couldn't wait to meet you!"

"Well, now you're not alone — _and we're going to talk about this 'calling me master' thing soon_. See you later, Twiggy."

Twiggy gave a grand bow to the four, and then she waved excitedly until a large crack filled the room once again; this time just an empty space from where the house-elf was. And the funny thing was that they were as still as when she first arrived. Just still.

"She seems a lot more 'independent' than other house-elves," Harry spoke out as he walked over to the broken plates on the ground with Hermione. "Except for Dobby, that is."

Theodore lazily glanced over to the clock — he couldn't be bothered to ask who Dobby was again — and saw that he was underestimating the time: it was very late. He had no clue as to how nobody came storming down from the noise that they made. Oh well, a new day was ahead, and he was going to gather all the sleep that he could get — and the others agreed.

' _I almost forgot why we were even downstairs… oh right, that piece of thing for Doomspell. Lucky, I didn't lose it or —'_ He slapped his pocket but didn't feel anything press against his leg except his hand. Theodore groaned and trudged back downstairs to retrieve the piece, right before a hand shot out just before the doorway. "Thank you very much," he mumbled gladly.

Hermione just shook her head and tutted while keeping the piece in her palm. "Let's not lose the single most important item that you'll need for the rest of the school year, yes?"

"You do see the time, right?" Theodore said back, holding back an unwanted urge to smile. "I've been tired since the meeting."

"But not so tired to be ready to scoff down four plates of food?"

"Food that _you_ stole?"

"Please stop bringing that up," Hermione frowned, growing pink in the nose as Theodore's smile broke out. She outstretched her hand and forced it into Theodore's palm, adding, "Just don't lose this thing, OK? And you have to tell us about what happened at the meeting tomorrow."

Theodore simply murmured yes, and then he turned back towards the stairs, just imagining the plushness of his bed until he was stuck in place by two hands holding his arm back. Although it was quite firm, Hermione's grip was rather gentle and inviting, and so was she, eyes closed, lips pursed and face leaning towards his. He instinctively mirrored her and went forward for the kiss but then pulled back when their noses bumped into each other. Not wanting to waste any chances, Theodore tilted his head to the right and felt his lips press onto Hermione's once more, reminding him of the first time.

But it was over too quickly once they moved away from one another, both burning up to the surface. The two quickly said goodnight in unison and parted ways without a word — Theodore still had no idea how people did this so easily. It was scary, frightening even. But for some reason, deep down, Theodore loved every bit of it and he didn't even know why.

* * *

It didn't take long for Theodore to realise that he was becoming more drawn to Twiggy as the days passed by. Granted that he never took to visiting her inside the kitchens, Theodore was still inclined to see her now and then which turned into a habit he didn't mind having. He even felt compelled to go straight down instead of summoning her to him (at least when he was on his own).

"You know what…? I think I'll pick Elvira. She'd fit quite nicely, wouldn't she —?"

Theodore was instantly met with frustrated, even angry noises from the others as they just exited through the castle's front doors. Hogsmeade trips had returned once more, and so did the creeping winter. Theodore had geared up in moderately thick clothing, unlike the previous year, and shifted his hat to look at his friends more closely.

"What? What did I say?"

"It's what _we've_ been saying!" Harry scolded, wrinkling his forehead into a frown. "When I said you should choose Elvira, you just ignored me and carried on daydreaming!"

Theodore thought back for a while, then he said, "Really? I don't even remember mentioning — oh, right! Yeah, now I do! I didn't say anything back then to make sure that the dynamic wasn't going to be ruined. I need the perfect team, after all."

"Perfect team, my arse," grumbled Ron. "You haven't even told us everything that's going to come up on the next trial, even when you picked us already."

Hermione scoffed and added, "Don't you remember, Ron? Theodore here was 'waiting it out for the right moment'. The longer you wait, the more difficult it's going to be to go in with a plan — you know that, right?"

Theodore span around and start to walk backwards while the snow crunched underneath his feet to look back at Harry, Ron and Hermione and said, "Can we just stop attacking Theodore and have a good time? You guys are acting like we've never won from improvising."

Before Hermione's rebuttal could leave her mouth, Harry then said while rubbing his hands under his armpits, "It's in four days, and you still need two more people, other than Elvira. You got anybody good in mind?"

"I'd say you should go for Cedric Diggory. Having someone older and more experienced on the team would be helpful."

"Of course you'd want Cedric on the team…"

"What are you talking about?! Theodore is my — wait, I-I didn't…!"

Theodore was still walking backwards watching Ron's smirk grow alarmingly wide as Hermione pulled up her scarf; he immediately turned to Harry and continued, pretending that nothing ever happened, "I think I've got the perfect person to also join: Malfoy. No doubt that he'd get his dad to fund us with some dark stuff that'll —"

"Idiot! Get off me!" Theodore sprang forwards next to Harry and turned to see Malfoy brushing his expensive-looking coat as if Theodore was covered in utter filth. "Speaking my name so casually when I'm not around? You were always so lippy, weren't you, Riddle —?"

"Just piss off, Malfoy," Harry spat, suddenly appearing in between the two. "Don't speak as if you two were friends at all."

Baring his teeth, Malfoy then steered closer to an unshakeable Harry and hissed, "Such a little saint, sticking up for anyone, aren't you, Potter? You know what, I still haven't forgotten about what you did last year —"

"Draco, let's just go! Don't worry about these Mud-lovers!" Pansy called out further down, her voice slightly distorted from the wind. Malfoy looked Harry up and down before swaggering off, muttering, "Absolute dogs…"

"You were awfully quiet," Harry finally said when they were far enough.

Theodore then replied, completely unbothered, "He's all talk, anyway. Plus, I've got better things to think about than to — hey, you two! Why d'you hang back so far?" He held his tongue when Hermione came marching over to him, face now completely red, even when hidden behind her scarf — and Ron had a smile on his face but not one of superiority, oddly enough. "Uh, what is —?"

Hermione walked on forward; she stopped and walked back to Theodore's side, pressing her arm tightly against his own. "We should get going, otherwise we're going to waste time," her muffled voice said.

Neither Harry or Theodore questioned what could've possibly occurred between the two and moved on, a bizarre atmosphere hanging just above their heads. _'I wonder…'_

The four finally arrived at the wizarding village, taking in what they had missed for so long — Theodore always thought that it was better this time of year-round. As tradition, they immediately aimed for Honeydukes, eager to see what new types of sweets were available until it hit Theodore. "Oh right… _haven't got any money…_ "

"What was that?" said Ron as he barged past three hefty-looking girls.

"Don't have any money…"

"Oh," Harry said quickly as he dug inside of his coat pockets, "then we'll just share with each other and —"

"No — that's yours, not my mine," Theodore interjected as the shop started to swarm with more excited first-years, including Ginny and her friends. "Looks like there'll be nothing left after today anyway…"

After refusing Harry's attempt to sharing some of his money and assuring Hermione and Ron that he was fine when they opted to search for Pumpkin Pasties, Theodore felt like he could burn up at any given second — inward embarrassment coupled with way too many people in a single shop and thick coat made his temperature go soaring. Suddenly, feeling the snow on his face didn't seem like a bad idea after all.

He told the others that he was going to stick outside for some fresh air and briskly made his way to the door, oddly not hearing them call out his name or feeling any resistance from his arm being pulled back. Whatever; he ignored it. The sharp coldness of the air all of a sudden washed all over him, relieving him of what could've made him topple over from too much heat. That'd be more than embarrassing — the school already knew that he had a history in fainting at the most inappropriate times.

' _I almost forgot that I had nothing this year,'_ he thought slowly to himself as he meandered through the bunches of witches and wizards. _'And here I was getting excited over nothing. Typical… hmmm…'_

This brought him back: the alleyway from when he and Sirius talked for the very first time. Still empty, and not as dark in the daytime but was heavily shadowed further down. Theodore could still remember how angry he felt when he pointed his father's wand towards Sirius — how he almost killed Sirius, an innocent man. He swallowed harshly, feeling his neck tighten when remembering nearly choking the life out of him.

"I can't believe I even did that, especially leaving the school as well… although, it would've been nice if I had Twiggy with me to help me leave instead of me sneaking —"

A crack from within the shadows shook Theodore to the core as he nearly slipped backwards on the hardened snow. He'd been so stuck in his head that he didn't notice the animal that was coming towards him — if that was an animal, that is. "Master Theodore! Master Theodore called for Twiggy?"

Theodore, having found his balance, looked around to pick out any suspicious stares that could be aimed his way before steadily pacing further down the alleyway, speaking out softly, "It's really you, Twiggy? Could… could you come out please?"

The pattering of feet was followed by Twiggy emerging from the shadows as they met in the middle. "How lovely it is to see you, master," she declared proudly with a bow. "And what i-is it that the m-master requests —?"

"Twiggy, remember what I told you — we're friends now. There's no need for the bowing and 'master' stuff. Also, don't you have any gloves or shoes — even other clothes? It's freezing." Theodore looked at her without paying close attention to detail, and it was clear as day that Twiggy was not used to the cold at all.

"T-twiggy hasn't worn new cl-clothes for a long time," Twiggy explained with her fingers pinching her nose, "and so Twiggy is left with this — M-Master Theodore is not thinking about letting T-twiggy go, is he?!"

"No, no, of course not," Theodore reassured after shushing her. He stepped forward and lowered himself to the ground to her level and continued, "I just don't want you to freeze to death. You should be wearing more clothes — _but I can't give you clothes, not even give you money to buy them either because I don't have any of that_ …"

He suddenly felt ice-cold fingers on the back of his left hand as Twiggy squeaked with her ears perked up, "Did — did the master say that he can't give Twiggy any money because he doesn't have any?"

"It's OK, Twiggy, just go find somewhere warm inside the castle —"

"But Master Theodore has money! The mistress didn't leave her baby behind with nothing!" Twiggy said happily, almost hopping up and down. Theodore didn't know what to say as he had to piece everything together in his head that he possibly knew: the hidden inheritance from his mother's will, Twiggy claiming that people were taking gold from — _crack!_

Theodore was again caught off guard as he stumbled back onto the snow as the space in front of him was empty. His chest rose and fell in quick succession, and he couldn't even understand what had just happened. "I thought house-elves couldn't go against their — _well_ , I'm not her master, though, am I? All right, Twig—!"

"Uh, Theodore, is that you?" A voice from behind caused Theodore to come back up to his feet, not considering that the ground was slippery. He rubbed his numb fingers across his chest and turned to see Gioveri, clad in winter clothing that was somewhat similar to Malfoy's, only less fitting on him.

"Ah, Gioveri!" Theodore called out as if he were expecting him to stop by. "Nice to see you here out of… _all places_ … anyway, what's the reason for…?"

"It's your friends — they just asked around looking for you, so… yeah. Found you!" A nervous grin was all that it took for Gioveri to make the situation even more awkward. So much that when he asked Theodore why he walked off into the alleyway, he just replied with, "Oh, you know… just saw a pixie fly by. Ever since Lockhart brought them to school, there's been a… _infestation!_ Just loads of them coming in now, so…"

The scepticism said it all on Gioveri's face as Theodore had to stop himself from talking any further. He just wished that something could just break this silence and — _crack!_ "My God, Twiggy! Please don't just appear so close when — wait… what's that?" Theodore asked once the shock was over — standing just near his kneecaps was Twiggy holding two rustling sacks in each hand while grinning madly.

"These are just for Master Theodore, what the mistress left behind! Is that one of the master's friends staring at the master and Twiggy?"

Theodore quickly looked back at the stunned Gioveri; then he crouched back down and whispered, "Twiggy… is that really mine?" She nodded her head so fast that her ears could rip off at any moment. Theodore was also feeling gleeful but also too amazed to think that this was happening. It was starting to make sense now, the will. Everything given to him was at the one place nobody could get inside.

He then felt his kneecaps grow heavier as the sacks of (presumably) money were planted on there. Twiggy then took a step back and bowed, murmuring in the process, "With this, Twiggy hopes that the master has a beautiful day and a happy face all day long! Is Twiggy allowed back to the kitchens?"

"Well, that is where I wanted you to go in the first place," said Theodore as he stood up to find places to stash the sacks in his coat, "but I can't be angry about that at all, can I?"

"Twiggy lives to serve the —"

"Not 'the master' but 'Theodore', Twiggy, _'Theodore'_."

Twiggy was still in a bowing position before she respectfully vanished back to the kitchens, of course, not without Theodore thanking her over and over again — he didn't even know that Gioveri stayed around that long just to wait for him. "Oh! You're… you're still here."

"W-what?" Gioveri let out before twisting his fingers around each other. "Sorry, I'm just… in my family, we don't have house-elves serving us, but it's — it's odd to see _you_ with one…"

As Theodore finished stuffing the sacks in his pockets, a million thoughts of what he was to buy running in the back of his mind, he said nonchalantly, "Really? How so?"

"You're a half-blood, aren't you? N-not that there's anything wrong with that — it's great that you're a half-blood! I'm a half-blood too!" Theodore just lifted his brow to him. Gioveri quickly cleared his throat and continued, "W-what I'm trying to say is that you lived with Muggles growing up, so having a house-elf is just… _odd_."

Theodore eyed him up and down through the awkward silence but simply just shrugged it off. "Yeah, well, there's a lot of things you don't know about me," he said as they edged out into the busy street.

"Of course, r-right! You always being so mysterious and all," smiled Gioveri — Theodore could feel the timidness brushing against his face. No need for Legilimency at all. Even his face suggested it: red cheeks and nose, although Theodore could just blame it on the snow. However…

"How come you get so shaky around me?" Theodore asked off the top of his head as a band of goblins rudely barged past them. "Your face always goes so red, and you stutter like crazy. I'm just really confused —"

Gioveri began to wave his hands frantically, his cheeks now growing into a deeper shade as he stressed, "It's nothing! R-really, it's — I'm just a shy person, so —"

"Thank God I found you!" Someone instantly latched onto Theodore's right arm as he saw bushy hair escaping from a stripy hat just beneath him. "I didn't think you'd be this upset over — oh! Hello!" Gioveri squirmed a little bit as he let out a hello back — Hermione, still holding onto Theodore's arm then asked kindly, "I'm really sorry, but you don't mind me taking Theodore away, do you? Are you one of his friends?"

"F-friends? I don't really — well, we haven't really talked enough to be —"

"Yeah," Theodore cut in, sensing that Gioveri could spiral into babbling from the sheer amount of stuttering he managed. "We're sort of friends, anyway."

"Ron and Harry are in the _Three Broomsticks_ waiting for us so… wait a minute… you're Ollivander's grandson, aren't you?!" Hermione released Theodore's arm and stepped forward towards Gioveri as if he were to be studied like a rare animal. "And of course — you're in our class as well, Ancient Runes! I remember Professor McGonagall also telling me that you're one of the best in the year as well!"

 _"You're stressing him out, Hermione,"_ Theodore slightly gritted through his teeth; he wasn't wrong either. "And I can't believe you don't know who he is — he's only been here since the beginning of the year."

Theodore's words went unheard by her as she kept up her barrage of questions before she seemingly remembered that they were to be someplace else instead. "You have to tell me how you managed to get last term's recent problem so easily — anyway, sorry for keeping you here. I'm sure your friends are expecting you."

"Um… yeah…" mumbled Gioveri. Hermione didn't seem to notice that it almost sounded miserable, his voice.

' _You're so… tactless,'_ thought Theodore until he felt Hermione link her arm into his, more tightly this time, and say, "It was nice properly meeting you, Gioveri. I hope we can talk more in the future. See you soon!"

As Gioveri managed a smile that was all too lonely and melancholic, he let out a small bye before turning away in the opposite direction as Theodore and Hermione made their way to Ron and Harry. Theodore wondered why Gioveri looked so sad all of a sudden — perhaps Hermione's comment unknowingly hit him harder than she thought. Not that Hermione was ever particularly good at reading a person well.

"Theo, can I ask you something?" Theodore looked down on his left to see Hermione looking a little puzzled as if something had been on her mind for a while.

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

She took a quick glance behind her shoulder than spoke in a lowered voice and said, "Was it just me, or was Gioveri barely able to take his eyes off you?"

Theodore sniggered. "What's that supposed to mean? It's probably because he was talking to me, then you came in and took me away. Not complaining, by the way."

"It's probably nothing…" Hermione sighed. The further they walked, however, the slower their pace and the tighter Hermione's grip was on Theodore's arm. She must've noticed something thought Theodore, and he was fast enough to notice as well.

From the snow-ridden pavements to brushing past them in the middle of the high street were wizards and witches giving them glances that were almost subtle enough for Theodore to not take any notice of. But these weren't any glances of contempt, absolutely none of the sort, but more of happiness and endearment…

Theodore's heart was racing again. He was sure that it could be the same for Hermione, but from looking down she looked fine. Cheeks a little bit rosy but otherwise perfectly normal, content even. In fact, she looked like she was extremely pleased with herself. It was a bold move on her part, and Theodore never thought she'd make such a one in front of many people.

"You, uh… you seem happy," said Theodore after clearing his throat. He met Hermione's eyes that were slightly curtained from the trapped locks that escaped her hat and felt the rush again: she was indeed happy. So happy that Theodore couldn't believe why until he remembered that she loved him.

"Well, of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she smiled before letting her head rest on him as they carried on their way to the _Three Broomsticks_ , the fear of others staring on ebbing away into nothingness.

 **I'm not dead! Nope, I'm still alive and well, guys! Hopefully, most of you guys are still here (I really hope). I've been in a slump for a while so it was hard for me to jump back on but I'm ready now. I'm pumped.**

 **This chap is very slice-of-lifey so it's shorter than my usual word count but it's just to help everyone ease back into the story, including me. Next chapter is when the fourth year really kicks off, so be prepared. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and look out for the next one. Until then, later.**

 **P.S: I appreciate the reviews in my absence, especially the spammy ones :)**


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